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Holly Seddon is a full-time writer, living in the middle of Amsterdam with her husband James and a house full of children and pets. Holly has written for newspapers, websites and magazines since her early 20s after growing up in the English countryside, obsessed with music and books. Her first novel Try Not to Breathe was published worldwide in 2016 and became both a national and international bestseller. Don't Close Your Eyes is her second novel.
Click here to read an interview with Holly about her book Try Not to Breathe.
Author photo © James Seddon
An absorbing, twisting, uneasy reflection of a marriage, as it is being lived with an untold secret at its heart. Kate and Paul have been married for ten years, as they celebrate their anniversary Kate looks back to the time they met as children, and to what could lie ahead in their future. Holly Seddon has become a must-read author for me, each book has had different themes, even edged into different genres, yet the undeniable authenticity of each really shines through. Her writing feels heartfelt, honest, and she has the ability to create such tangible characters, I could turn to them, talk to them, explore their thoughts and feelings. I felt as though Kate was being candid as she spoke, yet information arrives gradually, slowly revealing truths, creating a feeling of uncertainty, building tension. I found myself holding my breath as the ending neared, wanting to know, yet almost afraid to reach for the answers. ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ is a cracking read, stimulating, engaging and also rather beautiful, I loved it.
A convincing, powerful, and dramatic psychological thriller. Twins Robin and Sarah are living separate lives, each face their own difficulties, yet danger beckons and life is about to get a lot more complicated. The story spins from Robin to Sarah, and from the present back to their childhood, each chapter swift and intense, as information is released and a picture starts to build from two different points of view. Holly Seddon held my thoughts to ransom as I started to mistrust everyone and everything, yet she allows a deep connection to the characters as sorrow and heartache form. The edges of the story ebb and flow within the rapidly moving, provocative central plot… and I could sense the huge rumbling force lurking just around the corner. ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ is an exciting second novel, breathtaking, yet incredibly realistic, and definitely worth reading, I can highly recommend it. ~ Liz Robinson July 2017 Book of the Month.
A convincing, powerful, and dramatic psychological thriller. Twins Robin and Sarah are living separate lives, each face their own difficulties, yet danger beckons and life is about to get a lot more complicated. The story spins from Robin to Sarah, and from the present back to their childhood, each chapter swift and intense, as information is released and a picture starts to build from two different points of view. Holly Seddon held my thoughts to ransom as I started to mistrust everyone and everything, yet she allows a deep connection to the characters as sorrow and heartache form. The edges of the story ebb and flow within the rapidly moving, provocative central plot… and I could sense the huge rumbling force lurking just around the corner. ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ is an exciting second novel, breathtaking, yet incredibly realistic, and definitely worth reading, I can highly recommend it. ~ Liz Robinson July 2017 Book of the Month.
One of our Books of the Year 2016. July 2016 Debut of the Month Penetrating and intense, ‘Try Not to Breathe’ is a chokingly dark debut thriller. Amy and Alex are the same age, Alex is divorced and drinking herself to an early grave, while Amy is trapped inside her own teenage mind in a hospital bed, 15 years after a brutal attack. Alex begins to investigate the assault, at the same time as she struggles to deal with her own demons. Fast moving chapters are headed with characters names and dates, and slide around in time from 1995 to 2011. Holly Seddon writes with a sharp intensity, casting at times a desperately sad shadow, yet there is still an element of hope that struggles for survival. There is more than one jigsaw with missing pieces here, which creates a balance to the storyline. Enough information is given to allow suspicions to grow, and flourish. As each piece slots into the jigsaw, and a clearer picture starts to emerge, the writing begins to feel lighter, just as the story moves on with a harsh and bleak intensity, ensuring this is a thought provoking and riveting read. Click here to read an interview with Holly Seddon about this book.
January 2016 Debut of the Month. Penetrating and intense, ‘Try Not to Breathe’ is a chokingly dark debut thriller. Amy and Alex are the same age, Alex is divorced and drinking herself to an early grave, while Amy is trapped inside her own teenage mind in a hospital bed, 15 years after a brutal attack. Alex begins to investigate the assault, at the same time as she struggles to deal with her own demons. Fast moving chapters are headed with characters names and dates, and slide around in time from 1995 to 2011. Holly Seddon writes with a sharp intensity, casting at times a desperately sad shadow, yet there is still an element of hope that struggles for survival. There is more than one jigsaw with missing pieces here, which creates a balance to the storyline. Enough information is given to allow suspicions to grow, and flourish. As each piece slots into the jigsaw, and a clearer picture starts to emerge, the writing begins to feel lighter, just as the story moves on with a harsh and bleak intensity, ensuring this is a thought provoking and riveting read. ~ Liz Robinson
Shortlisted for the Hearst Big Books Award, 2019 Sometimes a promise becomes a prison. Fearing eternal singledom, childhood friends Kate and Paul make the age-old vow that if they don't find love by thirty, they will marry each other. Years later, with the deadline of their 30th birthdays approaching, the unlikely couple decide to keep their teenage promise. After all, they are such good friends. Surely that's enough to make a marriage? Now, on the eve of their 10th wedding anniversary, they will discover that love between men and women is more complex, and more precarious, than they could ever have imagined. As Kate struggles with a secret that reaches far into their past, will the couple's vow become the very thing that threatens their future? Love Will Tear Us Apart is a moving and heart-breaking exploration of modern love and friendship, from the bestselling author of Try Not to Breathe.
Kate and Paul have been married for ten years. Childhood best friends who reconnected as adults, Paul now has a high-flying job while Kate looks after their two adorable children. Their friends think they're the perfect couple. Everything should be wonderful. But Kate has a secret. One she's sure Paul doesn't know. Because if he did, would he really love her as much as he says he does? Or would he decide that their life together isn't worth the vow he made all those years ago...?
Bestselling author, Holly Seddon, has delivered another page-turning and utterly enthralling novel.Sometimes a promise becomes a prison.Fearing eternal singledom, childhood friends Kate and Paul make the age-old vow that if they don't find love by thirty, they will marry each other. Years later, with the deadline of their 30th birthdays approaching, the unlikely couple decide to keep their teenage promise. After all, they are such good friends. Surely that's enough to make a marriage?Now, on the eve of their 10th wedding anniversary, they will discover that love between men and women is more complex, and more precarious, than they could ever have imagined. As Kate struggles with a secret that reaches far into their past, will the couple's vow become the very thing that threatens their future?Love Will Tear Us Apart is a moving and heart-breaking exploration of modern love and friendship, from the bestselling author of Try Not to Breathe.
An absorbing, twisting, uneasy reflection of a marriage, as it is being lived with an untold secret at its heart. Kate and Paul have been married for ten years, as they celebrate their anniversary Kate looks back to the time they met as children, and to what could lie ahead in their future. Holly Seddon has become a must-read author for me, each book has had different themes, even edged into different genres, yet the undeniable authenticity of each really shines through. Her writing feels heartfelt, honest, and she has the ability to create such tangible characters, I could turn to them, talk to them, explore their thoughts and feelings. I felt as though Kate was being candid as she spoke, yet information arrives gradually, slowly revealing truths, creating a feeling of uncertainty, building tension. I found myself holding my breath as the ending neared, wanting to know, yet almost afraid to reach for the answers. ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ is a cracking read, stimulating, engaging and also rather beautiful, I loved it.
For fans of Gillian Flynn, Laura Lippman, and Paula Hawkins comes Holly Seddon's arresting fiction debut-an engrossing thriller full of page-turning twists and turns, richly imagined characters, and gripping psychological suspense.
Robin and Sarah weren't the closest of twins. They weren't even that similar. But they loved each other dearly. Until, in the cruellest of domestic twists, they were taken from one another. Now, in her early 30s, Robin lives alone. Agoraphobic and suffering from panic attacks, she spends her days pacing the rooms of her house. The rest of the time she watches - watches the street, the houses, the neighbours. Until one day, she sees something she shouldn't... And Sarah? Sarah got what she wanted - the good-looking man, the beautiful baby, the perfect home. But she's just been accused of the most terrible thing of all. She can't be around her new family until she has come to terms with something that happened a long time ago. And to do that, she needs to track down her twin sister. But Sarah isn't the only person looking for Robin. As their paths intersect, something dangerous is set in motion, leading Robin and Sarah to fight for much more than their relationship...
A convincing, powerful, and dramatic psychological thriller. Twins Robin and Sarah are living separate lives, each face their own difficulties, yet danger beckons and life is about to get a lot more complicated. The story spins from Robin to Sarah, and from the present back to their childhood, each chapter swift and intense, as information is released and a picture starts to build from two different points of view. Holly Seddon held my thoughts to ransom as I started to mistrust everyone and everything, yet she allows a deep connection to the characters as sorrow and heartache form. The edges of the story ebb and flow within the rapidly moving, provocative central plot… and I could sense the huge rumbling force lurking just around the corner. ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ is an exciting second novel, breathtaking, yet incredibly realistic, and definitely worth reading, I can highly recommend it. ~ Liz Robinson July 2017 Book of the Month.
Robin and Sarah weren't the closest of twins. They weren't even that similar. But they loved each other dearly. Until, in the cruellest of domestic twists, they were taken from one another. Now, in her early 30s, Robin lives alone. Agoraphobic and suffering from panic attacks, she spends her days pacing the rooms of her house. The rest of the time she watches - watches the street, the houses, the neighbours. Until one day, she sees something she shouldn't... And Sarah? Sarah got what she wanted - the good-looking man, the beautiful baby, the perfect home. But she's just been accused of the most terrible thing of all. She can't be around her new family until she has come to terms with something that happened a long time ago. And to do that, she needs to track down her twin sister. But Sarah isn't the only person looking for Robin. As their paths intersect, something dangerous is set in motion, leading Robin and Sarah to fight for much more than their relationship...
A convincing, powerful, and dramatic psychological thriller. Twins Robin and Sarah are living separate lives, each face their own difficulties, yet danger beckons and life is about to get a lot more complicated. The story spins from Robin to Sarah, and from the present back to their childhood, each chapter swift and intense, as information is released and a picture starts to build from two different points of view. Holly Seddon held my thoughts to ransom as I started to mistrust everyone and everything, yet she allows a deep connection to the characters as sorrow and heartache form. The edges of the story ebb and flow within the rapidly moving, provocative central plot… and I could sense the huge rumbling force lurking just around the corner. ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ is an exciting second novel, breathtaking, yet incredibly realistic, and definitely worth reading, I can highly recommend it. ~ Liz Robinson July 2017 Book of the Month.
A juicy, powerful read featuring twin sisters who have drifted apart, and the shocking family secrets that bind themfor readers of The Woman in Cabin 10 and I Let You GoWhen the past knocks, someone must answer. In a bustling suburban neighborhood in Manchester, England, sits an unassuming house. There is no sign of life behind the unwashed windows, but Robin Marshall is inside. Driven by fears and obsessions, racked by anxiety, Robin is frantically pushing her body through punishing workouts, eating little, haunted by what happened to her family when she was a girl. Robin's only connection to the outside world is through her rear windows and the lives she spies upon in the apartment house across the way. Then a stranger starts pounding on her door. Sarah Marshall is Robin's twin, estranged from her sister after their parents' betrayal and a violation at the hands of a man she should have been able to trust. Sarah has recently lost custody of the child she loves more than anything and has set off on her own, hoping that somewhere in England she can find Robin, the braver twin, the rock star, the survivor, the savior. These two young women, polar opposites, cannot go on unless they reckon with the past. While Sarah, slowly unraveling, searches for her sister's hiding place, Robin sees another life hanging in the balance in the lighted windows across the street. It is a life only Robin can saveas long as she never looks away. In a novel that is stunning in its twists, shocks, and gripping psychological suspense, two sisters find themselves on the razor's edge of sanity. Untold secrets, a ghastly lie, and suffocating guilt hold them back. Only one astounding act can set them free. And one last revelation will leave readers gasping in surprise.Praise forDon't Close Your Eyes';[A] smartly plotted psychological thriller . . . [Holly] Seddon skillfully pieces together the now-estranged twins' lives. . . . Plenty of last-minute bombshells await.'Publishers Weekly Praise for Holly Seddon's Try Not to Breathe ';A razor-sharp, fast-paced plot and wonderfully complex characters . . . Not since The Girl on the Train have I been so captivated by a work of suspense.'Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of I Know a Secret ';Delivers the high-quality thrills and intriguing characters that readers demand in the best of psychological thrillers.'Associated Press ';A fast-paced debut about long-buried secrets and tangled truths.'Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Where They Found Her ';Try not to breathe, try not to make plans, try not to commit to anything in fact till you have finished [Holly Seddon's] debut novel, because we must warn you nowyou'll be fully hooked from page one.'Glamour (U.K.) ';Fascinating . . . Seddon's storytelling skills are strong and the book is engrossing.'Kirkus Reviews ';A brilliant, beautifully written thriller.'Augusten Burroughs, New York Timesbestselling author of Running with Scissors ';This gripping thriller about family and redemption will keep readers engaged to the very end.'Publishers Weekly
One of our Books of the Year 2016. July 2016 Debut of the Month Penetrating and intense, ‘Try Not to Breathe’ is a chokingly dark debut thriller. Amy and Alex are the same age, Alex is divorced and drinking herself to an early grave, while Amy is trapped inside her own teenage mind in a hospital bed, 15 years after a brutal attack. Alex begins to investigate the assault, at the same time as she struggles to deal with her own demons. Fast moving chapters are headed with characters names and dates, and slide around in time from 1995 to 2011. Holly Seddon writes with a sharp intensity, casting at times a desperately sad shadow, yet there is still an element of hope that struggles for survival. There is more than one jigsaw with missing pieces here, which creates a balance to the storyline. Enough information is given to allow suspicions to grow, and flourish. As each piece slots into the jigsaw, and a clearer picture starts to emerge, the writing begins to feel lighter, just as the story moves on with a harsh and bleak intensity, ensuring this is a thought provoking and riveting read. Click here to read an interview with Holly Seddon about this book.
For fans of Gillian Flynn, Laura Lippman, and Paula Hawkins comes Holly Seddon's arresting fiction debutan engrossing thriller full of page-turning twists and turns, richly imagined characters, and gripping psychological suspense. Some secrets never die. They're just locked away. Alex Dale is lost. Destructive habits have cost her a marriage and a journalism career. All she has left is her routine: a morning run until her body aches, then a few hours of forgettable work before the past grabs hold and drags her down. Every day is treading water, every night is drowning. Until Alex discovers Amy Stevenson. Amy Stevenson, who was just another girl from a nearby town until the day she was found unconscious after a merciless assault. Amy Stevenson, who has been in a coma for fifteen years, forgotten by the world. Amy Stevenson, who, unbeknownst to her doctors, remains locked inside her body, conscious but paralyzed, reliving the past. Soon Alex's routine includes visiting hours at the hospital, then interviews with the original suspects in the attack. But what starts as a reporter's story becomes a personal obsession. How do you solve a crime when the only witness lived but cannot tell the tale? Unable to tear herself away from her attempt to uncover the unspeakable truth, Alex realizes she's not just chasing a storyshe's seeking salvation. Shifting from present to past and back again, Try Not to Breathe unfolds layer by layer until its heart-stopping conclusion. The result is an utterly immersive, unforgettable debut. Praise for Try Not to Breathe';A brilliant, beautifully written thriller.'Augusten Burroughs, New York Times bestselling author of Running with Scissors ';A razor-sharp plot and wonderfully complex characters . . . Not since The Girl on the Train have I been so captivated by a work of suspense.'New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen';A fast-paced debut aboutlong-buried secrets and tangled truths.'New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight ';Engrossing . . . Seddon's storytelling skills are strong. . . . The world she's constructed is fascinating and slightly dark.'Kirkus ReviewsFrom the Hardcover edition.
January 2016 Debut of the Month. Penetrating and intense, ‘Try Not to Breathe’ is a chokingly dark debut thriller. Amy and Alex are the same age, Alex is divorced and drinking herself to an early grave, while Amy is trapped inside her own teenage mind in a hospital bed, 15 years after a brutal attack. Alex begins to investigate the assault, at the same time as she struggles to deal with her own demons. Fast moving chapters are headed with characters names and dates, and slide around in time from 1995 to 2011. Holly Seddon writes with a sharp intensity, casting at times a desperately sad shadow, yet there is still an element of hope that struggles for survival. There is more than one jigsaw with missing pieces here, which creates a balance to the storyline. Enough information is given to allow suspicions to grow, and flourish. As each piece slots into the jigsaw, and a clearer picture starts to emerge, the writing begins to feel lighter, just as the story moves on with a harsh and bleak intensity, ensuring this is a thought provoking and riveting read. ~ Liz Robinson