The Spin has it all

5 stars

The Spin takes the reader back in time to the turbulent 60s in a story I found compelling and unmissable. Rose is a pregnant housewife who has a breakdown, of sorts, triggered by the colour television whilst away with her husband and daughter. Treatment seemed to help but years later she has another that leads to questions regarding her treatment and the cause. Leo, her husband, suspects things are not as they seem and struggles against the tide to rescue his wife from the medical establishment who insists on holding her against her will. In parallel daughter Melinda is led astray by a boyfriend keen on dodging the draft. As she heads off on her own adventure in the wider world Leo is forced into drastic action if he wants to save Rose.

Oddly, this isn't my first woman-held-by-medical-professionals-against-her-will type novel. There's something deeply troubling about that scenario that gets me in the gut. I cannot image the frustration of not being taken seriously and forced to stay somewhere whilst medicated to make you compliant. The Spin ticked that box with ease helped by the broader drama of Leo's dawning realisation and Melinda's sojourn to San Francisco. Maybe it was the time period and political unrest or the expectation of a certain level of comportment within society but I was desperate to see where this story would lead.

To balance the drama with a bit of levity we were given Leo's mother. She is a real hoot and a character anyone with a bothersome mother-in-law will easily recognise! Fun, tense, worrying, The Spin had it all and was a real pleasure to read.