By: Helen Cooper
ISBN: 978-0593719930
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: 12/03/2024
Format: Other
My Rating: TBR (ARC)
A deliciously vengeful and sinister suspense novel, about two women whose friendship cracks after one of their sons murders the other’s from the author of The Downstairs Neighbor and The Couple in the Photo.
In a close-knit English village, Chrissy and Alice were once best friends. So were their sons Leo and Robbie. Until the night Leo killed Robbie with a single, devastating punch. Leo went to prison, Chrissy lost her pub, and Alice poured her anger into a twisted project: leading a village committee to take over Chrissy’s "cursed" bar.
When Leo is given early parole, the villagers are incensed and fearful about the prospect of his return. But as Chrissy arrives to collect Leo from prison, he isn’t there. The prison staff tell her he has already been released, but nobody knows where he’s gone.
As the village closes ranks, Chrissy realizes her former friends are suspects in her son’s disappearance, not least still-bitter Alice. Is this about Leo and what happened that terrible night? Or does it go further back, into a dark past none of them wants to revisit?
Praise
"Cooper offers a sinister story set in a close-knit English village, involving broken friendships and murder.” —Library Journal
About the Author
Photo credit: Photography by Gem
Helen Cooper is a writer of psychological thrillers living in Leicester, UK.
She has taught English and Academic Writing in both Further and Higher Education and was Head of Learning Enhancement at the University of Birmingham. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University and has been published in Woman, Writers’ Forum, Mslexia, the Lincolnshire Echo, Derbyshire Life, and on the Crime Readers' Association website. She was shortlisted for the Bath Short Story Prize in 2014 and came third in the Leicester Writes Short Story Prize in 2018.
Her novels include The Downstairs Neighbour, published in 2021, The Other Guest (2022), and The Couple In The Photo (2023).
Helen has also co-authored two books on academic writing for university students - Where's Your Argument? and Using Feedback to Boost Your Grades - published by Bloomsbury Academic.
She is currently vice president of Leicester Writers' Club. She lives in Leicester with her fiance and cat, and loves reading, walking, pasta, and wine.
Her agent is Hellie Ogden, WME books. WEBSITE
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