Forty-nine-year-old Julie is madly in love with one of her colleague, Sean. She just knows Sean feels the same way, unfortunately, another woman stands in the way of their true love. Not to worry though, Julie has dealt with stumbling blocks like this before.
Julie Tudor Is Not A Psychopath by Jennifer Holdich is so much fun, I loved every second of it and could easily have gone straight back to the beginning once I reached the end. With the story being told from Julie's perspective this works brilliantly as an audiobook, probably better than the print version. Clare Corbett's excellent narration adds to the enjoyment.
The hilarious opening immediately grabs you and gives you an idea of Julie's personality. Self-assured, decisive, intelligent and standoffish. Julie looks down on the people she works with, apart from Sean. Sean is much younger than Julie but she's convinced they have a connection and that he feels exactly the same. Julie knows that Sean is meant to be with her, unfortunately, he's already got a girlfriend and is far too kind to simply break up with her. Julie hatches a cunning plan so that Sean can finally be free to be with her.
As Julie puts her plan into action we are also given glimpses of Julie's past, learning that she has been in a similar situation before. Everything is very tongue-in-cheek, from Julie's hobbies through to her interactions with her neighbours.
Julie is so delusional that she's convinced no one at her place of work knows she and Sean are in love, yet to everyone else, it's clear that she is an obsessed stalker. When Sean and his friends are huddled together and looking at her from across the office she mistakes the glances as an unspoken sign of his true feelings. Even Gareth, Julie's closest colleague, can't avoid whistling 'Every Breath You Take'.
The big question is can anything stand in the way of Julie being with Sean, her one true love? Luckily, Julie is resourceful and manipulative enough to deal with every mishap. I was in stitches as each incident cropped up and was swept aside in Julie's increasingly unbalanced desire.
Julie Tudor Is Not A Psychopath by Jennifer Holdich will be published on 5th June 2025 in Hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy.
Author Details
Jennifer Holdich obtained an MA in Scriptwriting in 2014, won the Cardiff Writers’ Circle Short Story competition in 2021 and has had multiple short stories and pieces of flash fiction published. Julie Tudor Is Not A Psychopath is her debut novel.
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