Books with bad men at their heart

Books with bad men at their heart

I have read some books lately that all have mad men at their heart and so I thought, why not bunch them all together and create a huge group of them. All bad or mad for very different reasons.

Bad Men – LONDON

Got to start with this one. Clues in the title. This has got to be one of the few books that has made me snort sneeze. Wickedly funny and very dark. It’s billed as a feminist serial killer thriller. A women takes it upon herself to get revenge on men she deems to have wronged her in some way. Then she moves on to men who have wronged other women….

I enjoyed this one. Fast paced and juicy. A kick-ass read with added darkness and bite. I didn’t like any of the characters but that’s the point. I did feel a little bit as if the killer was doing something she had to do…is that bad? Read it and you will know what I mean.

The Heart and the Crown – LONDON

Well Henry VIII is the ultimate mad man isn’t he? Married six times. Divorced three of them and killed another two. Only the last one managed to survive him. Now I have read a lot about Henry VIII but this time it’s in the hands of Alison Weir and it’s a treat to read her insights. This is an author who has written six large books, one on each of his wives, but from their point of view. Now, she gives a voice to the king himself but in a way that really immerses you in his mad, bad mind.

This is a stunning novel about a very real and scary man who had so much power and influence, he changed the country to something unrecognisable. He lived according to his own insatiable appetite whether it be in politics, religion and in the bedroom. I have never read a novel where I have felt I have climbed inside this man’s head and tried to understand even a little bit of what he did and why. The Tudors, and Henry VIII will always hold  a fascination for me and this book has just relit it.

The Witching Tide

This is a book about witchcraft and witchhunts so no surprise that mad men are at the heart of it. There is a woman, Martha,  at its heart who is both midwife and healer but she is also voiceless and all of that combined makes her a forgotten figutre in the world – but for how long?

We are taken to the ficitional town of Cleftwater, created to mimic any one of the East Anglia towns of the time. Here, a witchfinder ironically named Silas Makepeace, does not believe women to be innocent and he does his utmost to prove them witches. That of course, brings a death  penalty but for him, it’s all about power. Then Marta is drawn into this mad world and she could end up like the women she has been forced to help catch.

I was riveted with this one. A new way of looking at the story of the witchhunter and a wonderful, if dark read.

Be sure to let me know which books have got you mad at the male characters recently!