Middle-aged Brits, Hannah and
Mark Reilly have enjoyed an idyllic marriage for eight months when Hannah
eagerly drives to Heathrow Airport to pick up her husband, who was away on a
business trip in New York City. But when Mark doesn't return on his scheduled
flight, and Hannah cannot track him down by phone, she begins to worry. Days
later Mark re-surfaces, claiming plausible, yet rather questionable excuses,
which plant a seed of suspicion in Hannah, who grew up with a cheating father
and a chronically skeptical mother. Hannah tries to convince herself that she
has no real reason not to trust Mark, but her doubts cannot be diverted when
she learns that Mark's whereabouts in New York City cannot be confirmed and
coworkers in Mark's office—a lucrative software company, which he
founded—cannot corroborate his story, either. Hannah stitches together other
unexpected revelations including Mark's contact with a mysterious woman doctor,
funds withdrawn from Hannah's bank account and the return of Mark's long lost brother.
At every turn, Mark seems to have answers to explain everything, but can Hannah
believe them?
Doubts, secrets and lies drive
the engrossing suspense of the narrative. Author Lucie Whitehouse (The
Bed I Made) effectively employs flashbacks in examining the before and
after of Hannah and Mark—their single lives, their working lives, the
influences of their dysfunctional families and the life they created together.
This well-written and well-plotted psychological thriller peels back layers of
information, deepening implications that will keep readers guessing through
chilling twists and turns.
Bloombury
USA, $25.00 hardcover, 9781620402757, 288 pp
Publication
Date: January 21, 2014
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this book via INDIEBOUND link HERE
Note:
This review is a reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different form)
with the permission of Shelf Awareness.
To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (1/28/14),
click HERE