A Woman Alone

by Nina Laurin, Chloe Cannon (Read by)

Overview

A high-stakes, pulse-pounding thriller from the bestselling author of Girl Last Seen.

A year after a brutal home invasion that left her traumatized, Cecelia, along with her husband and their three-year-old daughter, move into a new house with a complex security system that is supposed to make her feel safe.

But reality proves different as strange things begin to happen at home and the security system reveals that the house had a prior occupant: Lydia.

On her quest to discover the fate of the mysterious Lydia, Cecelia uncovers metaphorical skeletons in the closet, and she realizes that that no one's secrets are safe — including her own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781549159732
Publisher:	Hachette Book Group
Publication date:	06/23/2020
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Nina Laurin studied Creative Writing at Concordia University in Montreal, where she currently lives. She arrived there when she was just twelve years old, and she speaks and reads in Russian, French, and English but writes her novels in English. She wrote her first novel while getting her writing degree, and Girl Last Seen was a bestseller a year later in 2017. The follow-up, What My Sister Knew, came out in summer 2018 to critical acclaim. Nina is fascinated by the darker side of mundane things, and she's always on the lookout for her next twisted book idea. She blogs about books and writing on her own site, thrillerina.wordpress.com.

Chloe Cannon is a non-union multi-genre audiobook narrator living in the Mid-Hudson Valley region of New York. Audiobook narration seized her interest when reading aloud to local seniors, who informed her that her reading sounded "just like their audiobooks!" Since then, she has narrated titles in a variety of genres, including young adult, sci-fi/fantasy, romance, self-help, thriller/suspense, sports memoir, and biography, with a special affinity for young adult/middle grade works. Her "shapeshifting" voice provides depth to each character within a story. AudioFile magazine has reviewed her narration: "Cannon sounds so authentic that it's impossible not to be moved."

Editorial Reviews

06/22/2020

Cecelia Holmes, the narrator of this chilling novel of psychological suspense from Laurin (The Starter Wife), her husband, and their three-year-old daughter have moved to Venture, Ill., a gated community built by IntelTech. Each SmartHome is fully connected and controlled by a computer system that offers exceptional security, which Cecelia and her husband welcome after a traumatic break-in at their old house. When Saya, the new house’s computerized system, starts to malfunction, the problems are small at first: the wrong bathwater temperature, the wrong coffee order. After Saya calls Cecelia “Lydia,” the name of the previous occupant, the mishaps become more disturbing and dangerous. At one point, one of IntelTech’s pleasant, if creepily robotic, agents asks Cecelia, “Do you have a secret? One that will send your entire carefully built life tumbling down? Because you can be sure. The house knows about it. And soon, so will everyone else.” Cecelia does indeed have a potentially damaging secret, but so do others, including Lydia. Readers will keep turning the pages as the secrets of Venture’s residents come out, along with potential motives for murder. Laurin is an accomplished storyteller. Agent: Rachel Ekstrom, Folio Literary Management. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Laurin crafts a Rebecca for a new generation, tapping into the old fears of domestic security, predecessor anxiety, and adding in a dash of high-tech paranoia. This is domestic suspense taken to a logical, terrifying extreme."—CrimeReads.com

"[A] chilling novel of psychological suspense... Readers will keep turning the pages as the secrets of Venture's residents come out, along with potential motives for murder. Laurin is an accomplished storyteller."—Publishers Weekly

"This addicting thriller rachets up the suspense until the very last page."—Woman's World on The Starter Wife

"Laurin, with her knack for psychological suspense, here portrays the effects of obsession in chilling detail as the facts of Claire's life are revealed. A spine-tingler."—Booklist on The Starter Wife

"The Starter Wife reminded me of the powerful novel Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins."—The Missourian

"Nina Laurin's psychological suspense thrill ride will have you ripping through its pages at warp speed as you dig for the truth about a fateful event that drove two twin siblings apart."—PopSugar.com on What My Sister Knew

"An intense psychological thriller that has a surprise twist... Laurin provides an insightful look at how secrets can shatter a bond between twins."—Publishers Weekly on What My Sister Knew

"A twisty, mind-bending thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat as she probes the bond and secrets between twins."—USA Today on What My Sister Knew

"From the very first page, Girl Last Seen jettisons the reader into the life of a crime victim trying to outrun her past. Fast-paced and hard-edged, it is a heart-stopping thriller that had me guessing to the very end."—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound

"Every good thriller has a shocking plot twist. Girl Last Seen has many. Author Nina Laurin's eerie novel will stay with you for days, months, even years to come."—HelloGiggles.com

From the Publisher

Chloe Cannon narrates this domestic thriller with impeccable pacing and a perfect mix of disbelief, fear, and desperation. After a violent encounter, Cecelia and Scott Holmes move into a Smart Tech home. The house keeps them safe in all manner of ways—from providing high-tech security to selecting educational programs for their 3-year-old daughter's tablet. Everything should be perfect, but Cecelia begins to believe the house is out to get her. The deeper she digs, the more twisted history is revealed. Fast-paced and imaginative, this story will make listeners second-guess their own use of technology. Although many of the characters are not particularly likable, Cannon engages listeners with her distinctive narration. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JULY 2020 - AudioFile

Chloe Cannon narrates this domestic thriller with impeccable pacing and a perfect mix of disbelief, fear, and desperation. After a violent encounter, Cecelia and Scott Holmes move into a Smart Tech home. The house keeps them safe in all manner of ways—from providing high-tech security to selecting educational programs for their 3-year-old daughter's tablet. Everything should be perfect, but Cecelia begins to believe the house is out to get her. The deeper she digs, the more twisted history is revealed. Fast-paced and imaginative, this story will make listeners second-guess their own use of technology. Although many of the characters are not particularly likable, Cannon engages listeners with her distinctive narration. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JULY 2020 - AudioFile