“If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”


Genre: Psychological Thriller

Rate: 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Endeavour Media

Goodreads Synopsis

Mary Webster’s reaction to her lover’s betrayal is off the chart…

Mary seems like an ordinary 46-year-old divorcee, beginning a new life in rural England, but she has depths of pent-up pain, the result of 20 years of marital infidelities and abuse. All she needs is a trigger to unleash savage emotions. When she becomes entangled with Jonas, a married man, Mary suddenly finds herself in the opposite role of the ‘other woman’. Jonas has a nasty streak, however, and taunts with the nursery rhyme ‘Mary, Mary quite contrary…’.

But when Mary uncovers Jonas’s web of seductive lies, betraying not only herself but his wife and several young village women, she plots her revenge and acts out the real meaning of the nursery rhyme…

As things go from bad to worse, Mary is driven over the edge of normality. Because Mary is not normal … she is damaged. Her only redeeming quality is her belief that she is acting for the greater good …

My Take

It’s been a while since I picked up a thriller that I enjoyed as much as I did The Judas Tree. The book follows the story of Mary as told by Mary through a story. Basically, it’s a story within a story and I have to admit, I was fascinated by that more than anything.

What I liked: The historical aspect of the story. If you’ve been reading Suckerforcoffe for a while now you are probably aware of how much I love historical fiction. Mary’s inspiration in the book, is Mary Tudor also known as Mary I the Queen of England and if you anything about this woman you know how extreme she was.

The plot twists I didn’t see coming and had my heart racing. I’m talking the twists that just sneak up on you yet makes sense being there. Along side that, even the predictable plot twists had me in suspense because they unravel so beautifully and just made my reading experience better!

The perfect coordination of the (2) nursery rhymes to the story. You have to read the book to understand how brilliant this concept is.

I have a love hate relationship with the characters especially Mary’s character. Reason being she actually does believe that she is ridding their little town off evil, but the extreme measures she takes to do that, phew!

What I didn’t like: Jonas. He is a sad, dark twisted man and even I am afraid of him. And he’s just a book character. My main problem is how he depicts and treats the women in the book is just a little too much.

At some point the book loses its plot and I felt like the ending was rushed.

“It’s a strange human failing that when a person is trusted, no one doubts their honesty.”


Susasn is a brilliant writer and this is a well crafted, well written book that had me hooked from the first sentence. Lies, betrayal, secrets and a drama filled book. Do I recommend it? Yes! Ps: You’ll love and be shocked by the genesis of the name Jusas Tree. I was!

I’m part of a blog tour organized by Endeavour media and you can find the rest of the schedule below.