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The Bed I Made

3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 · rating details · 376 ratings · 70 reviews

I haven't given up on you and I'm not going to. It's time to stop playing hard to get now. When Kate meets a dark, enigmatic man in a Soho bar, she doesn't hesitate long before going home with him. There is something undeniably attractive about Richard - and irresistibly dangerous, too. Now, after eighteen exhilarating but fraught months, Kate knows she has to finish their...more

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Published June 21st 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

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Aug 06, 2010 Blair rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, favourites

Lucie Whitehouse has done it again. Her brilliant debut, The House at Midnight , was one of the few books I have been literally unable to put down and read from start to finish within one day. This riveting second novel lasted just a few days, and in the end I stayed up all night to finish it. There is just so much to love about Whitehouse's writing. Much like Jo in The House at Midnight, Kate is the perfect narrator - immediately likeable and absolutely human, you truly care about and believe i...more Lucie Whitehouse has done it again. Her brilliant debut, The House at Midnight , was one of the few books I have been literally unable to put down and read from start to finish within one day. This riveting second novel lasted just a few days, and in the end I stayed up all night to finish it. There is just so much to love about Whitehouse's writing. Much like Jo in The House at Midnight, Kate is the perfect narrator - immediately likeable and absolutely human, you truly care about and believe in what happens to her. The minor characters (Chris in particular) are similarly believable and charming, and the dialogue, which flows like real speech, is a joy to read. I particularly loved the sections describing Kate's first week on the Island, which convey both the loneliness and the romance of her isolated experience perfectly. I've never been to the Isle of Wight, but I was left with vivid mental pictures of the characters' surroundings, despite the lack of overt description. The whole book is suffused with subtle tension, the flashbacks to Kate's relationship with Richard brimming with foreboding and suspense. The plot is disturbing in places - anyone who has suffered any kind of abusive relationship will find certain parts uncomfortable to read - but it's all carefully handled and sensitively written, and ultimately this content makes the story more powerful.

Whitehouse is clearly an enormously talented and versatile writer; I'm in awe of the fact that this book was published less than two years after her first (I know plenty of writers churn out books at such a rate, but very rarely books of this quality). However, as much as The Bed I Made deserves five stars, there's a couple of things I'm uneasy about that I feel I should mention. The first is the romance and sex in the story, or rather the amount of it. The author is great at writing realistic, non-embarrassing sex scenes, but they occur very frequently - not something that bothers me, but I do feel she's in danger of being pigeonholed as a writer of superior chick-lit if this continues to be a major feature of her books. (The real problem is, of course, that there would be no danger of this happening if she was a man - but I know this is the way things are, and I'm worried that the literary talent evident in her writing will end up being overlooked.) The second is the ending. I do understand that it would have been an incredibly bleak story if Kate hadn't been given some happiness, but it would have been braver (and better, in my opinion) to have her happy alone and free than finding love again so swiftly - the concluding events are only rescued from implausibility by the power of the narrative.

Despite a couple of flaws, this is a fantastic novel which has confirmed Lucie Whitehouse as one of my favourite new writers. There are very few authors whose every book I eagerly look forward to and know I will love, but after two five-star reads, she is definitely one of them.(less)

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Feb 23, 2011 harryknuckles rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is set on the Isle of Wight, where I live!!

"I haven't given up on you and I'm not going to. It's time to stop playing hard to get now."

When Kate meets a dark, enigmatic man in a Soho bar, she doesn't hesitate long before going home with him. There is something undeniably attractive about Richard - and irresistibly dangerous, too. Now, after 18 exhilarating but fraught months, Kate knows she has to finish their relationship.

Fleeing London for the wintry Isle of Wight, she is determin...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 08, 2011 Jeanet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

The book is so well written that for the first half of the book I was more reluctant to like Richard, the psycho, then Kate, the woman he's been terrorizing and even beaten. We know this already within the first few pages, but as the story moves on and Kate remembers the Richard she fell in love with. Richard is described as the kind of man every girl at some point in her life dreams of meeting. Well apart from the psycho bit.
This way Whitehouse sends her reader into the same dilemma that Kate...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Bree T rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, library-reads

Main character Kate is on the run. It’s winter and she has retreated down to the Isle of Wight for peace, solitude and safety. Only her father, her brother and her best friend Helen know her location. It is a place she visited as a child, with her father and brother after her mother left. It is a place she associates with happiness, with rebuilding.

On her third day on the island, she watches on the shore as the authorities tow in the boat of a local woman, Alice Frewin. Although no body has been...more Main character Kate is on the run. It’s winter and she has retreated down to the Isle of Wight for peace, solitude and safety. Only her father, her brother and her best friend Helen know her location. It is a place she visited as a child, with her father and brother after her mother left. It is a place she associates with happiness, with rebuilding.

On her third day on the island, she watches on the shore as the authorities tow in the boat of a local woman, Alice Frewin. Although no body has been found yet, it’s widely believed that Alice is gone, and at her own hand. Kate realises that she saw Alice on the very first day she spent on the island and spoke to her. From the very beginning Kate is drawn to Alice, and especially drawn into this mystery surrounding her disappearance. She listens at the local newsagent and cafe to the locals, trying to pick up information.

It soon becomes obvious that Kate is fleeing her former boyfriend Richard. Through flashback, usually triggered by Richard’s calls, texts or emails, we revisit how Kate and Richard met, how their relationship formed and how it then started to fall apart. Richard isn’t willing to let Kate go and his constant constant, which wavers between conciliatory and menacing, paints a sinister threat to Kate’s safety. Kate, for the best part, tries to ignore Richard and immerse herself in life on the island. She is a translator and once she finishes the novel she has been translating, she gets a job on the island. She visits a local 2nd hand bookstore and is befriended by the owner who invites her around for a meal. She meets Alice Frewin’s husband Pete and their close friend Sarah. She begins to build a life, and to want to stay on the island when her lease of the little cottage is up, even though she knows that she should keep moving. That it won’t be long before Richard finds her.

This book is a very slow burn, pace-wise. Information is never given quickly and although the scenario with Richard is easily guessed by the reader, it’s quite a while before we get the full picture and evidence of everything he was doing to Kate, the sort of person he was. Much is made of the island itself, the weather, the solitude, the bleakness and the portrayal is wonderful. I really felt like I was there, experiencing that driving rain and wind, the ‘small-town (island) mindedness’, the closing ranks against strangers, people who were not born and bred of the island.

The characters are well done in this novel also – Kate, scarred by the disappearance of her mother, immersing herself in French, forging a career as a translator (her mother was French). The novel makes much of her friendship with Helen, how strong it was before Richard, and how the arrival of Richard put it on incredibly shaky ground. But apart from Helen, she seems to have no other friends and no one else in the novel attempts to try and contact her and see where she is. Her whole life by the start of the book revolved around Richard. He had inserted himself into her life and alienated pretty much everything else until he was all that she had left and when she fled him, she had no one. She refused to go to either her brother in the US, or her father, who had finally found himself a new partner and was happy, preferring to try to heal herself down on the Isle of Wight.

Richard, in my opinion, is equally well done in the way he is portrayed. At first we get Richard’s charm and recklessness, his generosity and intenseness, his work ethic. You obviously know that something isn’t right, but the way his true character unfolds, in that slow way, building tension and fear, hooks you right into the story. The islanders – kind Chris, the tense and haunted Pete, frazzled Sarah, are all interesting additions and colour Kate’s experience on the island. Despite the isolation and the wariness from many, it seems like she fits in better there than she ever did in London.

My only complaint is that such a slow burn adds up to a very rushed ending. And although the ending wasn’t bad, or poorly written, it did come across to me as very rushed compared with the pacing of the rest of the novel. It is literally a graceful arc the whole way through the book leading up to the obvious ending where you know Richard will appear and then when he does it all feels very jerky. After 300 pages of background and build up, the climax is over in less than 10. It felt very stilted and like it didn’t mesh well with the rest of the novel. There was so much invested in the whole portrayal of Richard, the threat of him, that when he finally appeared, it was almost a let down as it was over so quickly and the reader wasn’t given the chance to fully appreciate his controlling, manipulative and abusive nature in person, so to speak.

Despite that, the novel was very enjoyable and easy to read. The pages turned quickly, I carried it around with me for the night, reading while I was cooking dinner, etc and I was invested in the story of Kate and also in the interwoven story of Alice Frewin. I just thought that the ending could’ve definitely added more to the story and increased the tension level to a greater level than it actually did.(less)

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Aug 11, 2010 Naushina rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "The bed I made" reminded me of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. I am not sure if I like that idea or not. Kate the protagonist arrives at the Isle of Wight to find that a local women, Alice is lost at sea, not sure if it is an accident or suicide, this scenario is similar to Rebecca.
Kate is running away from a relationship gone bad. Like Maxim de Winter she contemplates jumping off a cliff. She constantly thinks of Alice and is always trying to empathise with her feelings and then ends up in a r...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Evangeline rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, contemporary, fiction, mental-health-illness, tv-book-club, around-the-world

Disappointing. I expected a chilling thriller, but there wasn't a lot of action for much of the book. It actually took me ages to get through as it just wasn't holding my attention.

I liked the setting of the Isle of Wight in a quiet and wild winter, but the constant long explanations as to what road Kate was on and which shops she was next to did nothing for me as I haven't ever been to the island. I prefer fiction to stay completely fictional anyway, letting my imagination create the scene. Th...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Liesbeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Lonely 30 something woman in London meets charismatic man,and falls in love with him. He turns out to be a bit if a psychopath, so she flees to the Isle of Wight.
Very well written. Would probably have liked it more if I'd been to the Isle of Wight, which gets described in a lot of detail.
Good amount of tension, vaguely decent sub plot.
My main gripe is that I found myself getting increasingly irritated with Kate, the main character.
She nearly gets raped, but doesn't report it, just runs away.
Thre...more

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May 21, 2013 Jacqueline rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: burn-worthy

After loving The House at Midnight so much, I was very disappointed by this one.
I almost made it to one hundred pages before the boredom set it. After that, I skipped to the last thirty pages and found I hadn't missed a thing. The main character Kate, a translator, was unlikable and unrelatable, and not enough of her back story was revealed to give her any kind of depth. Richard, who we knew was a bit psychotic, was threaded throughout the story in short flashbacks which completely contradicted...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. If I could give it an extra half star, I would. I thought that Ms. Whitehouse's descriptive abilities were outstanding. In few words, she successfully captured the feel of the Isle of Wight in winter. The desolation, and the beauty, the wildlife and the water,and the incredibly claustrophobic feeling of being island-bound. Her characters were believable, even the innocent ones having a slight edge of danger around them. The tension built...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Izzy Holmes rated it 4 of 5 stars

For anyone who knows someone or has been a victim of stalking from a partner this is a very creepy book.
Kate has been in an abusive relationship and decides to leave the man who has hurt her and flee to a new life in the Isle of Wight. She takes the bare essentials of what she needs and only tells her closest friend Helen and her immediate family where she is. Ashamed of what she has been through and the way that she accepted his behaviour she has to cover up her real reason for being on the isl...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Rachel added it

Reading this now; it's definitely gripping and well written. One thing though, and yes I know it's fiction and not to be taken literally but it's irritating me in this novel (and has in similar stories) it's v v v easy to change your email address and mobile phone number!!!!!

Later that day (glad it's not dark yet) I've just finished the book. OMG I got so tense I sipped my wine faster and faster during the last 3 chapters! It was REALLY good, the pace was sustained throughout the whole book, her...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Alyson rated it 4 of 5 stars

A good read, but quite a long book which could perhaps have been reduced slightly, although the plot does makes you want to read on as she provides sufficient clues and intrigues into the characters and the background to where the story starts. Sometimes I think it got a bit bogged down in all the Isle of Wight location descriptions though, and, although it would obviously have spoiled the plot and story, I did lose a bit of patience with Kate for not having reported any of the incidents (attemp...more

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Mar 09, 2011 For Books' Sake rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Right from the off, the cold, grey prose slowly wraps itself around you. You feel the chill of the winter air on your skin, and a palpable sense of isolation and loneliness, which goes further than the coast and right into your soul. This is a beautiful environment, but distinctly devoid of joy. Why has Kate come here to escape…?
(Excerpt from full review of The Bed I Made by Lucie Whitehouse at For Books' Sake)

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Oct 04, 2010 Rachael rated it 3 of 5 stars

One fateful night, Kate meets Richard in a Soho bar and they begin a reckless and intense relationship. However, eighteen months later Kate flees the familiarity of her London life for the obscurity of a rented cottage on the Isle of Wight. It is winter on this tiny island and Kate finds herself extremely isolated. She learns about the disappearance of local woman, Alice Frewin.Meanwhile Richard has not given up on finding out where she is...
Sometimes a gripping thrilling page turner and at othe...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Kelly Mander rated it 2 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the story, how the tension was building throughout the book. But everything else I had problems with. I couldn't relate to Kate, the main character, at all. For starters the girl drinks a glass of wine on pretty much every page, but also given her sexual history she at one point is convinced to go out for a pub lunch by another character twiddling her nipples. Is this normal for women? Am I just being a prude? I agree with other readers too about the constant never-ending description o...more

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Oct 26, 2010 Sian Milne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely loved this! I could not put it down. Very compelling read, I just had to keep reading.

I loved the character of Kate. Even though at times she came across a little weak, I actually thought she was a very strong character. She let Richard control and get into her head but as soon as it turned physical she got out of it. Richard's character was extremely well written, a very convincing bad guy and extremely creepy. I actually found I was holding my breath at the end.
Even though to me i...more

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Jul 28, 2010 DubaiReader rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, 2010

Beautifully written.

I generally tend to avoid psychological thrillers but this fell into the mild category and wasn't scary enough to keep me up at night. Having been nominated as one of the TV Book Club Summer Reads for 2010, it was displayed prominantly in my local library so I thought I'd give it a go.
It was a good read, well written but only 4 1/2 stars due to the slightly rushed ending.

There were several threads to this story, firstly Kate's meeting and developing relationship with Richard...more

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Oct 15, 2010 Shar rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 08, 2011 CuteBadger rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A woman leaves busy London and moves to the quiet of the Isle of Wight after a relationship is over. However, in her mind she can't leave everything behind.

I felt like I'd read this before as I have so often read thrillers that are similar. The lead character is engaging and the winter landscape of the Isle of Wight isn't something I've seen in fictions before, but apart from that, the novel felt routine and cliched.

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May 09, 2013 Joanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked the descriptions of the setting in the Isle of Wight which was a bit different and worked well as a location for the plot. The description of the ex-boyfriend could have been more subtle, I am sure readers know what a psychopath is without needing a clinical definition and news clipping extracts. Not a bad read but not brilliant either, nice and short so would recommend for reading on a plane.

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Jul 11, 2011 Felicity rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't know what led me to picking this book up at my local library. I picked up a couple of authors that I recognised, another book that had a nice front jacket and then this.

I am so glad I did.

The other books fell by the bedside but this I did not put down until it was finished.

It was chilling, engaging, romantic, dangerous, lonely, intriguing... Everything you want in a novel. It's nicely written and the main character is easy to identify with. I felt on edge reading this book which is, I...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Precious Williams marked it as to-read

Whitehouse is a very gifted writer and it's an interesting book. But I'm feeling just the teeniest bit underwhelmed. Not because there is anything wrong with this book - it's extremely well written - I was just expecting a mind-blowing read because I've heard so much about this book. I'm only about a third into it, so it still may turn out to be mind-blowing...

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May 01, 2013 Nadine Le roux rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am so happy that I bought this book. Sofar this year,it is the best book I have read! The author took me on a trip where I felt my heart racing,the fear spreading throughout my body. It felt like I was the main character, experiencing this terrible time in her life! I can definately recommend this book! Love it and sad that I am finished with it!!!

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Feb 08, 2011 Kellie Schofield rated it 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book for its Isle of Wight setting. I was born there and was intrigued to see what the author would make of it. I loved it, the West Wight so accurately and vividly brought to life and Kate, so believable as somebody who is initially so taken in by her pyschopathic boyfriend made this a real page turner for me. I couldn't put it down.

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Mar 03, 2013 Jude Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although the plot was predictable, the author built the tension so that at the end it was a real page turner. I felt a bit annoyed by the main character - why not change your phone number and block the psycho's emails?! I think I underestimated him but I didn't really find him that believable.

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Oct 02, 2012 Abi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book. I did think there were a couple of slightly cringey cliched moments, and some of the narrative wasn't particularly imaginative considering the subject. I also thought the climax was over far too quickly, considering the build up, and wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped for. With a better ending this book would have been amazing!

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Apr 30, 2012 Donna Harland rated it 3 of 5 stars

this book was a slow burner, and in parts quite boring, i had to force myself to persevere, the ending was good if predictable, not really one of the best reads i ever had. too much talk about the location, not enough filler, couldnt understand what the characters were up to, wouldnt recommend it to anyone except as a sleeping therapy.

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Mar 12, 2010 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love reading books that describe places I know, and this really gives an accurate feeling of living on the Isle of Wight out of season. I know Yarmouth well, and can almost be the character as she visits familiar places. Apart from this, it's also a good story!

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May 15, 2011 Mira rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was very annoyed. This was a chick lit novel in disguise!!

Nothing really happened until the end.

If you've ever been to the Isle of Wight you'll recognise the descriptions and Whitehouse writes some pretty prose. T'was not for me though

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Jan 07, 2013 Danielle Tilston rated it 5 of 5 stars

Really fab actually! A totally believable story, especially if you've been through something similar, or know someone who has... Really gripping, and quite chilling! Don't let it put you off Yarmouth though... :)

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About Lucie Whitehouse

Lucie Whitehouse was born in Warkwickshire in 1975, read Classics at Oxford University and now lives in London. She is author of The House at Midnight.

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