In His Sights
Kate Brennan
book reviews:
· general fiction
· chick lit/romance
· sci-fi/fantasy
· graphic novels
· nonfiction
· audio books

Click here for the curledup.com RSS Feed

· author interviews
· children's books @
   curledupkids.com
· DVD reviews @
   curledupdvd.com

newsletter
win books
buy online
links

home

for authors
& publishers


for reviewers

click here to learn more




Buy *In His Sights: A True Story of Love and Obsession* by Kate Brennan online

In His Sights: A True Story of Love and Obsession
Kate Brennan
Harper
Hardcover
279 pages
August 2008
rated 5 of 5 possible stars

buy this book now or browse millions of other great products at amazon.com
previous reviewnext review

"I'll always be with you," he says, as his fingers trail across the back of my hand.

I shudder and work to keep my face from displaying any feeling. I close the window, lock the doors, and drive away.
Kate Brennan (not her real name) is a freelance writer, an apparently powerful, sensible woman with plenty of savvy about how the world works. But her encounter with Paul shook her self-confidence and her sense of security to the core, damaging her in ways she never dreamed possible.

Paul was the brother of a friend, attractive and charming, with a lot of ex-es. Soon after he met her, he said to Kate, "I'll see you again." It surprised her. And it turned out to be true. In many ways, Paul was her ideal companion. He was ostensibly independent and wealthy and lived in a lush, if rather bizarre, apartment. He offered, even begged Kate to let him take care of her - to buy her a new car, to send her to graduate school - offers that were flattering, but excessive.

Day by day and month by month, Paul and Kate became a couple. She moved in with him to see how that would work, whether she could give up her autonomy enough to commit to marriage. They had shared and separate therapies, aimed at curing Paul of his sexual obsession, one that often made him unavailable to Kate and at times made her refuse to have him near her. And Paul worked away at Kate's guilt, constantly reminding her that she had problems, too, as though his sexual sickness was somehow her fault. Her memories of an abusive alcoholic father plagued her, making her feel vulnerable, giving Paul more power.

Paul's father was brutally murdered, and Paul's inability to let that go - and the reasons for it that were gradually revealed, why it happened and how Paul might have been abused and permanently ruined by his father - began to form something like a lover's triangle in the relationship. Paul's father's pictures were everywhere, as much a part of their involvement as the veiled threats that Paul began to make when he felt Kate slipping away.

One day he asked her if she would feel nervous knowing he kept a gun in the house. Often he asked the same simple question, calculated to make her feel fear. And succeeding.

One day Kate made a professional speech. She was worried she'd botched it and Paul confirmed it by telling her, "I've seen you do better, lots better." One of many cruel defeating remarks, that one cut her to the quick. Despite her fears of what he might do, she finds the courage to move out, occasioning the scene described above. Because though she is no longer living with him, Paul wants to ensure that he is still a presence in her life. Always.

This book will chill and perplex any intelligent woman who reads it. How could Kate be so dumb, we want to say, all the while knowing that we have, have had, or might encounter a Paul in our own lives - a man who seems so perfect, whose little flaws seem so insignificant in contrast to our need to be loved and adored.

"Kate Brennan" has given us a road map out of hell, though she herself is still haunted and hunted - "as long as Paul lives, I believe he will stalk me." Women, read this book. Take warning.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Barbara Bamberger Scott, 2008

buy *In His Sights: A True Story of Love and Obsession* online
click here for more info
Click here to learn more about this month's sponsor!


fiction · sf/f · comic books · nonfiction · audio
newsletter · free book contest · buy books online
review index · links · · authors & publishers
reviewers

site by ELBO Computing Resources, Inc.