Diane Fletcher is left dangling on a tightrope between sanity and insanity. Despite children she loves, and an opulent lifestyle, saying yes to twenty-eight years of marriage with Richard has brought very little happiness. Too many secrets permeate Diane and Richard's relationship. Guilt, alcohol, and sedatives are Diane's safety net when she falls. Regular visits to a psychiatrist have done little more than put Diane back on the tightrope. Richard has other coping mechanisms. He is devoted, and at the same time, severe, ambitious, callous, and vindictive. How different Diane and Richard have grown together. Raw emotions, unthinkable actions, and an explosive secret peel back the skin of a volatile marriage with dark secrets, revealing what happens to the family.
One of the best things about my job as a professional editor and proofreader, is that I get to read books in genres that I would never otherwise consider and are quite some way outside my comfort zone. The Last Merry Go Tound by C.L. Charlesworth is definitely one such book.This is not a book that I would normally have picked up off a shelf in a book store and I am very lucky that instead this author approached me as a potential client. Had she not done so, I in all likelihood would never have read this book and would have missed out on a terrific story, though to describe it as such, seems obtuse.Covering domestic abuse, both physical and psychological and witnessing it through the protagonist's eyes first hand, made for a very uncomfortable read and as a man I went through the full gamut of emotions including anger, disbelief and shame. Anger and shame that one human being could treat another in such a despicable and cruel way. Shame that some women feel they have to suffer this alone and are in some ways at fault and that a man could be so cruel and manipulative to the woman he professed to love.This book was a real eye-opener for me and many times since I finished reading it I have found myself reflecting on parts of the story line.It's hard-hitting, it's brutal and it will disturb you, but then this is a subject that needs confronting. A highly recommended but challenging read. Jeff Jones, author
