This Sweet Sickness Audiobook By Patricia Highsmith cover art

This Sweet Sickness

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This Sweet Sickness

By: Patricia Highsmith
Narrated by: Tony Pasqualini
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In This Sweet Sickness, David Kelsey has an unyielding conviction that life will turn out all right for him; he just has to fix "the situation" of being in love with a married woman. Obsessed with Annabelle and the life he has imagined for them, David prepares to win her over, whatever it takes. In this riveting tale of a deluded loner, Highsmith reveals her uncanny ability to draw out the secret obsessions that overwhelm the human heart.

©2016 Patricia Highsmith (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Crime Thrillers Genre Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Exciting Heartfelt
Compelling Storyline • Engaging Narrative • Complex Protagonist • Suspenseful Thriller • Psychological Depth
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A good book for reading to pass the time. Patricia Highsmith builds up tension, keeping the reader eager to hear more about the characters. The characters are clearly painted, all domineering control freak.

Great story very entertaining

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I really enjoyed this. The narration almost makes it feel like a movie. The story is very engaging and riveting. Casually insane haha. Just like Highsmith.

Suspenseful and honest

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Think great gatsby meets Harvey. No real thriller component for me. Can not recommend. Meh

Mostly drama

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I’ll say it again. Patricia Highsmith is a master at her craft. She knows how to build tension in her stories by getting into the mind of a man slowly slipping into madness as he imagines a life with a woman who has rejected him. He starts to fantasize that they’re really together. He invents a new identity for himself. He drinks excessively and allows his delusions and anger to turn violent. Intense ending! Tony Pasqualini is a excellent reader, giving this character the right amount of sinister and crazy self-talk. Well done!

Great Tension

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What if Ripley were not so talented? This story of delusional madness is all in the telling; Classic Highsmith , excellent performance.

Highly recommended!

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This is one of her most interesting stories. It’s about a man who is psychopathically obsessed with love for a woman. The man has more chutzpah than any character I’ve read about to keep this story engrossing.

Very unusual character

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I can’t believe I haven’t read more of Highsmith’s books; she is a master of the excruciating thriller with an exhausting protagonist who is always on the verge of getting caught.

Like the Talented Mr. Ripley, Sweet/Sickness focuses on obsession, social awkwardness, hidden identities, and the dangers of high fantasy.

File Under: Nail Biter

Written in 1960, but it is Timeless

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I normally love her novels. I love to to just relax into her beautiful descriptions. I hated every character and the story just dragged and dragged for me. I’m sorry to say I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Disappointed

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I listened because it was free with my membership, but once I was in, I was in. The narration led me to feel some sympathy for the protagonist initially, but before long I was seeing him for the true creep that he was. I found the storyline very compelling and so well executed that I was lulled into thinking I was listening to something a little nostalgic and unsettling—a little shocking and funny at times — when it turns into something truly Hitchcockian and horrifying in spite of —because of —its subtle approach. David is no less psychotic than Norman Bates or Patrick Bateman.

A slow burn American psycho

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*No Spoilers*
Pro: I enjoyed the overall story
Cons: The story definitely dragged through the last 1/4. The ending was kind of disappointing and anticlimactic.
For an *included* story, it's worth a listen. I personally would have been disappointed to have spent a credit on it though.

Just Okay

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