Set in London, Outlier is an opposites-attract, angsty romance that features neurodivergency and some major grovelling. Vicky is the titular outlier. Spectacularly beautiful and independently wealthy, her autism affects her everyday life, along with childhood trauma, and her amazing ability to remember everything she’s been told, even as far back as childhood. Mike is an old family friend so he and Vicky have known each other forever, and Vicky has always had a massive crush on him. Mike is a woodworker, making beautiful furniture which he sells for high prices to well-to-do Londoners. He’s got a chip (hah!) on his shoulder about working with his hands, and is easily offended by perceived slights about his trade.

The book opens after Vicky has commissioned a coffee table from Mike. She thinks that getting him to make – and deliver – the table is a great way to begin a conversation, and maybe even proposition him. Mike delivers the table, and Vicky stumbles through an excruciating come-on. Unfortunately, Mike has his own baggage, and while he is attracted to Vicky, he assumes she is just another posh girl looking for a bit of rough. They misunderstand each other, and Mike storms out, convinced of Vicky’s shallowness. This sets off a meltdown for Vicky and she retreats into herself. When her family find her, but she’s dehydrated and disoriented, having been curled up under the coffee table for days.

Mike has complicated feelings for Vicky, a strong attraction along with a bunch of mistaken beliefs about her. When Mike finds out about her autism and realises he has misjudged her, so much of her behaviour is clearer to him and his feelings of hostile attraction change to affection. He’s very protective and she needs some of that.

While Outlier is a standalone, it’s part of an interconnected world and many of the characters from the other books are important here; but the trouble is, there are a lot of them. You can read this one on its own, but it will be more interesting if you know who is who – I suggest reading the first two in this series (Daydreamer and Gold Digger) to catch up.

Vicky not only navigates her autism, she also has suffered displacement and abuse, and her complicated family background only make this worse. Vicky is the illegitimate daughter of the late Duke of Buckingham and spent some of her childhood in the current Duke’s home. The Duke’s mother Margot had, unsurprisingly, mixed feelings when a six-year-old girl was dropped at her home with no warning. At the time Vicky was non-verbal which made things even more complicated. It’s only now, with Mike’s influence and help, that the source of Vicky’s past mutism is coming to light, along with details about her abusive family. Margot is an important secondary character, a meddler who manages to make everything better for Vicky, and worse for Mike, so there is a lot to untangle. Mike rescues Vicky from a meltdown at a formal event (seen from a different perspective in Gold Digger) and this precipitates not only the beginnings of a relationship between Mike and Vicky, but a whole lot of family messiness as secrets unravel.

Yes, there’s a lot of angst, but I loved the comedy between Vicky and Mike. The scene where she gives her first blow job is hilarious as she wants step by step guidance, a tough call for Mike!

Many authors have a throughline or theme they return to, and for Susie Tate it’s forgiveness and redemption, specifically the male grovel. Mike’s is one of her very best ones (they are all good) and we get to see him earning Vicky’s trust. That these two are in love is not in doubt (except by Vicky). Mike is interesting – he is abrasive and judgemental, yet he stands up for Vicky, even before he unpacks her history. My quibbles are that the secondary characters are one dimensional, especially Vicky’s mother and for a book of this length, there are too many people to keep track of. I’d like to have seen more nuance in the way characters revealed themselves.

I love Susie Tate’s books and I’ve read them all. She has plenty to say about neurodiversity and trauma, often returns to the idea that people are not always what they seem, and many of her characters, like Mike, suffer from making assumptions too quickly.

For an easy read, with angst and great grovel, I recommend Outlier!