Sophie Hannah (Hachette Australia) 2015, 419pp, RRP $29.99
Hannah, a popular author of psychodramatic thrillers, here spins a surprisingly epic tale of very English domestic/suburban mystery and unease.
Justine Merrison, a former TV producer escaping her London job and looking forward to a life proudly doing ‘Nothing’ in Devon with her opera singer hubby Alex and their teenage daughter Ellen, is our narrator, and it’s she who struggles to put the pieces together as strange events commence. Ellen becomes withdrawn, agonises about her beloved schoolfriend George and pens an English assignment about the odd Ingrey family; a series of threatening phone calls suggest that graves will soon be dug for the Merrisons; and a house seen by Justine in the first chapter exerts an inexplicable power over her and results in a meeting with a sweet Bedlington terrier named Figgy.
Sometimes funny and often agreeably tense, Hannah’s latest is also refreshing as the subject of its suspense isn’t serial killers or terrorists or vampires or anything so clichéd: oh no, this is all about secrets, especially those kept by the ones nearest to us – and so dangerously close to home.
Dave Bradley
This title is available through the Hachette website. Click HERE to purchase your copy.
