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Peter Swanson's debut novel, The Girl With a Clock for a Heart (2014), was described by Dennis Lehane as 'a twisty, sexy, electric thrill ride' and in the Observer as 'very hard not to read in one sitting'. He lives with his wife and cat in Somerville, Massachusetts.
The exceptionally twisty - and twisted - new thriller from the author of Rules for Perfect Murders After a whirlwind, fairytale romance, Abigail Baskin marries freshly-minted Silicon Valley millionaire Bruce Lamb. For their honeymoon, he whisks her away to an exclusive retreat at a friend's resort off the Maine coast on Heart Pond Island. But once there, Abigail's perfect new life threatens to crash down around her as she recognises one of their fellow guests as the good looking, charismatic stranger who weeks earlier had seduced her at her own Bachelorette party...
'They had a secret, the two of them, and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret.' When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house in West Dartford, Mass., they're relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial immediately next door. When they're invited over for dinner, however, things take a sinister turn when Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study. Could this charming, mild-mannered College Professor really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen, whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication, could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn't seem to believe her, and so, forced together, Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who, if anyone, is really in danger? From its deeply unsettling opening, Peter Swanson, the master of contemporary domestic thrillers, fashions a novel as brilliant, dark, coruscating and surprising as Patricia Highsmith and Ira Levin at their very best.
A Maxim Jakubowski selected title. Swanson's follow up to the gripping and dark The Kind Worth Killing is equally suspenseful although its characters are less obviously twisted at first sight and sports a Rear Window Hitchcockian feel to it that quickly grips you and forces you to read into the night. A London art student, still traumatised by a terrible past encounter, swaps flats with a distant cousin and moves to Boston where she gradually begins to interact with other tenants and occupants of her building as an investigation into a murder in a nearby apartment gets under way. Fragile, emotional, Kate Priddy appears, initially, to be the perfect victim-in-waiting but Swanson cleverly deflects the cliches and paces the revelations until almost all who surround her are tainted by suspicion, and the action swings between Boston and London and fear grips in a vice. Edgy all along and builds to an explosive climax. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
A Maxim Jakubowski selected title. Swanson's follow up to the gripping and dark The Kind Worth Killing is equally suspenseful although its characters are less obviously twisted at first sight and sports a Rear Window Hitchcockian feel to it that quickly grips you and forces you to read into the night. A London art student, still traumatised by a terrible past encounter, swaps flats with a distant cousin and moves to Boston where she gradually begins to interact with other tenants and occupants of her building as an investigation into a murder in a nearby apartment gets under way. Fragile, emotional, Kate Priddy appears, initially, to be the perfect victim-in-waiting but Swanson cleverly deflects the cliches and paces the revelations until almost all who surround her are tainted by suspicion, and the action swings between Boston and London and fear grips in a vice. Edgy all along and builds to an explosive climax. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
Chosen as a Richard and Judy Book Club selection Autumn 2015. Shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award 2015. US author Swanson confirms the promise of his excellent debut The Girl with a Clock for a Heart with an oustanding suspense tale that will be vying for awards by the end of the year. Beginning, Highsmith and Hitchcock-style, with two strangers meeting on a plane and, jokingly plotting the murder of an unfaithful wife, this quickly veers into deeply dark territory with heartstopping twists you just don't see coming and the wicked portrait of an anti-heroine with a soul of glass and a surfeit of concealed evil, the likes of which you will be both seduced and appalled by, and a memorable creation in the annals of villainy to put alongside Amy of GONE GIRL fame. To say this is gripping is an understatement, a perfect thriller that will haunt your nights and days forever, and the sort of novel that renews your love for crime fiction. Maxim Jakubowski's February 2015 Book of the Month. Sarah Broadhurst's view... A dual-voiced psychological thriller jumping between Ted and Lily. Ted’s wife is being unfaithful and he dreams of killing her and her lover. Lily is happy to do it for him. They met at Heathrow when their flight was delayed, drunk perhaps a tad too much and then opened up their hearts. We, the reader, learn that Lily, aged 9, believed the next-door neighbour had sexual desires for her. Aged 14 (a few sections later) she kills him and drops his body down the disused well. Jump to Ted’s domestic problems and Lily’s thirst for blood returns. This is fast-paced, cinematic stuff. Will she, won’t she, can she get away with it and what will happen next? Truly suspenseful and chilling stuff.
Chosen as a Richard and Judy Book Club selection Autumn 2015. Shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award 2015. Maxim Jakubowski's February 2015 Book of the Month. US author Swanson confirms the promise of his excellent debut The Girl with a Clock for a Heart with an oustanding suspense tale that will be vying for awards by the end of the year. Beginning, Highsmith and Hitchcock-style, with two strangers meeting on a plane and, jokingly plotting the murder of an unfaithful wife, this quickly veers into deeply dark territory with heartstopping twists you just don't see coming and the wicked portrait of an anti-heroine with a soul of glass and a surfeit of concealed evil, the likes of which you will be both seduced and appalled by, and a memorable creation in the annals of villainy to put alongside Amy of GONE GIRL fame. To say this is gripping is an understatement, a perfect thriller that will haunt your nights and days forever, and the sort of novel that renews your love for crime fiction. Sarah Broadhurst's view... A dual-voiced psychological thriller jumping between Ted and Lily. Ted’s wife is being unfaithful and he dreams of killing her and her lover. Lily is happy to do it for him. They met at Heathrow when their flight was delayed, drunk perhaps a tad too much and then opened up their hearts. We, the reader, learn that Lily, aged 9, believed the next-door neighbour had sexual desires for her. Aged 14 (a few sections later) she kills him and drops his body down the disused well. Jump to Ted’s domestic problems and Lily’s thirst for blood returns. This is fast-paced, cinematic stuff. Will she, won’t she, can she get away with it and what will happen next? Truly suspenseful and chilling stuff.
In a Boston bar, George Foss catches sight of a woman from his past, someone he has been trying to forget ever since, as much in love with as in dread of her. When she asks for his help, he is unavoidably drawn into a dizzying maelstrom of intrigue, crime and violence which soon proceeds to destroy his life, piece by piece, day by day. Grown up man seduced into depths of deception by a femme fatale is not a new theme by far, but this modern variation has all the pace of the best genre movies and proves a landslide of emotions, red herrings, colourful villains and breathless action. Betrayal sits on every corner, and beware of women who are both beautiful and not what they seem. Why do men never learn the essential lessons?
A Maxim Jakubowski selected title. In a Boston bar, George Foss catches sight of a woman from his past, someone he has been trying to forget ever since, as much in love with as in dread of her. When she asks for his help, he is unavoidably drawn into a dizzying maelstrom of intrigue, crime and violence which soon proceeds to destroy his life, piece by piece, day by day. Grown up man seduced into depths of deception by a femme fatale is not a new theme by far, but this modern variation has all the pace of the best genre movies and proves a landslide of emotions, red herrings, colourful villains and breathless action. Betrayal sits on every corner, and beware of women who are both beautiful and not what they seem. Why do men never learn the essential lessons?
After a whirlwind, fairytale romance, Abigail Baskin marries freshly-minted Silicon Valley millionaire Bruce Lamb. For their honeymoon, he whisks her away to an exclusive retreat at a friend's resort off the Maine coast on Heart Pond Island. But once there, Abigail's perfect new life threatens to crash down around her as she recognises one of their fellow guests as the good looking, charismatic stranger who weeks earlier had seduced her at her own Bachelorette party... '[Swanson is] in the ranks of the killer elite alongside Tana French and Gillian Flynn. He's the real deal.' Joe Hill
A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK 'Fiendish good fun' ANTHONY HOROWITZ If you want to get away with murder, play by the rules Years ago Malcolm Kershaw wrote a list of his 'Eight Favourite Murders' for his Old Devils mystery bookshop blog. Among others, it included those from Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train and Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Now, just before Christmas, Malcolm finds himself at the heart of an investigation - as an FBI agent believes someone may be re-enacting each of the murders on his list. Can the killer be stopped before they get away with eight perfect murders? 'An ingenious game of cat-and-mouse' The Times 'Never less than enthralling' Daily Mail 'Tremendously enjoyable' Sunday Mirror
From a master of suspense... Eight classic murders. A single crime obsessive. Countless thrilling twists. A series of unsolved murders with one thing in common: each of the deaths bears an eerie resemblance to the crimes depicted in classic mystery novels. The deaths lead FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey to mystery bookshop Old Devils. Owner Malcolm Kershaw had once posted online an article titled 'My Eight Favourite Murders,' and there seems to be a deadly link between the deaths and his list - which includes Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train and Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Can the killer be stopped before all eight of these perfect murders have been re-enacted?
'Fiendish good fun' ANTHONY HOROWITZ If you want to get away with murder, play by the rules A series of unsolved murders with one thing in common: each of the deaths bears an eerie resemblance to the crimes depicted in classic mystery novels. The deaths lead FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey to mystery bookshop Old Devils. Owner Malcolm Kershaw had once posted online an article titled 'My Eight Favourite Murders,' and there seems to be a deadly link between the deaths and his list - which includes Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train and Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Can the killer be stopped before all eight of these perfect murders have been re-enacted?
A Sunday Times and Observer Thriller of the Month 'Deliciously good . . . Swanson's best thriller yet.' Observer 'Gripping, twisty . . . I could not put it down.' Alafair Burke When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house, they're relieved to meet another childless couple in their neighbourhood, Matthew and Mira. But when they're invited over for dinner, Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study. Could this mild-mannered schoolteacher really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen might know about? And even if she's right, who would believe her?
'They had a secret, the two of them, and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret.' When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house in West Dartford, Mass., they're relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial immediately next door. When they're invited over for dinner, however, things take a sinister turn when Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study. Could this charming, mild-mannered College Professor really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen, whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication, could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn't seem to believe her, and so, forced together, Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who, if anyone, is really in danger? From its deeply unsettling opening, Peter Swanson, the master of contemporary domestic thrillers, fashions a novel as brilliant, dark, coruscating and surprising as Patricia Highsmith and Ira Levin at their very best.
'They had a secret, the two of them, and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret.' When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house in West Dartford, Mass., they're relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial immediately next door. When they're invited over for dinner, however, things take a sinister turn when Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study. Could this charming, mild-mannered College Professor really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen, whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication, could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn't seem to believe her, and so, forced together, Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who, if anyone, is really in danger? From its deeply unsettling opening, Peter Swanson, the master of contemporary domestic thrillers, fashions a novel as brilliant, dark, coruscating and surprising as Patricia Highsmith and Ira Levin at their very best.
'He's the real deal...' JOE HILL 'Another read in one sitting from the best-selling Swanson.' METRO 'A brilliantly original premise, delivered with panache.' CLARE MACKINTOSH On the eve of his college graduation, Harry is called home by his step-mother Alice, to their house on the Maine coast, following the unexpected death of his father. But who really is Alice, his father's much younger second wife? In a brilliant split narrative, Peter Swanson teases out the stories and damage that lie in her past. And as her story entwines with Harry's in the present, things grow increasingly dark and threatening - will Harry be able to see any of it clearly through his own confused feelings?
On the eve of his college graduation, Harry is called home by his step-mother Alice, to their house on the Maine coast, following the unexpected death of his father. But who really is Alice, his father's much younger second wife? In a brilliant split narrative, Peter Swanson teases out the stories and damage that lie in her past. And as her story entwines with Harry's in the present, things grow increasingly dark and threatening - will Harry be able to see any of it clearly through his own confused feelings?
'He's the real deal...' JOE HILL 'Another read in one sitting from the best-selling Swanson.' METRO 'A brilliantly original premise, delivered with panache.' CLARE MACKINTOSH On the eve of his college graduation, Harry is called home by his step-mother Alice, to their house on the Maine coast, following the unexpected death of his father. But who really is Alice, his father's much younger second wife? In a brilliant split narrative, Peter Swanson teases out the stories and damage that lie in her past. And as her story entwines with Harry's in the present, things grow increasingly dark and threatening - will Harry be able to see any of it clearly through his own confused feelings?
'He's the real deal...' JOE HILL 'Another read in one sitting from the best-selling Swanson.' METRO 'A brilliantly original premise, delivered with panache.' CLARE MACKINTOSH On the eve of his college graduation, Harry is called home by his step-mother Alice, to their house on the Maine coast, following the unexpected death of his father. But who really is Alice, his father's much younger second wife? In a brilliant split narrative, Peter Swanson teases out the stories and damage that lie in her past. And as her story entwines with Harry's in the present, things grow increasingly dark and threatening - will Harry be able to see any of it clearly through his own confused feelings?
'He's the real deal...' JOE HILL'Another read in one sitting from the best-selling Swanson.' METRO'A brilliantly original premise, delivered with panache.' CLARE MACKINTOSHOn the eve of his college graduation, Harry is called home by his step-mother Alice, to their house on the Maine coast, following the unexpected death of his father.But who really is Alice, his father's much younger second wife? In a brilliant split narrative, Peter Swanson teases out the stories and damage that lie in her past. And as her story entwines with Harry's in the present, things grow increasingly dark and threatening - will Harry be able to see any of it clearly through his own confused feelings?
'I loved it! A brilliantly original premise, delivered with panache.' CLARE MACKINTOSH, Sunday Times bestselling author of I See You Following a brutal attack, Kate Priddy makes the uncharacteristically bold decision of moving from London to Boston - in an apartment swap with her cousin, Corbin Dell. But soon after her arrival Kate makes a shocking discovery: Corbin's next-door neighbour, Audrey Marshall, may have been murdered. Far from home and emotionally unstable, her imagination playing out her every fear, who can Kate trust? As tantalizing as Rear Window, Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Talented Mr Ripley
The bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing returns with an electrifying psychological thriller As tantalizing as Rear Window, Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Talented Mr Ripley'I loved it! A brilliantly original premise, delivered with panache.' CLARE MACKINTOSH, Sunday Times bestselling author of I See YouFollowing a brutal attack by her ex-boyfriend, Kate Priddy makes an uncharacteristically bold decision after her cousin, Corbin Dell, suggests a temporary apartment swap - and she moves from London to Boston.But soon after her arrival Kate makes a shocking discovery: Corbin's next-door neighbour, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered. When the police begin asking questions about Corbin's relationship with Audrey, and his neighbours come forward with their own suspicions, a shaken Kate has few answers, and many questions of her own. Jetlagged and emotionally unstable, her imagination playing out her every fear, Kate can barely trust herself. so how can she trust any of the strangers she's just met?
