His & Hers: A Novel

by Alice Feeney

Overview

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF Sometimes I Lie
“Stunning. Addictive. This book should not be missed!” —Samantha Downing
“Deliciously dark…will have readers tearing through the pages.” —Mary Kubica
“Gives Gone Girl a run for its money…I couldn’t stop reading.” —Christina Dalcher
There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.

When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.

Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.

His & Hers is a twisty, smart, psychological thriller. A gripping tale of suspense, told by expertly-drawn narrators that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

“For the ultimate rollercoaster reading experience this year, look no further than His & Hers by Alice Feeney.” —Woman & Home

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250266095
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	03/30/2021
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	11,977
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

ALICE FEENEY is a writer and journalist. She spent fifteen years with BBC News where she worked as a reporter, news editor, arts and entertainment producer, and One O'Clock news producer. Alice has lived in London and Sydney and has now settled in the Surrey countryside, where she lives with her husband and dog. Sometimes I Lie, her bestselling debut novel, is being made into a TV series by a major film studio. His & Hers is her third novel.

Reading Group Guide

Welcome to the Reading Group Guide for His & Hers. Please note: In order to provide reading groups with the most informed and thought-provoking questions possible, it is necessary to reveal important aspects of the plot of this novel—as well as the ending. If you have not finished reading His & Hers, we respectfully suggest that you consider waiting before reviewing this guide.

1. “Sometimes I think I am the unreliable narrator of my own life. Sometimes I think we all are.” It’s hard to know who to trust in this novel. Who did you most want to believe, Anna or Jack?
2. What was your favorite twist in the book?
3. “In the future, I expect people will long for fifteen minutes of privacy, rather than fifteen minutes of fame.” Given that Anna is such a private person, why do you think she pursued a career as a TV journalist? Was it to please her mother on some level? (Who named her after the news anchor Anna Ford).
4. “Home is not always where the heart is. For people like me, home is where the hurt lives that made us into who we are.” The quintessential English village of Blackdown is a fictional setting, but places like it do exist. What makes some people desperate to escape tight-knit communities, while others never want to leave?
5. “Popularity can spoil a place just like it can spoil a person.” What do you think the killer meant by that?
6. “Wine is always the most reliable crutch when it feels like I might fall.” Several characters in the book could be described as functioning alcoholics. Attitudes about smoking have dramatically changed in recent years; is alcohol simply Anna’s generation’s drug of choice? Did you find any of the characters’ attitudes toward alcohol disturbing?
7. “Funny how often life seems to work in reverse. We were children masquerading as adults and now we are adults acting like children.” The changing roles we play in life, family, and work feature several times in the book. Why did it take Anna so long to start looking after her mother?
8. “It might be true that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but sometimes the apple can roll down a hill, far, far away from where it landed.” How much do Anna and her mother really have in common?
9. “Youth fools us into thinking there are infinite paths to choose from in life; maturity tricks us into thinking there is only one.” Age discrimination is an interesting topic in this novel. Is society too quick to judge the elderly?
10. “Worry makes her world go round.” Several of the characters suffer from one or more forms of anxiety. Did that hinder them? Or did it somehow make them more determined to achieve their goals?
11. “Memories are shapeshifters. Some bend, some twist, and some shrivel and die over time.” Sometimes Anna’s and Jack’s memories don't quite match. Do two people ever really remember things the exact same way?
12. “The sting of loneliness is only ever temporary, like that of a nettle. If you don’t scratch at the solitude, it starts to feel normal again soon enough.” Loneliness is such a big theme in this book, and affects almost every character on some level, regardless of their age. Is life in 2020 more or less lonely than it used to be in?
13. “People rarely see themselves the way others do; we all carry broken mirrors.” Is anyone who they first seem to be in this novel?

You can find out about Alice’s latest books and news on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram: @alicewriterland

Editorial Reviews

“Absurdly absorbing psychological suspense with a wicked sting at its tail."
—Seattle Times

“[Feeney’s] dazzling ability to twist and twist again is fun to read.”
—The Minneapolis Star Tribune

“[A] fast-moving thriller…The story propels toward a climax that reveals not just the killer but the reliability, or otherwise, of the narrators...in a twisty tale.”
—New York Times Book Review

“[A] cunningly constructed psychological thriller...Feeney does a masterly job of folding in layers of several characters’ troubled shared pasts and explosive secrets. The breathtaking finale is sure to blindside readers. This is a masterpiece of misdirection.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A brilliant cat and-mouse game... [a] volatile, tension- and thought-provoking mix.”
—Booklist

“A taut suspense plot, many gleeful twists and turns, and suspects galore.”
—Kirkus

“No one can plot – or write – a story like Alice Feeney. His & Hers is a stunning, addictive novel that makes you wonder who you can trust – if anyone. Captivating from beginning to end, this book should not be missed!” —Samantha Downing, bestselling author of My Lovely Wife

“In His & Hers, Alice Feeney expertly weaves a deliciously dark, unsettling tale that will have readers tearing through the pages with haste, trying and failing to guess the true culprit in this spine-chilling murder mystery. A creepy thrill ride that Feeney fans will adore.” —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Mrs.

“Feeney does it again! His & Hers is a twisty dual-narrative that gives Gone Girl a run for its money and leaves you wondering if you can trust anyone. I couldn’t stop reading.” —Christina Dalcher, bestselling author of Vox

“Devoured His & Hers. Filmic and gripping with expertly-drawn narrators and a quintessentially English village where dark secrets are dragged into the light. His & Hers is a great read.” —Helen Monks Takhar, author of Precious You

“This is great. Keeps you guessing all the way through.” —Jane Fallon, author of Faking Friends

Select Praise for New York Times Bestselling Author Alice Feeney's Previous Novels

“If you’re looking for a Gone Girl–esque fix, then this is the book for you.” —Cosmopolitan

“A spine-tingling psychological thriller…the joy (and the stress) of this thriller is separating fact from fiction. The creepy feeling at the back of your neck is 100 percent real.” —People

“[An] insanely twisty thriller.” —Entertainment Weekly

“The twists pile up…visceral and haunting.” —Oprah.com

“This brilliant psychological thriller kept me guessing until the very last page.” —Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive and The Favorite Sister

“A gripping debut with a brilliant twist, I LOVED it!” —BA Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors

“Faster and more twisted than a roller coaster with an ending that’ll make your stomach drop, Alice Feeney’s Sometimes I Lie is not to be missed. I loved it!” —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and Every Last Lie

“Stiletto-sharp writing, and characters so real you’ll be looking over your shoulder long after the final page. With I Know Who You Are, Alice Feeney has single-handedly made the bookmark obsolete.” —Christina Dalcher, author of Vox

“What a ride. I loved this book and the brilliant Hitchcockian twist!” —Sarah Michelle Gellar

From the Publisher

★ 05/11/2020

Bestseller Feeney surpasses the dexterous deviousness on display in her 2018 debut, Sometimes I Lie, in this cunningly constructed psychological thriller centered on a bitterly divorced couple who are forced to cross paths again by a murder in Blackdown, Surrey, their hometown. Despite London BBC News correspondent Anna Andrews’s best efforts, she’s has been dispatched to the sleepy village to cover the case, whose investigation her former husband, Det. Chief Insp. Jack Harper, is leading. Both have conflicts of interest concerning the victim—Anna’s seductive former schoolmate, Rachel Hopkins—which, if known, would subject each of them to scrutiny. But before Jack and his crack second-in-command, Det. Sgt. Priya Patel, can make much headway, another body is discovered—by Anna—and potential links to the pair prove impossible to ignore. At this point, the plot quickens and thickens, and Feeney does a masterly job of folding in layers of several characters’ troubled shared pasts and explosive secrets. The breathtaking finale is sure to blindside readers. This is a masterpiece of misdirection. Agent: Jonny Geller, Curtis Brown. (July)

Publishers Weekly

2020-05-04
A news presenter and a police detective are brought together by murders in the British village where they both grew up.

There is precious little that can be revealed about the plot of Feeney’s third novel without spoilers, as the author has woven surprises and plot twists and suspicious linkages into nearly every one of her brief, first-person chapters, written in three alternating narrative voices. “Hers” is Anna Andrews, a wannabe anchor on a BBC news program whose lucky break comes when the body of one of her school friends is found brutally murdered in their hometown, a woodsy little spot called Blackdown. “His” is DCI Jack Harper, head of the Major Crime Team in Blackdown, where major crimes were rather few until now. The third is unnamed but clearly the killer’s. Happily, none of the three is an unreliable narrator—good thing because plenty of people are sick of that—but none is exactly 100% forthcoming either. Which only makes sense, because you can't have reveals without secrets. In a small town like Blackdown, everybody knows everybody, so it’s not too surprising that Anna and Jack have a tragic past or that each has connections to all the victims and suspects while not being totally free from suspicion themselves. Who is that sneaky third narrator? On the way to figuring that out, expect high school mean girls, teen lesbian action, mutilated corpses, nasty things happening to kittens, and—as seems de rigueur in British thrillers—plenty of drinking and wisecracks, sometimes in tandem. “Sadly, my sister has the same taste in wine as she does in men; too cheap, too young, and headache-inducing.”

Feeney improves on her debut with a taut suspense plot, many gleeful twists and turns, and suspects galore.

Kirkus Reviews