Debut novelist Seskis displays a keen sense of pacing ... and her backstories on Emily’s family are vivid yet done with great economy. ...Seskis hooks readers from the outset while also spelling out the high emotional costs of abandoning loved ones. A skillfully done novel by a writer to watch.” — Booklist
“Add this [book] to the growing Gone Girl subgenre, designed for readers who appreciate the journey and are willing to invest the time to reflect on its significance once the destination is reached.” — Library Journal
“Tina Seskis, if this novel is anything to go by, is one of the world’s leading experts at pulling the wool over readers’ eyes until the very end.” — Sophie Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Monogram Murders and The Carrier
“Tine Seskis’ twisted psychological thriller keeps readers guessing at Emily’s secrets until the end.” — Us Weekly
“It’s hard to put down this compelling, innovative mystery.... it all works together beautifully, the suspense and surprise will not be anything readers see coming.” — ReviewingTheEvidence.com
“Seskis expertly depicts the new life of a runaway wife, Emily Coleman, in her exciting if not groundbreaking first novel… a diverting read.” — Publishers Weekly
Tina Seskis, if this novel is anything to go by, is one of the world’s leading experts at pulling the wool over readers’ eyes until the very end.
Tine Seskis’ twisted psychological thriller keeps readers guessing at Emily’s secrets until the end.
Debut novelist Seskis displays a keen sense of pacing ... and her backstories on Emily’s family are vivid yet done with great economy. ...Seskis hooks readers from the outset while also spelling out the high emotional costs of abandoning loved ones. A skillfully done novel by a writer to watch.
It’s hard to put down this compelling, innovative mystery.... it all works together beautifully, the suspense and surprise will not be anything readers see coming.
Debut novelist Seskis displays a keen sense of pacing ... and her backstories on Emily’s family are vivid yet done with great economy. ...Seskis hooks readers from the outset while also spelling out the high emotional costs of abandoning loved ones. A skillfully done novel by a writer to watch.
11/03/2014
British author Seskis expertly depicts the new life of a runaway wife, Emily Coleman, in her exciting if not groundbreaking first novel. Leaving all that she knows in Manchester, England, for an uncertain future in present-day London, Emily reclaims her maiden name and becomes Cat Brown. With the help of her new housemate, the uninhibited but motherly Angel, Cat finds not only a new job but also a new persona, and the two party and drink to extremes that Cat would never have dared to try before. Yet at every turn Cat must push away thoughts of the often alluded to but unspecified event that drove her to restart her life. Individual readers will have to decide whether the secret that drives the plot, once it’s revealed, is sufficiently shocking. Regardless, as Cat teeters from being nearly indigent to becoming a confident if reckless Londoner, her experiences on her own make for a diverting read. Agent: Jon Elek, United Agents (U.K.). (Jan.)
11/15/2014
This highly anticipated U.S. publication of Seskis's debut psychological thriller is off and running from the very first page, in which readers meet Cat Brown, formerly Emily Coleman, as she sheds her previous life with a move to London, leaving behind what she assumes will be a shocked and bewildered family. Our view of Cat's rough first weeks in the city, and her introduction to a seedier life than the one to which she was accustomed in the suburbs of Manchester is interspersed with multiple narratives that provide disconnected clues to the motivation for her frantic hegira. The author's use of this technique propels the plot by leaving the reader unsettled and on edge, eager for more information. And, in order to achieve the intricate plot twists, Seskis reverses the classic methods of such predecessors as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy by distancing us from her characters in order to keep us ignorant of the driving force behind their actions until the climactic conclusion. VERDICT Add this one to the growing Gone Girl subgenre, designed for readers who appreciate the journey and are willing to invest the time to reflect on its significance once the destination is reached. [See Prepub Alert, 7/21/14.]—Nancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT
The dual narration in this enjoyable audiobook is artful with a minor distraction. Elizabeth Knowelden handles the first-person account of gone girl Emily/Cat, a runaway wife and mother starting a new life in London. The mystery is why this blessed and lucky woman has run away from all who love her. The audio puzzle is why Emily/Cat has a Manchester accent when everyone else in the story— voiced by Paul Fox—including Emily’s parents, husband, and twin sister, speaks standard English. That aside, both performers have smooth, well-trained, and beautiful voices and handle the drama with conviction and flair. The story does not necessarily convince, but it is well made and interesting, with a twist at the end you will not see coming. B.G. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
The dual narration in this enjoyable audiobook is artful with a minor distraction. Elizabeth Knowelden handles the first-person account of gone girl Emily/Cat, a runaway wife and mother starting a new life in London. The mystery is why this blessed and lucky woman has run away from all who love her. The audio puzzle is why Emily/Cat has a Manchester accent when everyone else in the story— voiced by Paul Fox—including Emily’s parents, husband, and twin sister, speaks standard English. That aside, both performers have smooth, well-trained, and beautiful voices and handle the drama with conviction and flair. The story does not necessarily convince, but it is well made and interesting, with a twist at the end you will not see coming. B.G. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
