Books like This sweet sickness by Patricia Highsmith
David Kelsey is a gifted scientist who resides in a modest boarding house. In his secluded routine, he claims to spend weekends visiting his supposedly ailing mother at a nursing home, though she has been dead for years. On the surface, David presents himself as a caring son, but beneath his polite façade lies a relentless pursuit: to win back Annabelle, a young woman who once spurned him. Believing that a persona transformation might change her mind, he carefully constructs a new identity each weekend, masking his true intentions. His fixation grows; the lines between performance and reality blur, drawing him deeper into dark intrigue and escalating criminal actions. As his obsession intensifies, the stakes rise, forcing viewers to question moral boundaries and the nature of longing.
First publish date: 1960
Genre: Thriller/Psychological Thriller
Authors: Patricia Highsmith
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