The Whites
Richard Price (wiriting as Harry Brandt), 2015
Henry Holt & Co.
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780805093995
Summary
The electrifying tale of a New York City police detective under siege—by an unsolved murder, by his own dark past, and by a violent stalker seeking revenge.
Back in the run-and-gun days of the mid-1990s, when a young Billy Graves worked in the South Bronx as part of an aggressive anti-crime unit known as the Wild Geese, he made headlines by accidentally shooting a ten-year-old boy while struggling with an angel-dusted berserker on a crowded street.
Branded as a loose cannon by his higher-ups, Billy spent years enduring one dead-end posting after another. Now in his early forties, he has somehow survived and become a sergeant in Manhattan Night Watch, a small team of detectives charged with responding to all post-midnight felonies from Wall Street to Harlem. Mostly, his unit acts as little more than a set-up crew for the incoming shift, but after years in police purgatory, Billy is content simply to do his job.
Then comes a call that changes everything: Night Watch is summoned to the four a.m. fatal slashing of a man in Penn Station, and this time Billy’s investigation moves beyond the usual handoff to the day tour.
And when he discovers that the victim was once a suspect in the unsolved murder of a twelve-year-old boy—a savage case with connections to the former members of the Wild Geese—the bad old days are back in Billy's life with a vengeance, tearing apart enduring friendships forged in the urban trenches and even threatening the safety of his family.
Razor-sharp and propulsively written, The Whites introduces Harry Brandt—a new master of American crime fiction. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1949
• Where—New York, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Cornell University; M.F.A., Columbia University
• Awards—Gotham Award, 1991
• Currently—lives in New York, New York
Richard Price is an American novelist and screenwriter, known for the books The Wanderers (1974), Clockers (1992), Lush Life (2008), and The Whites (2015, writing under the pen name of Harry Brandt).
Early life
A self-described "middle class Jewish kid," Price was born in the Bronx, New York City and grew up in a housing project in the northeast Bronx. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1967 and obtained a B.A. from Cornell University and an MFA from Columbia University. He also did graduate work at Stanford University.
He has taught writing at Columbia, Yale University, and New York University. He was one of the first people interviewed on the NPR show Fresh Air when it began airing nationally in 1987. In 1999, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, receiving the academy's Award in Literature that year.
Novels
Price's novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner that has brought him considerable literary acclaim. Several of his novels are set in a fictional northern New Jersey city called Dempsy. In his review of Lush Life (2008), Walter Kirn compared Price to Raymond Chandler and Saul Bellow.
Price's first novel was The Wanderers (1974), a coming-of-age story set in the Bronx in 1962, written when Price was 24 years old. It was adapted into a film in 1979, with a screenplay by Rose and Philip Kaufman and directed by the latter.
Clockers (1992), nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, was praised for its humor, suspense, dialogue, and character development. In 1995, it was made into a film directed by Spike Lee; Price and Lee shared writing credits for the screenplay.
Screen plays
Price has written numerous screenplays including The Color of Money (1986), for which he was nominated for an Oscar, Life Lessons (the Martin Scorsese segment of New York Stories) (1989), Sea of Love (1989), Mad Dog and Glory (1993), Ransom (1996), and Shaft (2000).
He also wrote for the HBO series The Wire. Price won the Writers Guild of America Award award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2008 ceremony for his work on the fifth season of that series. He wrote the screenplay for the 2015 film Child 44. He is often cast in cameo roles in the films he writes. His eight part HBO mini series CRIME began filming in Sept. 2014
Price did uncredited work on the film American Gangster, wrote and conceptualized the 18-minute film surrounding Michael Jackson's "Bad" video.
Other
He has published articles in the New York Times, Esquire, The New Yorker, Village Voice, Rolling Stone and others.
In July 2010, a group art show inspired by Lush Life was held in nine galleries in New York City.
Personal life
Price lives in Harlem in New York City, and is married to the journalist Lorraine Adams. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 2/22/2015.)
Book Reviews
[R]iveting…. [Price] not only has a visceral ability to convey the gritty, day-to-day realities of [his characters'] jobs, but also a knack for using their detective work the way John le Carre has used spy stories and tradecraft, as a framework on which to build complex investigations into the human soul…. No one has a better ear for street language than [Price] does, and no one these days writes with more kinetic energy or more hard-boiled verve. His high-impact prose is the perfect tool for excavating the grisly horrors of urban life…And his ability to map his characters' inner lives—all the dreams and memories and wounds that make them tick—results in people who become as vivid to us as real-life relatives or friends…. [The Whites] is, at once, a gripping police procedural and an affecting study in character and fate.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times
[A]s much an entertaining story as it is an examination of the job of policing…. The novel posits a simple axiom: Those who go into darkness as a matter of course and duty bring some measure of darkness back into themselves. How to keep it from spreading like a cancer, eating at your humanity, is the police officer's eternal struggle. It's this struggle that [Price] places at the heart of his storytelling. Another great so-called crime novelist, Joseph Wambaugh, has said that the best crime novels aren't about how cops work cases, they're about how cases work cops. This holds true, with fervor, in The Whites…. The routine of police procedure…is just right, depicted in its perfect shopworn way. And the dialogue…reaches the high-water mark of previous Richard Price novels…. The Whites is a work of reportage as much as it is a work of fiction…. It tells it like it is. It provides insight and knowledge, both rare qualities in the killing fields of the crime novel. It's a book that makes you feel that Price has circled the murders at this detective's side and in the process really gotten to know a city.
Michael Connelly - New York Times Book Review
A maze of a novel that alternates between scenes of intense introspection and scenes driven by dialogue…. It is not, finally, a novel of clearly delineated solutions but a novel of conscience, fraught with ambivalence and ambiguity.
Joyce Carol Oates - The New Yorker
Seven years is too long for New Yorkers to wait for the next book from Richard Price but he’s finally here again with a stunning NYPD novel….The Whites is grippingly immersive, its characters and the world they move through, indelible.
New York Daily News
(Starred review.) A gripping, gritty, Greek tragedy of cops, killers, and the sometimes-blurry line between them… Price is one whale of a storyteller by any name… The author skillfully manipulates [his] multiple story lines for peak suspense, as his arresting characters careen toward a devastating final reckoning.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) This is going to be a strong contender for best crime novel of 2015…. With one-of-a-kind characters and settings so real you can smell them....it’s supercharged with complications…. In the end, The Whites isn’t about cops and killers so much as it is about the damage we all carry [and] the sins we’ve all committed.
Booklist
Fasten your seat belt… Old tragedies combine with fresh ones in Brandt's steely-jawed, carefully constructed procedural. Few crime novelists are as good at taut storytelling as Richard Price…. In the wake of rage and sorrow, ordinary people respond by going crazy and screwing up. In this far-from-ordinary novel, Price/Brandt explores the hows and whys.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(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 more one-dimensional heroes and villains?
2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you, the reader, begin to piece together what happened?
3. Good crime writers are skillful at hiding clues in plain sight. How well does the author hide the clues in this work?
4. Does the author use red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray?
5. Talk about plot's twists & turns—those surprising 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 do the twists & turns feel forced and preposterous—inserted only to extend the story.
6. Does the author ratchet up the story's suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? How does the author build suspense?
7. What about the ending—is it satisfying? Is it probable or believable? Does it grow out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 2). Or does the ending come out of the blue? Does it feel forced...tacked-on...or a cop-out? Or perhaps it's too predictable. Can you envision a better, or different, 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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Finding Jake
Bryan Reardon, 2015
HarperCollins
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062339485
Summary
A heart-wrenching yet ultimately uplifting story of psychological suspense in which a parent is forced to confront what he does—and does not—know about his teenage son
For sixteen years, Simon Connelly's successful wife has gone to her law office each day, while he has stayed home to raise their children. Though Simon has loved taking care of Jake and Laney, it has cost him a part of himself, and has made him an anomaly in his pretty, suburban neighborhood—the only stay-at-home dad among a tight circle of mothers.
Shepherding them through childhood, the angst-ridden father has tried to do the best for the kids, even if he often second-guesses his choices. For sunny, outgoing Laney, it's been easy. But quiet Jake has always preferred the company of his books or his sister to playdates and organized sports. Now that they are in high school, Simon should feel more relaxed, but he doesn't. He's seen the statistics, read the headlines.
Then, on a warm November day, he receives a text: There has been a shooting at the high school.
Racing to the rendezvous point, Simon is forced to wait with scores of other anxious fathers and tearful mothers, overwhelmed by the disturbing questions running through his head. How many victims were there? Why did this happen? One by one, parents are reunited with their children. Their numbers dwindle, until Simon is alone. Laney has gone home with her mom. Jake is the only child missing.
As his worst nightmare unfolds, Simon begins to obsess over the past, searching for answers, for hope, for the memory of the boy he raised, for the mistakes he must have made, for the reason everything came to this. Where is Jake? What happened in those final moments? Is it possible he doesn't really know his son? Or he knows him better than he thought? Jake could not have done this—or could he?
As rumors begin to ricochet, amplified by an invasive media, Simon must find answers. But there is only one way to understand what has happened . . . he must find Jake.
A story of faith and conviction, strength and courage, love and doubt that is harrowing and heartbreaking, surprisingly healing and redemptive, Finding Jake asks us to consider how well we know ourselves...and those we love. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Bryan Reardon is a freelance writer specializing in medical communications. He co-wrote Ready, Set, Play! with retired NFL player and ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth, and Cruel Harvest with Fran Elizabeth Grubb.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Bryan worked for the state of Delaware for more than a decade, starting in the office of the governor. He holds a BA in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, kids, and rescue dog, Simon. (From .)
Book Reviews
[M]oving, if at times maudlin.... Could [Simon Connolly] really have been so grievously wrong about what kind of boy he was raising?... Reardon deftly builds suspense by setting his dual story lines on a collision course toward a shattering—and surprising—conclusion.
Publishers Weekly
Simon Connolly is the anguished father and narrator in this psychological thriller.... [H]e's not sure whether he can believe in [his son] Jake's innocence. He reviews incidents from Jake's past...that might (or might not) be significant. A compelling read; disturbingly relevant in contemporary America.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Who is Jake Connolly? Does Simon have a good understanding of his son's personality?
2. Most parents assume they know their children well. How true is that assumption? Should parents know everything about their children? Where is the line between privacy and parenting?
3. Are Simon and Jake introverts? Is introvert a bad word? Could Simon have done more to teach Jake to be social?
4. As more fathers stay at home with their children, has it become a socially acceptable family paradigm? How do you think stay-at-home dads are really seen in our society? How do you think stay-at-home dads view their decision to buck social norms? Would you want Simon at a play-date?
5. Why does Simon struggle to fit in with the other stay-at-home parents? Is it his own insecurities, or their discomfort? What could Simon have done to be more approachable and social?
6. Is Finding Jake about a school shooting or about the more mundane challenges of modern parenting? How have parenting methods changed from past generations? How might changing parenting methods influence society? Can parents prevent tragedy?
7. Does the media's response to the shooting and to Jake and Doug ring true today? Do you find yourself delving into the lives of those struck by tragedy? Or those responsible for it?
8. Simon experiences a moment of parental pride when he tells Jake he should always be nice to people, even if others are not. Did that advice contribute to the shooting? Should Simon have gone back to that advice and felt responsible? Or was that just one of a myriad of mistakes he thought he made? Can a parent's influence of a child ever truly be predicted?
9. Do Simon and Rachel still love one another? What factors influence the change in their relationship? Can they survive together? In what ways can raising children challenge a marriage/relationship?
10. Could events have been changed if Jake talked openly with his father about his life and school? Do any children tell their parents everything? Does a parent really want to know everything? Where is the line between protecting your child and letting him/her grow up?
11. Did the ending surprise you? What, if any, aspects of the story led you to believe it would end differently? What other ways could the story have ended?
12. Which character did you like or relate to the most? Which the least? Do you have to love a character to enjoy a book?
13. How responsible is a parent for their children’s actions? In a tragic situation such as this, is it fair to blame parents for not seeing what was coming?
14. There are certainly challenges that face stay at home dads, and the perspective here is from Simon’s viewpoint, but how do you imagine that scenario affects the mothers who work? Is there guilt or resentment on the mother’s part that she is not home with her children? Is there too much pressure to be the primary income earner? Does she lose her maternal instincts or feel that she has been denied a natural role? What price do these families pay to break the norm?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The Kind Worth Killing
Peter Swanson, 2015
HarperCollins
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062450319
Summary
A devious tale of psychological suspense involving sex, deception, and an accidental encounter that leads to murder that is a modern reimagining of Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train.
On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves.
Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.
But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, "I’d like to help." After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse.
Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda's demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.
Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive...with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—January 11, 1964
• Where—Carlisle, Massachusetts, USA
• Education—B.A., Trinity College; M.A., University of Massachusetts-Amherst; M.F.A., Emerson College
• Currently—lives in Somerville, Massachusetts
Peter Swanson is the author of several novels: The Girl with a Clock for a Heart (2014) The Kind Worth Killing (2015), Her Every Fear (2016), and Before She Knew Him (2019). Eight Perfect Murders (2020) is his most recent.
Swanson's poems, stories and reviews have appeared in such journals as The Atlantic, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Epoch, Measure, Notre Dame Review, Soundings East, and The Vocabula Review. He has won awards in poetry from The Lyric and Yankee Magazine, and is currently completing a sonnet sequence on all 53 of Alfred Hitchcock’s films.
Swanson has degrees in creative writing, education, and literature from Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College. He lives with his wife and cat in Somerville, Massachusetts. (From the publisher and the author's website.)
Book Reviews
A fun read, full of switchbacks and double crosses… With classic misdirection, Swanson distracts us from the details - changing up murderers and victims fast enough to keep us reading. And, implausibly, rooting for the cold-blooded killer at this thriller’s core.
Boston Globe
This devilishly clever noir thriller [has] head-spinning surprises that make it an intoxicating read.... The book will inevitably earn comparisons to Gone Girl.... This one makes good on the promise, right down to the chilling final paragraph.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The next Gone Girl?.... There aren’t just two unreliable narrators, there are four. There isn’t just one enormous, game-changing twist. Try three.... You’ll also lose count of all the sociopaths...they’re each deranged but oh-so-compelling.
Entertainment Weekly
Revenge has rarely been served colder than in Swanson’s exceptional thriller.... With scalpel-sharp prose, Swanson probes the nature of cold-blooded evil. Few will be prepared for the crushing climax.
Publishers Weekly
Ted Severson is flying from London to Boston when he gets into an intense tête-à-tête with striking but enigmatic Lily Kintner, finally blurting out that he could just kill his wife. When Lily coolly replies that she'd like to help, a murder plot is born.
Library Journal
Suspenseful twists and turns, expert pacing and a breathless race to a surprise ending.... [A] captivating, powerful thriller about sex, deception, secrets, revenge, the strange things we get ourselves wrapped up in, and the magnetic pull of the past.
Shelf Awareness
[M]eets and exceeds the high-water mark that its predecessor established.... The floor underneath the novel doesn’t just shift, it turns upside down. This top-notch thriller has enough twists and surprises for three books.
Bookreporter.com
A twisty tale of warring sociopaths [and] a good companion to similar stories by Laura Lippman and Gillian Flynn.
Booklist
While there are twists, most of them are so clearly telegraphed that only the most careless of readers won't see what's coming, especially since Swanson needlessly doubles back over the same events from different points of view.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(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 more one-dimensional heroes and villains?
2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you, the reader, begin to piece together what happened?
3. Good crime writers are skillful at hiding clues in plain sight. How well does the author hide the clues in this work?
4. Does the author use red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray?
5. Talk about plot's twists & turns—those surprising 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 do the twists & turns feel forced and preposterous—inserted only to extend the story.
6. Does the author ratchet up the story's suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? How does the author build suspense?
7. What about the ending—is it satisfying? Is it probable or believable? Does it grow out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 2). Or does the ending come out of the blue? Does it feel forced...tacked-on...or a cop-out? Or perhaps it's too predictable. Can you envision a better, or different, 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?
top of page (summary)
Unbecoming
Rebecca Scherm, 2015
Penguin Group
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780143128311
Summary
A novel of psychological suspense about a daring art heist, a cat-and-mouse waiting game, and a small-town girl's mesmerizing transformation
On the grubby outskirts of Paris, Grace restores bric-a-brac, mends teapots, re-sets gems. She calls herself Julie, says she’s from California, and slips back to a rented room at night. Regularly, furtively, she checks the hometown paper on the Internet.
Home is Garland, Tennessee, and there, two young men have just been paroled. One, she married; the other, she’s in love with. Both were jailed for a crime that Grace herself planned in exacting detail. The heist went bad—but not before she was on a plane to Prague with a stolen canvas rolled in her bag. And so, in Paris, begins a cat-and-mouse waiting game as Grace’s web of deception and lies unravels—and she becomes another young woman entirely.
Unbecoming is an intricately plotted and psychologically nuanced heist novel that turns on suspense and slippery identity. With echoes of Alfred Hitchcock and Patricia Highsmith, Rebecca Scherm’s mesmerizing debut is sure to entrance fans of Gillian Flynn, Marisha Pessl, and Donna Tartt. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—
• Where—
• Education—B.A., New York University; M.F.A., University of Michigan
• Currently—lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Book Reviews
[S]artlingly inventive…Scherm's narrative technique can be disorienting: She's devoted to flashbacks and flash forwards, resists revelations and teases information from a scene. But her deliberately convoluted style suits Grace's elusive nature and that of all the other dissemblers in this story…As for Grace herself, she's a real work of art—even if she is a fake
Marilyn Stasio - New York Times
Scherm’s voice is gutsy.... She shows she has the chops to produce something delightfully wicked.
Chicago Tribune
Scherm has elevated the heist novel beyond entertainment. Like a painting that becomes more intriguing the longer you study it, Unbecoming is a genuine work of art.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
This lively debut combines a knotty coming-of-age tale and a high-society caper. . . . Scherm is at her best when she is parsing the fumblings of a young woman trying to devise a persona in the world.
New Yorker
Intricately detailed and rich with art and deception, Scherm’s debut is a treat.
People
Scherm’s pulse-quickening debut follows crafty Grace as she flees a love triangle and a heist gone awry, leaving her husband and a friend—a man she secretly loves—to take the rap.
O Magazine
A clever, engrossing thriller . . . You won’t want to stop until you’ve turned the last page.
]Huffington Post
[T]he transformation of a smalltown American girl into a professional international jewel thief.... Scherm mixes a character study with a caper novel full of double-crosses, lies, and betrayals.... She is at her best when describing precious objects...ignored by their owners but appreciated by the professional hired to evaluate them.
Publishers Weekly
Scherm's debut has a plot that twists and turns, but it is the enigma of who Grace really is that will keep readers hooked until the very end. A bleak tone, deeply flawed protagonist, and dysfunctional relationships will draw well-deserved comparisons to Gillian Flynn. —Portia Kapraun, Monticello-Union Twp. P.L., IN
Library Journal
A small-town Tennessee girl flourishes into a classic, yet never cliché, femme fatale in Rebecca Scherm’s provocative coming-of-age debut.... With a well-researched plot and illuminating prose, Unbecoming is an atmospheric adventure from start to finish.
BookPage
More thrills and less ponderous thinking about thrills would have made this an impressive first novel. Instead, it's a decidedly mixed bag, taking too long to gather the momentum it needs to succeed as crime fiction and not quite making the cut as satisfying literary fiction, either.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the meaning of the novel’s title. Who is unbecoming, how, why, in what ways?
2. Compare Grace’s relationship with Riley to that with Alls. Does she behave differently with them? What are the power dynamics?
3. Grace is a challenging narrator—unreliable and at times unlikeable. How did this affect the way you read the book?
4. Were you surprised by the book’s ending? What were your feelings about the way it ended?
5. Mystery and charisma are a crucial a part of Grace’s personality. Have you ever met someone like Grace?
6. What is the effect of the story being told from Grace’s point of view? How is that significant?
7. What did you take away from theme of the exploring?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
One Step Too Far
Tina Seskis, 2014 (UK); 2015 (US)
HarperCollins
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062340078
Summary
An intricately plotted thriller from a major new voice in suspense fiction that will keep you guessing to the very end.
A happy marriage. A beautiful family. A dream home. So what makes lawyer Emily Coleman get up one morning and walk right out of her life to start again as someone new?
Deliberately losing herself in London, Emily quickly transforms herself into Cat. She finds a room in a shared house in North London, and a job as a receptionist at a hip advertising agency. Finding easy kinship with the fun-loving Angel, her new best friend, Cat begins to live on the edge, giddy with the euphoria of freedom.
Cat has buried any trace of her old self so well, no one knows how to find her. But she can't bury the past. And she cannot outrun the ghosts that haunt her. And soon, she'll have to face the truth of what she's done—a shocking revelation that may push her one step too far. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Hampshire, England, UK
• Education—University of Bath
• Currently—lives in North London, Engnald
Seskis was born in Hampshire, England and grew up in an atmosphere of self-help. Her father among other things built a boat in the front garden on their commuter belt housing estate and took them all over the world with his free air travel and limited budget.
She tried selling bacon butties with her granny in the Halfway Hut at Wentworth Golf Club and door-to door encyclopedia selling in the US before settling down to study business at the University of Bath.
After university, she went on to work in marketing and advertising for more than 20 years and it was this experience which stood her in good stead when she found herself with a book to market. This was a book which she'd had the idea for whilst on holiday in Venice. Here's its brilliant starting-point:
It's funny how easy it is, when it really comes down to it, to get up from your life and begin a new one. All you need is enough money to start you off, and a resolve to not think about the people you're leaving behind.
The writing went swimmingly and soon she had a manuscript to sell. But life doesn't necessarily go according to plan and seven literary agents turned her down, so at the end of 2011 she decided to go it alone: "I worked out the pros and cons of starting up my own company and there were so many more pros, I thought if I do it and fail, at least I've tried."
This is where her marketing knowledge really helped, as she knew how to publicise her book and has been remarkably successful in building its sales. Within a year she had sold 100,000 ebook copies and 10,000 in hardback and she's just got herself an agent and signed a three-book deal with Penguin.
So what's the second secret of her success? The book has had stunning reviews, and is a genuinely page-turning commercial novel, as its numerous reviews suggest. (Used with permission from Writers Services.*)
Visit the "Success Stories" series on Writers Services.
Book Reviews
Tine Seskis’ twisted psychological thriller keeps readers guessing at Emily’s secrets until the end.
Us Weekly
An evocative, skillful novel about the price of escape, and a very promising debutBritish author Seskis expertly depicts the new life of a runaway wife.... Individual readers will have to decide whether the secret that drives the plot, once it’s revealed, is sufficiently shocking.... [A] diverting read.
Publishers Weekly
Seskis's debut psychological thriller is off and running from the very first page.... The author's use of this technique propels the plot by leaving the reader unsettled and on edge, eager for more information.... [F]or readers...willing to invest the time to reflect on its significance once the destination is reached. —Nancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT
Library Journal
Debut novelist Seskis displays a keen sense of pacing ... and her backstories on Emily’s family are vivid yet done with great economy. ...Seskis hooks readers from the outset while also spelling out the high emotional costs of abandoning loved ones. A skillfully done novel by a writer to watch.
Booklist
The author reveals Emily’s motivations for leaving her family with great patience and narrative skill....excellent dramatic pacing, dialogue and prose..., culminating in poignant concluding chapters which examine Emily’s decisions without sentimentality. An evocative, skillful novel.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Can anything justify a mother leaving her child? How did this affect your view of Emily throughout the novel?
2. Angel is the only character who knows both "Cat Brown" and the real Emily. Which personality did you connect more strongly to?
3. How far did the aesthetic description of Finsbury Park Palace affect your views about its occupants? What impression of London are you left with?
4. What do you think are Angel’s motivations in life? How did her relationship with Anthony alter your initial opinion of her?
5. There are four strong, but very different female characters (Frances, Emily, Caroline, and Angel) in this story. What makes each woman finally walk away from some part of their lives?
6. Did Emily’s personality change irreparably on 6th May 2010 in Chorlton, or is she still fundamentally the same person?
7. How did you feel when the truth about Emily’s past was revealed?
8. Ben and Emily found different ways of coping with the accident. Did you sympathise more with one than the other?
9. Emily says, "Don’t wish for too much, don’t expect too much, life doesn’t work like that." Is she right?
10. A lot of the characters are dealing with addictions in one way or another. How far do these addictions define their personalities?
11. Emily was discovered under tragic and shocking circumstances, but can people ever walk out of their lives completely, without leaving a trace?
12. The author wrote One Step Too Far as a love story. What do you think will happen next? Do Emily and Ben have happy ending?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)