"'An enthralling, layered triumph' SUNDAY TIMES, Thriller of the Month
'A richly enjoyable thriller' THE TIMES, Thriller of the Year
'An elegant, provocative, twisting thriller… hugely entertaining and beautifully written' CHRIS WHITAKER
'So brilliant I stayed up into the early hours to finish it' PRIMA, Book of the Month
Your mother is not who you think she is…
When the phone rings in Judy McVee’s Languedoc farmhouse, she knows her past has finally caught up with her. It’s her daughter, frantically asking why there are journalists on her London doorstep making terrible accusations.
Decades earlier, Judy was a girl with big plans – to ensnare a rich husband, to make something of herself, to rise above her upbringing and leave behind past tragedies. Wealthy young widower Rory Harrington seemed the perfect target – but Judy hadn’t reckoned on actually falling in love with him.
Now her daughter Francesca, who has secrets of her own, must come to terms with the realisation that the mother she thought she knew wasn’t real. Where has Judy gone – and was anything she told her family true?
Moving from Cape Cod to London, New York to the South of France, THE END OF SUMMER is a gripping, nuanced literary thriller from a writer at the top of her game."
"One of ‘the heirs to John le Carré’ The Times
‘A tremendous achievement’ WILLIAM BOYD
‘Behold the new Golden Age of Spy Kings’ Sunday Times
To betray, you must first belong…
In June 1934, Kim Philby met his Soviet handler, the spy Arnold Deutsch. The woman who introduced them was called Edith Tudor-Hart. She changed the course of 20th century history.
Then she was written out of it.
Drawing on the Secret Intelligence Files on Edith Tudor-Hart, along with the private archive letters of Kim Philby, this finely worked, evocative and beautifully tense novel – by the granddaughter of Kim Philby – tells the story of the woman behind the Third Man.
A future classic:
‘A fine achievement’ THE TIMES
‘Completely fascinating. A sophisticated and brilliantly constructed fictional retelling of a crucial relationship in 20th century espionage history. A tremendous achievement’ WILLIAM BOYD
‘Atmospheric and rigorously researched’ Sunday Times
‘Persuasive… involving… impressive’ LITERARY REVIEW
‘A fascinating contribution to the literature of the Cambridge spies by a clever, nimble writer with some genuine skin in the game’ CHARLES CUMMING
‘Complex and powerfully written… a persuasive repurposing of the lives of real-life figures’ i NEWSPAPER
‘A dextrous writer who gives her tale a quickening, thrillerish propulsion’ NEW STATESMAN
‘Mother, lover, revolutionary, spy… Philby’s stunning fourth novel thrusts this former bit-player in the Cambridge Spy scandal to the centre stage where she belongs… Her best book yet’ ERIN KELLY
‘Blending SIS files and imagined letters from her grandfather, Philby shines a spotlight on Edith Tudor-Hart as activist, spy and often desperate single, working mother’ SARAH VAUGHAN
‘Completely absorbing’ MICK HERRON
‘A tense and brilliantly structured story of power and intrigue’ JANE SHEMILT
‘Unforgettable… a fascinating exploration of a key moment in history and a stunning piece of fiction’ HOLLY WATT"
"‘A timely, gripping and morally complex thriller’ MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘Philby is a skilled and evocative writer’ FINANCIAL TIMES
Two women are found dead.
Both had a secret.
Both had a choice.
Artemis leaves the remote Greek island she grew up on to start a shiny new life in 1990s London with her British husband, a successful entrepreneur. Finally, she has escaped the ghosts of her past. Until she is found hanging from the stairs of her beautiful family home.
Two decades later, the apparent suicide of an heiress uncannily mirrors Artemis’ mysterious death. And when the ensuing investigation uncovers links to a criminal cartel, National Crime Agency officer Madeleine Farrow begins to pull apart the web of deceit surrounding the two women.
THE SECOND WOMAN is a deeply unsettling, brilliantly gripping story of a family legacy built upon lies.
Secrets can be suffocating… especially in the wrong hands.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
‘I’m addicted to the deadly glamour of Charlotte Philby’s novels’ ERIN KELLY
‘Gripping’ CRIME MONTHLY
‘A page-turning thriller … Philby has created a new sort of spy novel – approaching this world of skulduggery and intrigue from an entirely unique perspective. This is a clever, gripping, unsettling and thoroughly entertaining read’ HOLLY WATT
‘Her thrillers have been a game-changer for the spy novel’ DAILY EXPRESS
‘A gripping novel that spans decades and continents’ DAILY MIRROR
‘A stylish, heart-racing thriller’ YOU MAGAZINE, MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘Brilliant’ BELLA MAGAZINE
Following on from Part of the Family and A Double Life, this finely worked novel concludes Charlotte Philby’s triptych about the choices women might make when under pressure’ THE TIMES"
"The Times Thrillers of the Year 2020
’Superbly crafted with heart-stopping twists and chills galore. A new star has arrived in the thriller firmament’ The Times, Book of the Month
Gabriela is a senior negotiator in the Foreign Office. When she returns to her young family after a seven-month stint in Moscow, something doesn’t seem right.
Isobel is a journalist on the local paper in Camden. After witnessing a violent attack, she starts to investigate. But someone saw her watching, and is making themselves known in increasingly frightening ways.
As Gabriela’s life begins to unravel, Isobel gets closer to the truth, and the two women’s lives converge in this deeply chilling examination of deceit.
Reader reviews for A Double Life
‘A sensational story packed full of twists. What an unbelievable book, I'm absolutely flabbergasted by the ending… it's a cliffhanger, so I hope Philby is already working on a sequel because I NEED to know what happens next’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A riveting and tense thriller exploring the actions of two women whose lives are about to collide’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Can’t wait for book 3!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Great read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Amazingly brilliant’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Loved loved LOVED! I was hooked after the very first chapter. Engrossed in the story all the way through. The end hit me like a tonne of bricks!!! CANNOT WAIT for the 3rd book!!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Complex, chilling, fascinating. LOVED it’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Addictive’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Chilling’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Gripping’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Praise for A Double Life
‘I was utterly gripped’ LUCY FOLEY
‘I fell into the vivid, frightening world Charlotte Philby creates so skilfully and didn't resurface until long after I'd turned the last page’ JANE CASEY
‘A Double Life confirms Charlotte Philby as the master of a sub-genre she basically invented’ ERIN KELLY
‘Brilliantly executed and tense’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Terribly compelling… persuasive and absorbing’ OBSERVER
‘A pacy, gripping read that kept us on the edge of our seats’ INDEPENDENT"
"SOMEONE IS WATCHING
SOMEONE SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD TRUST
SOMEONE DETERMINED TO MAKE HER PAY
On the surface, Anna Witherall has the perfect life. Married to her university boyfriend David, she has an enviable job, beautiful home, and gorgeous three-year-old twin daughters, Stella and Rose. Their competent and capable nanny, Maria, is practically part of the family.
But beneath the veneer of success and happiness, Anna is hiding a dark secret, one that threatens to unravel everything she has worked so hard to create. Only one thing is certain: to protect her children, she must betray them.
‘Compelling and complex – a compulsive read’ Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange
‘Everyone has an agenda in this intriguing exploration of deceit and duplicity, as Philby ratchets up the paranoia to Highsmithian levels’ Guardian
‘An enigmatic and slippery beast, a cool new generation of spy novel. Just as the characters play cat and mouse with one another, so does the author with her readers – it’s a guessing game right to the end and I turned the last page with my heart pounding. Recommended’ LOUISE CANDLISH
‘I devoured this beautifully written, intricately wrought and unique blend of spy thriller and domestic suspense. The twists keep coming, right down to that chilling last line’ ERIN KELLY"
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