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Web of Obsessions
Jordan Mackenzie has run from bad to worse. Social work in a women’s prison isn’t going to be easy, and once she meets assistant superintendent Danielle Veillard she realizes her heart isn’t ready for more anguish.
Danielle has never been as intrigued and bewildered by anyone as she is with Jordan. Her feelings make no sense, but her brutal ex-husband is certain he understands all too well. So does Jordan’s ex, who is also willing to use any means to assert control over the woman who dared to walked away.
As a drug ring within the prison unravels and a suspicious death of an inmate brings all eyes to the prison’s inner workings, Danielle and Jordan find themselves caught in a Web of Obsessions.
Australian Diane Wood debuts with a high-stakes thriller featuring women with nothing—and everything—to lose.
Danielle has never been as intrigued and bewildered by anyone as she is with Jordan. Her feelings make no sense, but her brutal ex-husband is certain he understands all too well. So does Jordan’s ex, who is also willing to use any means to assert control over the woman who dared to walked away.
As a drug ring within the prison unravels and a suspicious death of an inmate brings all eyes to the prison’s inner workings, Danielle and Jordan find themselves caught in a Web of Obsessions.
Australian Diane Wood debuts with a high-stakes thriller featuring women with nothing—and everything—to lose.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2013
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Diane Wood
8 books3 followersDianne Wood has spent many years working in the Australian Criminal Justice system, including within maximum security settings, and has extensive connections to law enforcement that she draws upon for the authenticity of her stories. She lives in New South Wales, Australia, with her partner of nearly three decades.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 26, 2015
This is quite a page turner. It is a prison drama set in Australia. The main characters are mostly prison officials, though there are a couple of inmates involved too, and a truly dark, powerful, enigmatic character who's ironically never stepped foot in one.
Unlike other prison-themed books, this one doesn't dive too much into the daily routine of inmates but rather focuses on the relationships between the people who run it. The main highlight is the romance between two prison officials, though things don't heat up till a good part of the book because one of them is straight and in a steady relationship and has a son from a previous marriage. I appreciate that the author doesn't vilify the other guy in the relationship or make it easy for our leading ladies. All the important characters on both sides of the bars are all well-developed and multidimensional. The book is much more riveting than my rather dry review seems to imply. Having stayed up all of New Year's Eve to finish it, my brain is still not fully functional. :)
By the 80% mark, I thought this would be a good candidate for my favorite book of 2013. However, there were so many things going on, so many threads that needed to be resolved, that in the last 20% of the book, it was like the author could barely come up for air. The pace was frenetic, to say the least. And I think this part of the book suffered somewhat from the rush to finish the book. It became all 'telling' and no 'showing' anymore. Also, some parts of the book involving the enigmatic character seemed too much of a stretch. I might have given the book 5 stars if Still, it was a lot of fun (and dread) trying to guess who gets to walk away and who ends up dead.
Very good first effort!
4.5 stars
Unlike other prison-themed books, this one doesn't dive too much into the daily routine of inmates but rather focuses on the relationships between the people who run it. The main highlight is the romance between two prison officials, though things don't heat up till a good part of the book because one of them is straight and in a steady relationship and has a son from a previous marriage. I appreciate that the author doesn't vilify the other guy in the relationship or make it easy for our leading ladies. All the important characters on both sides of the bars are all well-developed and multidimensional. The book is much more riveting than my rather dry review seems to imply. Having stayed up all of New Year's Eve to finish it, my brain is still not fully functional. :)
By the 80% mark, I thought this would be a good candidate for my favorite book of 2013. However, there were so many things going on, so many threads that needed to be resolved, that in the last 20% of the book, it was like the author could barely come up for air. The pace was frenetic, to say the least. And I think this part of the book suffered somewhat from the rush to finish the book. It became all 'telling' and no 'showing' anymore. Also, some parts of the book involving the enigmatic character seemed too much of a stretch. I might have given the book 5 stars if Still, it was a lot of fun (and dread) trying to guess who gets to walk away and who ends up dead.
Very good first effort!
4.5 stars
June 15, 2014
Well, well, a book with not one, not two, but three psychopaths as the villain(s). You don't get those very often.
This is a very complex book, with lots of storylines (maybe a bit too many) going on at the same time. All these storylines revolve around a prison in Australia (and I seriously hope these prisons are not representative for real prisos over there), the people who work there, the inmates and their friends.
It begins with Jordan starting a new job, and somehow immediatly this sets in motion just about everyone she knows. People are worried, and some react even hostile.
This hostility quickly grows, and a death in the prison acts as a catalyst for everyone. Jordan falls in love with her boss, whose ex-husband will do anything to disrupt that, the husband (if you can call it that) of the dead prisoner is on a vengeance (and not for the right reasons), Jordan's ex hates her guts and oh my, everyone is after everyone.
The only steady character in this whole mess is Jordan's friend Sonde. She's on a mission too, to revenge her ex who died in the prison. Sonde is really the star here. She's on the only one who stays calm despite all the turmoil, and methodically utilizes her wealth and connections to get to the bottom of this.
I think it's a good book, but you have to stay with it, because there are so many characters with so many connections, it can get a bit overwhelming. The romance was ok, but it gets burried in all the things going on.
This is a very complex book, with lots of storylines (maybe a bit too many) going on at the same time. All these storylines revolve around a prison in Australia (and I seriously hope these prisons are not representative for real prisos over there), the people who work there, the inmates and their friends.
It begins with Jordan starting a new job, and somehow immediatly this sets in motion just about everyone she knows. People are worried, and some react even hostile.
This hostility quickly grows, and a death in the prison acts as a catalyst for everyone. Jordan falls in love with her boss, whose ex-husband will do anything to disrupt that, the husband (if you can call it that) of the dead prisoner is on a vengeance (and not for the right reasons), Jordan's ex hates her guts and oh my, everyone is after everyone.
The only steady character in this whole mess is Jordan's friend Sonde. She's on a mission too, to revenge her ex who died in the prison. Sonde is really the star here. She's on the only one who stays calm despite all the turmoil, and methodically utilizes her wealth and connections to get to the bottom of this.
I think it's a good book, but you have to stay with it, because there are so many characters with so many connections, it can get a bit overwhelming. The romance was ok, but it gets burried in all the things going on.
November 29, 2016
After reading The Fortuneteller's Daughter, I had extremely high hopes for Web of Obsessions. The love story itself here is top notch, but the dirty underhandedness of so many of the novel's characters feels like too much of a stretch, even entering 'over the top' territory, and takes away from the tale feeling authentic. The uneasiness that comes with The Fortuneteller's Daughter is so effective because it DOES feel authentic and the despair is heartbreaking and the characters who are very crooked and cruel ring true whereas the uneasiness within Web of Obsessions comes from entirely different reasons.
August 1, 2015
Thrilling page turner with two very dark characters one working for good (Sonde - there are different ways of getting things done) and the other not so good (Harry - more than just bad). I like the MC especially Danielle. Discovery of her "real self" was nicely told. I thought Jordan's interaction with: Helen, Sonde, Lisa and Mandy was very interesting and made you think about your interaction with various people in your life. Danielle's son Scott was written as a good kid that the reader cares about. This story has you wondering who will be with us until the end.
July 17, 2016
A dark and intense story; very well written (especially for a debut novel) with some well-defined characters.
December 26, 2014
This is an intense read but I absolutely loved it. True to the title, every major character in the story/ plot had an "obsession", and each obsession is so different in nature - from being obsessively controlling about your ex-wife, to substance abuse. Halfway through the book, you can really see how each of these characters cross path and the plot start weaving all together. The book is fast paced and a true page turner. This book is probably going to take a spot among my favorite read from 2014.
March 5, 2015
I thought it tried a little too hard to make the 'baddies' unlikeable, without too much other character development for the supporting cast. It was somewhat predictable towards the end but otherwise worth a read.
April 15, 2014
A little on the dark side for me. I would have liked more character development between the protagonists. Good book on prison system and problems.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews