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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just read Best Offer Wins as well. It’s a really fun read if you’re from the DMV. It is very dark and has dark humor infused throughout. [b]It’s quite fluffy though[/b].

If you want super dark humor and haven’t read American Psycho- that’s a good read and I find it to be incredibly witty but it might be more horror than thriller.

Also check out:

You Killed Me First by John Marrs
The Last Party by AR Torre
The You series by Caroline Kepnes

[/quote]

Interesting. I didn't consider it fluffy. Yes, the plot was straightforward rather than jumping around in time, and no shifiting points of view. But I enjoyed the psychological complexity of the main character. Behavior was bonkers at times, but there was a lot going on inside. Interesting exploration of control, including as a method of self-regulation.[/quote]

With books, everything is so subjective, which is why it’s often hard to recommend things to other people. I didn’t find the character emotionally complex at all- just a complete psychopath with a past that tries to explain why she is the way she is.[b] I probably found it a bit trite because I’m a psychologist in real life 😆 [/b]I still really enjoyed the book regardless. [/quote]

Ahh . . . this makes sense to me, though I hope you haven't had (many?) clients like Margo in your career!  :D

Without spoiling it for others, I'm curious - how early in the book did you start seeing her as a psychopath rather than . . . more run of the mill manipulative and controlling?

Any recs for novels/thrillers with characters you DO consider emotionally complex and interesting?[/quote]

LOL...to my knowledge I have not had any Margos in my career, but you never know as they can be good at hiding!

Full disclosure, I also have a background in criminology and criminal psychology, and I've recently been immersed in the work of Dr. Fiona Girkin in Australia..she studies female psychopaths in the workplace and she does a good job of differentiating between female and male psychopaths. That said, because I can easily pick up "psychopath clues" I could tell early on Margo was a psychopath...I just wasn't sure what type (there are violent and non violent psychopaths). I purposely went into the book knowing nothing about it because I like the element of surprise and wasn't sure how far the author was going to take things.

I am much more interested in real life psychopaths (true crime) and I think the only author who captures psychopathy so accurately (to the point I think the author must be a psychopath himself) is Bret Easton Ellis. If you can stomach really disturbing things, there is a Dutch movie called "Spurloos" that was later on made into an American film called "The Vanishing." The Spurloos movie is a very accurate and chilling portrayal of a psychopath- maybe one of the best I've seen- especially because it's a film. As for fiction books, I don't need the characters to necessarily be realistic, or even emotionally complex- I just like to be entertained and turn the pages to the point I can't put the book down. I did list AR Torre's book "The Last Party" above and I would also recommend Lucinda Berry (author who is a psychologist!). I know most people find Gillian Flynn's work to be the gold standard of fiction thrillers...I'll try to think on this some more and come back to you![/quote]

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