The Tryst by Monique Roffey

Author : Monique Roffey
Title : The Tryst
Published : 2017
Publisher : Dodo Ink
Genre : Mystery / Psychological Thriller
Pages : 198







     London, midsummer night. Jane and Bill meet the mysterious Lilah in a bar. She entrances the couple with half-true, mixed up tales about her life. At closing time, Jane makes an impulsive decision to invite Lilah back to their home. But Jane has made a catastrophic error of judgment, for Lilah is a skilled and ruthless predator, the likes of which few encounters in a lifetime. Isolated and cursed, Jane and Bill are forced to fight for each other, and, in doing so, discover their covert desires.

     I have to start this off by saying this is not normally a book that I would have picked up. But lately, I have been trying to push my comfit zone and not write things off before I've ever turned the first page. To say this book contains a whole lot of sex I think would be an understatement. But this author has managed to pull it off without descending into a cringe worth fan fic. It is through this that she explores the line between someones deep fantasy life and when those thoughts become reality. How do we match up those thoughts with actually going through with the act? Can they live up to what we hope and desire or in fact will they rip apart what we have and take for granted.

     This book walks the line between reality and fantasy in more than one way as the story slips out of our own reality and into something beyond. It is at times hard to feel any sympathy for this couple after all they did invite someone else into there bed even if they didn't fully understand what this would lead to. Lilah on the other hand never lets the reader think anything else of her than what or who she is, she is the ultimate temptress. Knowing full well every twist of her hair and sly smile is given to seducing anyone who happens to come across her path. This is a book the will no doubt get you hot under the collar, but at the same time, there is a real darkness that runs underneath. The more you get to see these people interact the more you know that this is all going to end very badly. It is within this mix that the author finds her stride. I firmly believe she gave us exactly what she set out to do. A dark sexual psychological thriller that looks at our primal if not animal side, something most keep way down deep in a whole. What happens when we let it out and the destruction that follows in its wake?

     This is a beautiful blending of genres that delivers a story that felt like it was over in a single breath. The book itself is not long and I would highly recommend setting aside a few hours to read it in one sitting. It left my mind racing as to what exactly I had just read and after a long while of consideration, I still don't think I'm any the wiser but it was an enjoyable ride. And after all what more could you ask for.