Are you afraid? You should be.
The husband: in over his head with no way of knowing the truth.
The mistress: blinded by love, betrayed by her family...
The neighbour: will stop at nothing to protect the life he has fought to create.
The wife: a woman bent on revenge, but how far is she willing to go...?
Dark as night, this is a brilliantly plotted, gripping short story from the bestselling author Jack Jordan.
The blogathon celebrating Jack Jordan's books continues with A Woman Scorned. Many thanks to Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me and Simon & Schuster for my digital copy of the book.
Jack Jordan's characters are often difficult to like but he excels himself in A Woman Scorned which despite being a novella is still a dark, gripping tale of revenge.
The story is told from the perspective of four different characters, with some scenes repeated but seen from an alternative viewpoint. In spite of the book's brevity, the exploration of the characters' motivations is cleverly handled and even though it's difficult to warm to most of them, we do gain some understanding of why they behave as they do.
The mistress – Neena – is, ironically perhaps, the most likeable character here even though she has been having an affair with a married man. Caught up in a complex scheme, it's difficult not to feel for her and to hope she and her infant son might have a better future. Meanwhile, her lover Richard (the husband) has undoubtedly made some unforgivable decisions and could fairly be described as a weak, spineless cheat but equally as a manipulated victim. The neighbour, James proves to be a fascinating addition to the role call of plotters and really deserves a book of his own depicting his amoral shenanigans.
It's Amber, the woman scorned of the title who is the most interesting though. From the very start of the book, it becomes clear that she is a woman who has a defined idea of what she expects her life to be like and that she will take steps to right any perceived threats to her family. As her plan to take revenge and regain control takes shape, there are some shocking developments.
A twisty, entertaining psychological thriller; A Woman Scorned demands to be read in one sitting.
A Woman Scorned is published by Simon & Schuster purchasing links can be found here.
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About the Author
Jack Jordan is the global number one bestselling author of Anything for Her (2015), My Girl (2016), A Woman Scorned (2018), Before Her Eyes (2018) and Night by Night (2019). His thriller, Do No Harm, was an instant Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Most Recommended Book in the DeadGood Reader Awards. Coined the thriller of the summer for 2022, it was described as “relentlessly tense” by Sunday Times Bestseller Lesley Kara, and “Chilling and perfectly paced” by New York Times Bestseller Sarah Pearse. The idea for Do No Harm came to Jack after undergoing a minor medical procedure where he had to be sedated and trust strangers with his welfare. After the anaesthesia wore off, Jack began scribbling his notes, wondering to himself just how iron-clad a surgeon’s oath is, and what it would take to break it…
Conviction, was published in June 2023 and featured in Cosmopolitan’s ‘best new books out in June’ round-up, it was also chosen as one of the June featured books by Magic Radio’s Book Club and the audiobook was selected for Fingerprint Award at Capital Crime 2024.
His most recent book, Redemption was published in June 2024.
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