11/21/2016
The prologue of Lennon’s deeply felt but flawed debut, more a coming-of-age novel than a thriller, centers on Betsy Young, who 20 years earlier “left her friend alone to die,” the victim of a serial killer. In 2010, Betsy is a seemingly successful New Yorker with a glossy job at an auction house; a supportive husband, Gavin; and a feisty four-year-old daughter she’s terrified to let out of her sight. The reason for this fear emerges exceedingly gradually as the narrative jumps back to Gainesville, Fla., in 1990 and a very different Betsy, then a rebellious but thoughtful University of Florida senior trying to navigate her relationships with her best friend, Ginny; demanding frenemy Caroline; and the simpatico guy who has caught her eye, Gavin. Though Lennon hooks readers early with her dramatic premise, the choice to focus for most of the book on the minutiae of Betsy’s life over a several-day stretch and a contrived denouement keep this from becoming the compelling read it might have been. Agent: Brettne Bloom, Book Group. (Feb.)
Megan Abbott meets M.O. Walsh in Christine Lennon's compelling debut novel about a group of friends on the cusp of graduating from college when their lives are irrevocably changed by a brutal act of violence.
Present Day...
For two decades, Elizabeth has tried to escape the ghosts of her past...tried to erase the painful memories...tried to keep out the terrifying nightmares. But twenty years after graduating from the University of Florida, her carefully curated life begins to unravel, forcing her to confront the past she's tried so hard to forget.
1990s, Gainesville, Florida...
Elizabeth and her two closest friends, Caroline and Ginny, are having the time of their lives in college-binge watching Oprah, flirting for freebies from Taco Bell, and breaking hearts along the way. But without warning, their world is suddenly shattered when a series of horrific acts of violence ravage the campus, changing their lives forever.
Sweeping readers from the exclusive corners of sorority life in the South to the frontlines of the drug-fueled, slacker culture in Manhattan in the `90s and early `00s, when Elizabeth is forced to acknowledge her role in the death of a friend in order to mend a broken friendship and save her own life, The Drifter is an unforgettable story about the complexities of friendships and the secrets that can ultimately destroy us.Megan Abbott meets M.O. Walsh in Christine Lennon's compelling debut novel about a group of friends on the cusp of graduating from college when their lives are irrevocably changed by a brutal act of violence.
Present Day...
For two decades, Elizabeth has tried to escape the ghosts of her past...tried to erase the painful memories...tried to keep out the terrifying nightmares. But twenty years after graduating from the University of Florida, her carefully curated life begins to unravel, forcing her to confront the past she's tried so hard to forget.
1990s, Gainesville, Florida...
Elizabeth and her two closest friends, Caroline and Ginny, are having the time of their lives in college-binge watching Oprah, flirting for freebies from Taco Bell, and breaking hearts along the way. But without warning, their world is suddenly shattered when a series of horrific acts of violence ravage the campus, changing their lives forever.
Sweeping readers from the exclusive corners of sorority life in the South to the frontlines of the drug-fueled, slacker culture in Manhattan in the `90s and early `00s, when Elizabeth is forced to acknowledge her role in the death of a friend in order to mend a broken friendship and save her own life, The Drifter is an unforgettable story about the complexities of friendships and the secrets that can ultimately destroy us.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170094912 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 02/14/2017 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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