Description

This is an epic true story of love and deception told by the woman whose life was destroyed by a seductive conman, Mark Acklom. The British Dirty John.

Over eighteen months Carolyn - an educated, elegant woman in her early fifties, who was rebuilding her life in the Cotswolds after a job change and divorce - endured a hellish rollercoaster of emotions as the man she thought would become her second husband, a man she was led to believe was successful, wealthy and fascinating, proved to be anything but. By the time the scales fell from her eyes she had lost her home, her clothes, possessions, £850,000 of savings, and nearly her sanity.

As gripping as a crime thriller, this is a blow-by-blow account of a master of fraud at work, a detailed study of the power of manipulation and coercive control, and the devastating effects it can have on the innocent. This book will reveal how an intelligent, confident woman fell for the charms of one of the most calculated fraudsters of all time - a man who convincingly claimed to be a rich Swiss banker and MI6 agent when in fact he was nothing but a crook.

But when suspicions were aroused and the devastating truth came out, despite her world being torn apart and on the brink of suicide, Carolyn along with Acklom's other victims found the strength to go to court and watch the man she thought she loved go to prison for five years.

A page-turner, made all the more compelling by the knowledge every word is true. This is an explosive true crime story that shines a light on both the frailty and strength of human nature.