Thomas Spencer doesn’t care what you think of him. It really doesn’t matter to him whether you like him or not. Nor whether he gets fired from a job he had no desire to take in the first place. It’s not because he’s privileged (although he is). The Spencers of New York are quite well off, and Thomas’ family can pull strings for him in the event he finds himself in need. But he doesn’t. Mostly due to the fact that he shrugs off whatever unpleasantness comes his way and doesn’t bother to think about how things could have been different. Well, maybe he sometimes thinks about what he might have done differently, but it doesn’t occur to him to worry about it. Or the repercussions of his actions.

"[T]he story is engaging enough to move readers along with a sort of morbid curiosity. There’s something about Thomas Spencer, as awful as he is, that compels a person to keep turning the pages."

You see, Thomas Spencer is a sociopath. And he’s here to tell you his story, from start to finish. Even from childhood, he finds himself annoyed by his little brother, Jaime, in almost every aspect of their lives. So as soon as he can, Thomas moves overseas, to London, away from the meddling irritations of his family. There he sets out to prove himself. Neither people nor scruples will stand in his way. He simply claws his way to the top however it suits him, destroying whoever gets in his path. As he works to make a name for himself, Thomas attracts the attention of Roy Parker, a man with a similarly amoral viewpoint and a personal ambition to climb the political ladder. Their businesses --- and fates --- become interwoven. They form an unholy alliance, you might say, one that lasts a lifetime.

Back in ad school, for some odd reason, Esther, an outstanding classmate, falls in love with Thomas. This is remarkable especially because Esther is not only the best of the best, she’s also at the top of the ethics and morality scale. There must be some truth to the old adage that women find bad boys attractive. As for Thomas, he sees in Esther something he does not see in other women, and sets out to make her his own. In fact, she becomes an obsession. He convinces himself he cannot go on without her. Naturally, though, he will always have a string of bedmates. But they don’t matter to him except in how they pleasure him. When he grows bored with a lover, he amuses himself by finding ways to torture her, psychologically or with threats. He is not one to relinquish control, whether his interest has waned or not. Besides, ruining lives becomes a kind of sick hobby. Simply put, Thomas is a bad person, and he will prove it to you every chance he gets.

STORY OF A SOCIOPATH is a giant undertaking, with over 800 pages. It’s impossible not to get wrapped up in Thomas’ life. However, the book could have used more rigorous editing as it seemed overlong in places and, on occasion, repetitive. That said, the story is engaging enough to move readers along with a sort of morbid curiosity. There’s something about Thomas Spencer, as awful as he is, that compels a person to keep turning the pages. Fortunately, the despicable Thomas has Esther to balance good and evil so there’s at least a glimmer of hope, albeit sometimes false. Yes, you’ll want to read on, if only to discover who wins in the end.