THE BODY LIES by Jo Baker

Here is yet another novel about a woman making her way in the world on her own terms as much as she can, but still falling victim to a nutter who wants to claim her for his own. Oh, and then murder her. Nice. Why, oh why are women still portrayed and written about as victims, through no fault at all of their own, subject to the most ghastly fates. Over it really.

Nevertheless, this is very well written, the tension and unease slowly brewing. There are no red herrings, or twists in the tale; the reader finds out fairly early on who the trouble is going to be. What makes this novel stand out is how the woman, whose name we never know, uses her wits and her intuition to try and  beat him at his own game. You might not necessarily approve of her methods, but she is giving it a go, and doing all she can to not be a victim.

Our chief character lives in London with her teacher husband, and 3 year old son. The book opens with her being sexually assaulted while pregnant. There is definitely some post trauma here, and despite her best efforts it continues to haunt her. In an attempt to move on, she is successful in applying for a professor ship in creative writing at a university a few hours from London, which she accepts, much to the puzzlement and annoyance of her husband. But this is something she needs to do. Her creative writing students are an odd bunch, including Nick, who is a quite damaged young man, producing some very uneasy and alarming writing. Nick is also a clever and manipulative young man, and it doesn't take long before our professor has fallen into his web.

This is a psychological thriller, a game of minds and keeping one step ahead of your enemy. There is sexual assault in the book, quite graphic in one place, but not gratuitous. I liked this, but didn't love it, mainly due to the subject matter, which in some ways is more of the same. Although deftly done.