April 2011 Book of the Month.

A brilliantly plotted thriller from the author of Chocolat. This tale of a highly dysfunctional family is gripping, humorous and ever so slightly chilling. Joanne Harris lures the reader in from the opening lines and creates a character whose dark desires and fantasies are revealed through his web journal. Joanne Harris weaves a chilling tale of disguise and betrayal to create one of her darkest and most audacious books yet.  It's a real page turner too.

Comparison: Jane Fallon, Kate Atkinson, Ian McEwan
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Synopsis

'Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child, timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer'. Blueeyedboy is the brilliant new novel from Joanne Harris: a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Told through posts on a webjournal called badguysrock, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life on the internet.

Reviews

'delivers an almighty twist in the tale late on...brilliatnly atmospheric and at times heartbreaking/  The Times

'An ingenious gripping read' Express

'Engrossing... a novel of unusual complexity' mail on Sunday

'Brilliantly written, plotted and insightful - beward unreliable narrators along with a huge plot twist at the end' Mirror

About the Author

Joanne Harris is the author of the Whitbread-shortlisted Chocolat (made into a major film starring Juliette Binoche), Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners, Holy Fools, Jigs & Reels, and, with Fran Warde, The French Kitchen: A Cookbook. She lives in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, with her husband and daughter.   Fellow novelist ANNE BERRY on JOANNE HARRIS I have thoroughly enjoyed all Joanne Harris’s books but Gentlemen and Players I quite simply adored. I loved the character Roy Straightley, an aging Classic’s teacher with a dicky heart, clinging tenaciously to honest old values, his delightfully ironic sense of humour, his warmth, his dedication. In his secure hands we are led into such a gripping story with so many twist and turns that my only sadness was that it had to end. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation