Intrusion: A Novel - Softcover

McCluskey, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1503953041 ISBN 13: 9781503953048

Publisher: Little A, 2016

Synopsis

A loving couple, grieving the loss of their son, finds their marriage in free fall when a beautiful, long-lost acquaintance inserts herself into their lives.

Kat and Scott Hamilton are dealing with the hardest of losses: the death of their only child. While Scott throws himself back into his law practice in Los Angeles, Kat is hesitant to rejoin the workplace and instead spends her days shell-shocked and confused, unable to focus.

When an unwelcome face from Kat’s past in England emerges—the beautiful and imposing Sarah Cherrington—Kat’s marriage is thrown into a tailspin. Now wealthy beyond anything she could have imagined as a girl, Sarah appears to have everything she could need or want. But Sarah has an agenda and she wants one more thing. Soon Kat and Scott are caught up in her devious games and power plays.

Against the backdrops of Southern California and Sussex, in spare and haunting prose, Mary McCluskey propels this domestic drama to its chilling conclusion.

About this title

About the Author:

Mary McCluskey’s prizewinning short stories and essays have been published on Salon.com and in the Atlantic, the London Magazine, StoryQuarterly, London’s Litro, and other literary journals in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Hong Kong. She divides her time between Stratford-upon-Avon and Los Angeles.

Review:

“Mary McCluskey paints a delicate, deeply convincing portrait of a marriage riven by the loss of a child. Intrusion is both a classy thriller and a psychologically acute tale about the vulnerabilities grief can open up in us.” —Pamela Erens, author of The Virgins

“In this stunning psychological drama, the choppy waters of grief and pain rock the stillness of a fragile marriage and a nearly-forgotten friendship. I was gripped by McCluskey’s authentic characters, daring prose, taut story, and deft plot twists. Intrusion is an utterly compelling debut!” —Ellen Meister, author of Dorothy Parker Drank Here

“Gripping and emotionally complex, this heartfelt novel talks of loss and of how we deal with it, of the long shadow of grief, and of the havoc that can be caused by a need for retribution. It’s a dark tale, beautifully told. It will linger in the mind and heart long after you have closed the book.” —Charles Lambert, author of The Children’s Home

“This novel raises comparisons to Gone Girl and some of the other recent stories about characters who aren't who they seem, but McCluskey's beautiful prose elevates it above most of them...Haunting and lyrical, understated and true.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“[McCluskey] succeeds in handling the grief of a parent struggling with loss. For readers who want character-driven, heartrending stories that build in intensity.” —Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Little A
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1503953041
• ISBN 13: 9781503953048
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256