Ille R. Liscinski

Caligula Complex: The Emerald Buddha, a Touch of Gold Ille R. Liscinski

Penny Cradock, the likeable heroine of this two-part social satire, is forty-something and barely in control of the suburban madhouse she calls home: the house, the garden, the shed, the pool, the people! They're nuts, and none more so than Penny's raging bull psychiatrist husband, the demonic Doctor Darcy! Darcy favours Freud and a hands-on approach to his female clients, especially Marianne von Berghof. She's young, blonde, needy - and staying at Cradock Castle for treatment. Surely Penny is too nice to survive in this creek full of Freudian crocodiles? Maybe a trip to Thailand is the answer. Can an Emerald Buddha statuette and a handsome vet called Noel save her life for her - and her marriage? Caligula Complex is a fine mix of comedy, satire and family drama. Readers who have touched the magic lamp of psychotherapy and counselling will relish the wry humour and the redemptive possibilities offered by sex, love and self-discovery - just as Penny does!