It’s such a pleasure to have a return visit to Linda’s Book Bag from author CT Sullivan. Chris last stayed in with me some seven years ago in a post you’ll find here.
Today Chris has a change of genre and a new book to tell me about.
Let’s find out more:
Staying in with CT Sullivan
Welcome back to the blog Chris and thank you for staying in with me again. I know you’ve had a change of genre since we last spoke so which book have you brought along this evening?
I’ve brought my second psychological crime thriller, Fractured Web.
Fractured Web was published 29th May 2025. It is now receiving excellent reviews so I’d like to take this opportunity that you have so kindly offered to maintain the momentum in the awareness of my book.
It’s my pleasure. Tell us a bit about Fractured Web. Where did you get the idea?
The idea for this story came initially from a shocking newspaper article I read of a female teacher’s very questionable behaviour in her school. Shortly after, I met an old friend who was a retired female teacher. When I told her of the article she wasn’t at all surprised. After she had informed me of the comings and goings and at times fierce inhouse competition that existed at the various schools at which she worked, I realised I had my next book.
Aha! As I’m an ex-teacher Fractured Web has grabbed my attention immediately. Did you have a real school in mind as you wrote?
Fractured Web is set in Sir Montagu Web Grammar School, a beautiful eighteenth-century building in Battersea High Street. Actually, it was the school, name changed, that I attended for six years that also housed at different times, novelist Martin Amis and actors Melvyn Hayes and Buster Merryweather.
It’s now an independent school at which Prince George and Princess Charlotte were recently educated. So, I do have a vague and distant connection to the Royal Family which, I imagine, they are totally unaware of.
A claim to fame nonetheless! That’s quite an illustrious cast. What about the people in Fractured Web?
At the heart of the story is Wendy Jacks, who experiences scarring early childhood trauma in the shape of her mother’s scandalous affair and her father’s sudden departure. Her sense of frustration and loss is so deep her life is driven by a twisted sense of justice.
Now, her existence is one of manipulation and deceit. It’s when she becomes a teacher at the Web grammar school that her life begins to unravel with devastating consequences for herself and those around her.
Fractured Web sounds quite intense and incredibly intriguing. Am I right in thinking that?
Fractured Web explores the damaging effects of revenge and obsession. It’s a tale of suspense and moral ambiguity, where every action has a ripple effect that threatens the delicate web of our existence.
Sounds brilliant. How has Fractured Web been received by readers?
I have brought along this review.
Unpaid Book Review: Fractured Web by C.T. Sullivan
By Ralph Surman, published author and educator, after reading the book.
“C.T. Sullivan’s Fractured Web is an unflinchingly bold, utterly compelling psychological thriller that drags the reader deep into the murky waters of power, manipulation, and moral collapse within a seemingly ordinary school environment. What begins as a tale of family dysfunction in a quiet English village unfolds into a complex lattice of obsession, betrayal, and dangerously blurred boundaries.
From the chilling opening scenes of domestic conflict and teenage vengeance to the expertly drawn atmosphere of Sir Montague Web Grammar School, Sullivan creates an unsettling and richly layered world. The novel thrives on tension: personal, professional, and sexual. His characters, particularly Wendy Jacks, are drawn with sharp psychological insight.
Sullivan’s prose is clean and confident, with dialogue that crackles with realism and subtext. His ability to capture both the weary banter of seasoned staffroom regulars and the petty cruelty of teenage boys is impressive. The novel’s strength lies in its shifting perspectives and overlapping storylines.”
Wow! That’s amazing. You must be delighted with that response. What else have you brought along?
I have brought along a picture of my old grammar school in which the story was set. It provided me with a tangible location for Fractured Web where my many adventures and blueprint of this charismatic building remain a vivid memory.
That’s quite a building.
I’ve also brought a picture of The Bookshop, my garden lodge where I write.
Oh I’m so jealous. That looks like a wonderful writing space. Speaking of writing, would you mind sharing a couple of brief passages from Fractured Web?
Of course:
James sat in his car scouring the school car park. It was six-fifteen p.m. The October nights were drawing in. The gloomy square of concrete had just one light. It sat on top of a thin, towering metal pole situated at the far corner. His engine was off. Two blackbirds in a nearby tree were having an aggressive singing competition between them. His subconscious may have heard them. But his mind was focused.
It switched on to full alert when the figure of the headmaster appeared carrying his briefcase, climbed into his car and left the school premises. James followed. The head turned left out of the gates. James knew the area where his boss lived. He wasn’t going home that’s for sure, he thought.
And now, of course, we want to know where he’s off to!
Sir Montague Web Grammar School for Boys, known in-house as the Web, sat in five acres of prime real estate. It was situated on the outskirts of Battersea overlooking the unrelenting murk of the river Thames. It was one of less than two-hundred grammar schools in the UK having survived closure or merger with the country’s numerous comprehensive schools. Founded in the early eighteenth-century the building reeked of an age time was struggling to cling on to.
Inside the hallowed, red-bricked walls hope and expectation ruled. Silent corridors, on the sound of a shrill bell, were clogged in a matter of seconds. A swarm of grey flannels, striped ties and dark blue blazers dominated the scene. It was as if the bodies within were in a competition to see who could make the most noise.
I think I might have inspected a school like that in the past! Thanks so much for returning to the blog Chris. I love the sound of Fractured Web. I’ll give readers a few more details too:
Fractured Web
Fractured Web by C.T. Sullivan is a gripping tale that begins in the quiet village of Much Hadham, where rumors spread like wildfire, exposing the fragile lives of its inhabitants. At the heart of this story is Wendy Jacks, a seemingly ordinary girl whose childhood is marred by her mother’s scandalous affair and her father’s sudden departure. Growing up with a hardened heart, Wendy navigates life with a twisted sense of justice, setting her on a dark path of manipulation and deceit.
Twenty-six years later, as a science teacher, Wendy’s bottled-up rage manifests in sinister ways, leading to devastating consequences for herself and those around her.
Set against the backdrop of an elite grammar school, Fractured Web explores the themes of revenge, obsession and the lingering impact of childhood trauma. Sullivan masterfully weaves a tale of suspense and moral ambiguity, where every action has a ripple effect that could unravel the delicate web of life.
Fractured Web was published on 29th May 2025 and is available for purchase here.
About CT Sullivan
C T Sullivan is the author of crime thrillers, Reasonable Force, Fractured Web and travel book, Apple Insider, an Englishman in New York – a humorous and informative account of his three-month stay in Manhattan. During a successful career as a foreign exchange broker, he wrote and performed stand-up musical comedy to sporting and corporate audiences. He lives with his wife Deborah and golden labrador, Splosh, in Midhurst, West Sussex.
For further information visit Chris’s website or find him on Facebook and X @Sullyonair.
English (US) · 