LoveReading Says
At once enchanting and arresting, Inga Vesper’s This Wild, Wild Country is a thought-provoking feat of fiction. Through the stories of a business-woman working in New Mexico in the 1930s, through to her granddaughter in the 1970s, it’s a stirring story that unpacks male domination through three inspirational women seeking self-determination and the truth behind a decades-old disappearance.
It’s 1933 and single-minded Cornelia Stover lives in Boldville, New Mexico, a small, isolated town populated by small-minded folk who judge everything about her. In the 1970s, Joanna, a former cop flees an abusive marriage and arrives in Boldville. Instead of finding a place of sanctuary, she walks headlong into a murder cover-up in a commune, and meets Glitter, Cornelia’s hippy granddaughter.
The multi-narrative structure is brilliantly, smoothly done, and the writing is electric as Joanna and Glitter uncover the darkest of truths about Boldville, and what happened to Glitter’s grandmother. With roots to the Gold Rush, this hooked-from-the-opening paragraph novel is gorgeously atmospheric, and 100% immersive.
Joanne Owen
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This Wild, Wild Country Synopsis
'Thrilling, haunting and darkly beautiful' Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End THREE WOMEN. AN ISOLATED TOWN. A DECADES-OLD MYSTERY . . . 1933. Cornelia Stover is not the kind of woman the men of Boldville, New Mexico, expect her to be. But, one day, she stumbles upon a secret hidden out in the hills . . . 1970. Decades later, Joanna Riley, a former cop, packs up her car in the middle of the night and drives west, fleeing an abusive marriage and a life she can no longer bear. Eventually, she runs out of gas and finds herself in Boldville. Joanna was looking for somewhere to hide, but something is off about this place. In a commune on the outskirts a young man has been found dead and Joanna knows a cover up when she sees it. Soon, she and Glitter, a young, disaffected hippie, find themselves caught up in a dark mystery that goes to the very heart of Boldville. A mystery that leads them all the way back to the unexplained disappearance of Glitter's grandmother Cornelia forty years before . . . A captivating, atmospheric new mystery from the lauded author of The Long, Long Afternoon, This Wild Wild Country simmers with secrets, lies and terrible betrayal, unravelling the lives of three women at the mercy of their times. Praise for Inga Vesper 'Remarkably assured. A tale of inequality, broken dreams and quiet desperation behind a picture-perfect facade' Guardian 'A clever and absorbing debut' The Times 'Beguiling and evocative. This vivid and atmospheric pageturner will keep readers guessing all the way to its satisfying finale' Sunday Express 'Beautifully crafted, claustrophobic and compelling. As delicious as a long drink on a hot day' Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars and The Foundling 'Such a vivid atmosphere of stifling LA heat and stifling 50s domesticity' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures 'Breathtakingly stylish, hypnotic and masterfully gripping' Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End, Waterstones Thriller of the Month 'A triumph. What a pleasure to read something fresh and original. For once the hype is justified and Inga Vesper's gripping page turner must surely now be bound for Netflix' Evening Standard 'A tasty, tense, page-turning combo of James Ellroy and Kate Atkinson with a bit of Mad Men thrown in' Liz Hyder 'An atmospheric tale of repression and style at the heart of the American Dream' Stylist
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781838776695 |
| Publication date: |
25th May 2023 |
| Author: |
Inga Vesper |
| Publisher: |
Manilla Press an imprint of Bonnier Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
400 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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