Monster Love is the debut novel of English author Carol Topolski, published in 2008 by Fig Tree,[1] an imprint of Penguin and was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction.

[3] Set in an affluent Manchester suburb[4] it concerns Brendan and Sherilyn Guttridge and their daughter Samantha, who has not been seen for weeks.

[5] In an interview with Amazon.co.uk the author reveals 'I wanted to explore what lies behind the kind of tabloid headlines that scream "PERVERT!

'[6] The author herself is a practicing psychoanalytic psychotherapist and in her professional life she has 'struggled to discover what froths behind masks and make sense of things that often appear senseless'.

[7] Alex Larman writing in The Guardian praises the first half of the book and its 'psychological acuity' but is disappointed by its "slow decline into more routine 'blame the parents' plotting".