An accomplished psychological thriller that uncovers the layers of deceit and human delusion at the heart of families and which at times reaches the sharp brilliance of Ruth Rendell's similar tales about the unseen side of the middle-classes. The Randalls are affluent and unlikable in their smugness and each member of the family is etched with cruel attention to details before murder, greed, suicide and fractured relationships all come into play to disturb the dynamic and cause the walls to come crashing down in spectacular fashion. Dark and complex, this is a portrait in everyday events that quickly transcends its framework and brings chills to the heart and causes the reader to begin to question his own assumptions into the way he or she lives. Worrisome in that respect. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
Everyone envies the Randalls: beautiful, accomplished and high-flying, their lives are almost too good to be true. No one envies Stuart. A tough childhood has left him making his way as best he can, vowing to lose a bit more weight and become a bit more successful. But a chance encounter sets in motion a series of events which will shatter everything. Some will think they've lost, others will think they've won, but none of them will be prepared for the final catastrophe of jealousy, betrayal and agonizing justice. They should never have invited Stuart in - and he should never have trusted them. A brilliantly assured psychological thriller that builds tension with such power and conviction, you will feel as if you are there with them, fighting for a say.
'Such is the hard-edged skill of Redmond's writing that the carefully structured revelations about the past have a bitter and compelling power' Times Literary Supplement
'Assured writing sets up evil to overcome the weak in this deft, Hitchcockian portrayal of a malevolent microcosm of warped power' Publishing News
'Thanks to Redmond's masterfully subtle fore-shadowing, a brooding sense of impending disaster is maintained throughout his gripping suspense thriller' Publishers Weekly
'The skilful way in which the author forces the reader to constantly switch sympathies from one character to another is extraordinarily clever and rather unsettling' Morning Star
Author
About Patrick Redmond
Patrick Redmond was born in Essex in 1966. After attending school in Essex and the Channel Islands he completed a Law degree at Leicester University and then a Masters at University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He spent ten years working in the City of London specialising in Commercial and EU law, before leaving to become a full time writer. His novels have hit the bestseller lists in the UK, Germany and Italy, and have been translated into fifteen languages. Patrick lives in West London.
