In 2017, The Chain writer and journalist Chimene Suleyman visited an abortion clinic with her boyfriend. It had been a difficult and distressing decision, but one they’d made together. Or so she’d thought. Returning home, she discovers that not only has her previously supportive partner disappeared from her life, but he’s robbed her flat on the way out.

After stumbling across a disturbing social media post, Suleyman gradually uncovers the tale of a serial abuser. The man who’d convinced her he was an autistic creative with a dying mother is revealed to be a couch-surfing, would-be comedian who lives to scam women. As dozens of his former girlfriends unite, forming The Chain that gives the book its title, Suleyman dissects his misogynistic, deeply unfunny comedy sets to brilliant effect, and asks why abusers from Jimmy Savile to R Kelly have been allowed to spout their poison in public without being unmasked.

While the identity of her ex is kept secret – obsessive Google searches have yet to uncover him, unfortunately – Suleyman is admirably unafraid to share her own story in the service of others. An infuriating, uncomfortable yet vitally important read, it speaks to the ultimate triumph of sisterhood over sexism.