The Woman in the Dark - Hardcover

Savage, Vanessa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1538714299 ISBN 13: 9781538714294

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2019

Synopsis

In the vein of The Couple Next Door, a debut psychological thriller about a woman who moves with her family to the gothic seaside house where her husband grew up -- and where 15 years ago another family was brutally slaughtered.

Sarah and Patrick are happy. But after her mother's death, Sarah spirals into depression and overdoses on sleeping pills. While Sarah claims it was an accident, her teenage children aren't so sure. Patrick decides they all need a fresh start and he knows just the place, since the idyllic family home where he was raised has recently come up for sale. There's only one catch: for the past fifteen years, it has become infamous as the "Murder House", standing empty after a family was stabbed to death within its walls.

Patrick believes they can bring the house back to its former glory, so Sarah, uprooted from everything she knows, pours her energy into painting, gardening, and giving the rotting old structure the warmth of home.
But with locals hinting that the house is haunted, the news that the murderer has been paroled, strange writing on the walls, and creepy "gifts" arriving on the doorstep at odd hours, Sarah can't shake the feeling that something just isn't right. Not with the house, not with the town, or even with her own, loving husband -- whose stories about his perfect childhood suddenly aren't adding up. Can Sarah uncover the secrets of the Murder House before another family is destroyed?

About this title

About the Author:

Vanessa Savage is a graphic designer and illustrator. She has twice been awarded a Writers' Bursary by Literature Wales, most recently for A Woman in the Dark. She won the Myriad Editions First Crimes competition in 2016 and her work has been highly commended in the Yeovil International Fiction Prize, short listed for the Harry Bowling Prize, and the Caledonia Fiction Prize. She is on the current longlist for the Bath Novel Award.

Review:

A Cosmopolitan "15 Thriller Books That Will Pretty Much Guarantee You Never Get Another Good Night's Sleep" Pick

"I'm weirdly drawn to murder house stories--who isn't?--and this one takes the cake. Vanessa Savage's novel about family dysfunction is the quintessential psychological thriller, the story of a husband who moves his family into his childhood home...that also happens to be the site of a family massacre (casual). Based off that alone I was expecting the plot to be a typical whodunnit, but it's so much more: The story tackles elements of mental health and domestic abuse in a provocative way, while adding just the right dose of horror."―MarieClaire.com "Must Read Books for the Beach"

"Kept us utterly spooked and utterly hooked."―Heat

"Savage carefully sustains the growing tension to the final twist. Psychological thriller fans will be rewarded."―Publishers Weekly

"Claustrophobic and compelling."―Good Housekeeping

"Unputdownable."―Laura Marshall, author of Friend Request

"A vivid portrait of buried tensions."―Daily Mail

"An intense tale of deceit, treachery and loss."―The Sun

"Scary, pacy and compelling."―Claire Douglas, author of Do Not Disturb

"Creepy and atmospheric."―Amanda Jennings, author of The Cliff House

About this edition

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1538714299
• ISBN 13: 9781538714294
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352