He Said / She Said
Erin Kelly, 2017
St. Martin's Press
400 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250113696
Summary
In the summer of 1999, Kit and Laura travel to a festival in Cornwall to see a total eclipse of the sun. Kit is an eclipse chaser; Laura has never seen one before. Young and in love, they are certain this will be the first of many they’ll share.
But in the hushed moments after the shadow passes, Laura interrupts a man and a woman. She knows that she saw something terrible. The man denies it. It is her word against his.
The victim seems grateful. Months later, she turns up on their doorstep like a lonely stray. But as her gratitude takes a twisted turn, Laura begins to wonder—did she trust the wrong person?
15 years later, Kit and Laura married are living under new names and completely off the digital grid: no Facebook, only rudimentary cell phones, not in any directories. But as the truth catches up to them, they realize they can no longer keep the past in the past.
From Erin Kelly, queen of the killer twist, He Said/She Said is a gripping tale of the lies we tell to save ourselves, the truths we cannot admit, and how far we will go to make others believe our side of the story. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1976
• Where—Essex, England, UK
• Education—B.A. Warwick University
• Currently—London, England
Erin Kelly is a bestselling British author living in London, England. Born in 1976, she grew up in Essex and studied English at Warwick University. After graduation, she worked as a journalist and continues to freelance, writing over the years for The Daily Mail, Psychologies, Red, and Look, as well as for Elle, Marie Claire, and Glamour.
Her first novel The Poison Tree (2009) became a major ITV drama and Richard & Judy bestseller; it was also longlisted for the 2011 CWA John Creasy Award. She followed that initial success with The Sick Rose (2011), The Burning Air (2013) and The Ties That Bind (2014) — all of which attained wide acclaim and were translated into 19 languages. In 2014, Kelly wrote the novelization of the award-winning TV series, Broadchurch. (Sadly, she never met the series star David Tennant.)
Kelly also teaches writing. Since 2014 she has been a course tutor for Curtis Brown Creative, where four of her students have gone on to achieve six-figure book deals and others have found agents. She regularly runs courses for Guardian Masterclasses and Swanwick Writers School; she also gives lectures and runs workshops at literary festivals throughout the UK.
Kelly lives in north London with her husband and daughters. (Adapted from various online sources.)
Book Reviews
Thriller of the Month. Creepy, tangled and disturbing. Erin Kelly’s new thriller will keep you guessing to the end. [She] is on fine form here.… [A] master at drip-feeding us the details, keeping us guessing about the truth, and the many shades of grey it contains, right until the end
Guardian (UK)
Erin Kelly is supremely skilled at unusual and intelligent suspense plots, and this one has to be my favourite so far.
Daily Mail (UK)
There’s so much to love here — seamless plotting, descriptive prose, characters so real they pull you in to their tangled lives — and then an absolute humdinger of a twist that will take your breath away.
Sunday Mirror (UK)
Erin Kelly has a pleasantly crisp style and expertly hides the "unreliable twist."
Raleigh News and Observer
He Said/She Said is a thriller to savor, and should be one of the highlights of the summer.
Associated Press
The shockertwist is a jaw-dropper.
Good Housekeeping
Kelly brings readers a truly intriguing thriller, with dark twists and moments that truly mess with the psyche. He Said/She Said will keep you poised at the edge of your seat as you try to predict what will happen next — even though it's impossible to do so. The characters are poignantly flawed, with deep emotions and complex backgrounds. The writing is at points tense and truly nerve-wracking, but the payoff is worth every moment of uncertainty the novel brings.
Romance Times
This riveting psychological thriller from British author Kelly explores the extremes to which people will go to conceal a lie.… [R]eaders will be rewarded with airtight plotting, mounting tension, and shocking twists.… [T]his is an affecting tale of infatuation, desperation, and betrayal.
Publishers Weekly
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Library Journal
(Starred review.) Kelly delivers another tale full of lies, obsessions, and richly drawn characters.This is a sure bet for readers who like their psychological suspense heavy on character and full of twists.
Booklist
(Starred review.) This first-rate psychological thriller and deft exploration of the delicate dance of marriage and the secrets people keep works on multiple levels, and the passages about the early days of Laura and Kit’s relationship—filled with the gossamer promise of new love—make what's in store for them even more harrowing. A stunning conclusion will take more than a few days to fade from memory.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher. In the meantime, use our generic mystery questions.)
GENERIC DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Mystery / Crime / Suspense Thrillers
1. Talk about the characters, both good and bad. Describe their personalities and motivations. Are they fully developed and emotionally complex? Or are they flat, one-dimensional heroes and villains?
2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you begin to piece together what happened?
3. Good crime writers embed hidden clues in plain sight, slipping them in casually, almost in passing. Did you pick them out, or were you...clueless? Once you've finished the book, go back to locate the clues hidden in plain sight. How skillful was the author in burying them?
4. Good crime writers also tease us with red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray? Does your author try to throw you off track? If so, were you tripped up?
5. Talk about the twists & turns—those surprising plot developments that throw everything you think you've figured out into disarray.
- Do they enhance the story, add complexity, and build suspense?
- Are they plausible or implausible?
- Do they feel forced and gratuitous—inserted merely to extend the story?
6. Does the author ratchet up the suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? A what point does the suspense start to build? Where does it climax...then perhaps start rising again?
7. A good ending is essential in any mystery or crime thriller: it should ease up on tension, answer questions, and tidy up loose ends. Does the ending accomplish those goals?
- Is the conclusion probable or believable?
- Is it organic, growing out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 3)?
- Or does the ending come out of the blue, feeling forced or tacked-on?
- Perhaps it's too predictable.
- Can you envision a different or better ending?
8. Are there certain passages in the book—ideas, descriptions, or dialogue—that you found interesting or revealing...or that somehow struck you? What lines, if any, made you stop and think?
9. Overall, does the book satisfy? Does it live up to the standards of a good crime story or suspense thriller? Why or why not?
(Generic Mystery Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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