Crazy on You by Christen Bensten

Crazy on You is a psychological thriller and a sad take on what jealousy and the “If only I hads” will push a person to.

 

Olivia has had a bit of a rough start. Having cared for an abusive father until he died, and still looking after a mentally ill mother has skewed her outlook on life somewhat. She knows the perfect life is out there for her. She just needs a few things to make it right.

 

She and her husband live in one of the smaller houses in Huntwood Valley. With wealth and possessions she can only aspire to. When Olivia becomes a mother, she is sure this will be exactly what she needs to make her life perfect. But being a new mother is not easy, and Olivia is battling to cope. All she has is her husband and he is often out at work. Desperate to stop feeling invisible and needing support, Olivia reaches out to three mothers in the same situation and forms a group. Charlotte has a husband in the political arena who seems very absent from their relationship, Claire and her wife are lawyers and Claire is wrestling with her own demons about keeping safe, and Beth has everything that Olivia could wish for. All three are wealthier, coping with their newborns better, and seem to have it together compare to Olivia.

 

So Olivia begins the “If only I hads” game in her quest for the perfect life. Little by little she becomes more and more interfering in Beth’s life, trying to make her the invaluable friend while doing everything she can to isolate Beth. Her persistent and uninvited visits, calls, texts, and emails become obsessive, and the three mothers are trying to pull away.

 

But Olivia knows what she wants to make her life perfect, and no one will stand in her way…

 

The book starts with the end, so the author skilfully draws you in from the first chapter and makes you aware that something epic will finish the story. I was fascinated/horrified by Olivia’s deeds and thought processes. The problems she went through as a new mom were intense and certainly give the reader pause to try to empathise with her, but her selfish actions were dreadful.

 

I enjoyed the friends’ stories as they showed the real issues behind the facades you see and how everyone faces hardships of varying degrees. It is scary that there are people like Olivia who only see the perfect façade and think that in order to have it, they need to take it and not make their own way in life.

 

I do agree that the events leading up to the finale were a bit suspect as I’m sure they wouldn’t have been allowed to slide like that, but just the depths to which Olivia was prepared to go (and believed was right) was crazy.

 

The book was written with an easy flow and definitely had you saying: “just one more chapter”. No major editorial mistakes interrupted the reading and the author had a fabulous way of describing scenes in such a rich manner that you felt as though you were in the room or even experiencing the emotions the character felt. I look forward to more by this author!