From the Guardian: "What a thrill it has been to watch Apple Tree Yard fail to live up to its initial billing as thinking person’s bonkbuster. The series materialised in a thunderclap of notoriety, with considerable hubbub attending a stage-setting scene in which two middle-aged strangers enjoyed a steamy liaison in a House of Commons broom cupboard.

More surreptitious sex follows, first in a café bathroom and then in the famous Apple Tree Yard. Yes, sex in public places is very much his thing. Wide-eyed Emily Watson is perfect as Dr Yvonne Carmichael, the successful, fiftysomething scientist, wife and mother who falls a mighty long way from grace after an unexpected close encounter with a handsome stranger unleashes her animal instincts. Her face was able to light up with a cheeky, mysterious smile that let the world know she was suddenly having a very good time, without giving away her secret. In the aftermath of what has happened, a devastated Yvonne shuts down. She feels unable to talk to the police or her husband, but as a campaign of terror is mounted against her, she is pushed to her limits and turns to her former lover, Costley, for advice. They meet for one last time and share a passionate afternoon together, before Costley takes control of the situation and Yvonne is plunged from one nightmare into another. The first person narrative, be it imaginary letters or just stream of consciousness, was SO tiresome. Perhaps the format (audiobook) made this more apparent. Even the lovely voice of Juliet Stevenson couldn’t make Yvonne’s thought processes seem any more than whining, delusional, self-obsessed ramblings. Yvonne whatever-her-name-was (I’ve forgotten already and will have forgotten the whole book by the weekend) could rival Tess Durbeyfield in the victim stakes. I am just not convinced that a highly respected, logical, scientific high achiever could be as compliant, passive and irritatingly dense as Yvonne is. The writer comes from Melton Mowbray, but surely the 21st century has arrived even in the home of pork pies and Stilton cheese? I don’t think this sort of woman has all the angst about her competence that Yvonne does. All the stuff about suicide and bipolar and even the spouse affair seemed wholly irrelevant, not adding up to anything, certainly not any sort of explanation. The book was flagged as a "psychological thriller," I think, but the psychology is very dubious.

The two begin an affair, despite the fact that she doesn't know her lover's name at first, and he has kept most of his life a mystery from her. He is constantly paranoid, worried that Yvonne might say something to someone, or that their relationship might be discovered. Because of his need to control the situation, Yvonne believes her lover must be a spy for the British government, a fact that excites her almost as much as their relationship has. She knows that they can only see each other at certain times, yet she longs for more, longs for the passion he has ignited in her. After receiving an off-putting text from her boring husband Gary about nose drops (ugh), she readily follows the man down the stairs to the stunning Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the bowels of Parliament.

But, for all that, there was something missing. She wanted someone to look at her – not as wife, not as a mother, not as a professional – but as an interesting, attractive woman. Spoilers for Apple Tree Yard episode 3 below. Still catching up? Read Sarah’s review of episode 2 here. Apparently, according to Gary, it’s all down to a thing in our brains no bigger than a peanut which overrides all reasoned thought and simply urges us to do whatever is necessary to survive, even if that means “doing nothing”.

Rate And Review

Spoilers for Apple Tree Yard episode 4 below. Still catching up? Read Sarah’s review of episode 3 here.

Is heartbreak even possible now, I wonder? I'm fifty-two. Anyone my age knows that all things pass. If the transitory nature of our feelings means that true heartbreak is impossible, then where does that leave happiness?" A lingering look is all it takes to make her follow a stranger to the damp crypt of a London cathedral. The passionate tryst with a man whose name she doesn’t even know explodes into an affair and Yvonne’s well-organized life and her comfortable, though passionless, marriage, crumble like a dried-out scone. Do we need to call the police?” she squeaked. “No,” he said. “Just trust me, Yvonne. Trust me.” Oh dear. Words that are so often fatal… Then, reeling from an act of violence, Yvonne discovers that her desire for justice and revenge has already been compromised. Everything hinges on one night in a dark little alley called Apple Tree Yard.And when it came to stealth and daring there were no flies on lover-boy – not done up, anyway. It was all hurrah and hot flushes all round. After their risqué sex around London I could even imagine a whole new tourist bus tour! I cried, I really did. And, boy, it takes a lot to make me do that. But that’s how stonkingly good this sensational psychological thriller has been. I really enjoyed this book and thought Doughty was an excellent storyteller. It takes a talented writer to make you want to continue reading a story you've seen before, but there are still a good number of twists and turns to keep you thinking. There aren't many books I've read lately with this type of protagonist, and it really worked for me. And it certainly makes you consider your own life, your own relationships, and how a seemingly rational person could be so overtaken by desire and fear. They bump into each other again at another café and the affair takes off. He says he is a civil servant, but still we don’t know his name or what he really does. Adding to her thrills, and given his expert knowledge of CCTV among other things, Dr Carmichael soon surmises he is a ‘spook’. She’s feeling not only mysterious, but naughty, and a bit young again, and she loves it. Who wouldn’t? Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty is one of those psychological thrillers that you are compelled to read by just the blurb alone.