“A thrilling page-turner.” —Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train“Breathtaking . . . As shocking as it is satisfying.” —The New York Times Book ReviewA riveting and sophisticated page-turner inspired by one of the most shocking true crimes in 20th century Britain: the Lord Lucan case. “A better person would forgive him. A different sort of better person would have found him years ago.” … of better person would have found him years ago.”
Claire is a hardworking doctor leading a simple, quiet life in London. She is also the daughter of the most notorious murder suspect in the country, though no one knows it.
Nearly thirty years ago, while Claire and her brother slept upstairs, a brutal crime was committed in her family’s townhouse. The next morning, her father’s car was found abandoned near the English Channel, with bloodstains on the front seat. Her mother insisted she’d seen him in the house that night, but his powerful, privileged friends maintained his innocence. The first lord accused of murder in more than a century, he has been missing ever since.
When the police tell Claire they’ve found him, her carefully calibrated existence begins to fracture. She doesn’t know if she’s the daughter of a murderer or a wronged man, but Claire will soon learn how far she’ll go to finally find the truth.
Loosely inspired by one of the most notorious unsolved crimes of the 20th century – the Lord Lucan case – A Double Life is at once a riveting page-turner and a moving reflection on women and violence, trauma and memory, and class and privilege.
Named a Must-Read by Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, O Magazine, BBC, CrimeReads, and PureWow
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Berry’s clever, thrilling writing wound me in and left me heartbroken when I turned the last page and realized it was over.
A thrilling page-turner [and] a compassionate and angry book: with forensic precision, Berry picks apart lives derailed by violence and the ways in which class privilege protects the guilty.
A Double Life by Flynn Berry is an exceptional read of unbelievable thriller suspense fiction. I picked it up and did not stop reading until I read the last word. The book switches from present to past without indicating a time period and I did find that distracting at first. Well written exciting book with many bizarre twists until the very end of the book. Looking forward to reading her first book Under the Harrow.
Thrilling
Read my review on the New York Journal of Books: https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/double
What a book! A skillful and compelling exploration of families, crime, and class.
A Double Life is more than just a taut thriller that will keep you poised at the edge of your seat: it’s also a deeply considered examination of women, violence, and memory. Do yourself a favor and read this astonishing novel.
This was a really intriguing read, both for the mystery and the psychological study of the effects of violence and trauma… Berry has an engaging writing style that manages to keep you just that little bit off center. The characters are a great melange of personalities and the peek behind the curtain into the world of contemporary privileged aristocracy was fascinating.The story is plotted and paced well with just enough space between the lines to keep you wondering whether you can trust your instincts or not (turns out, I can’t).
This was a great find and Flynn Berry is on my list of authors to watch now…
My review copy was provided by the Penguin First to Read program.
A disturbing portrait of murder and its impact on those left behind. Everyone becomes a victim of the killer’s violent act. The narrative is slow-paced.
Claire is obsessed with finding her father, a man accused by her mother of murder nearly 20 years ago. The story is told by Claire, who also reminisces about her parents and their relationship in the early years. Claire’s mother was not born to privilege, but her father was wealthy, educated at Eton, and had powerful friends. I wish there had been more in the story about their early life and the friendships so I could understand more about their relationship.
After the murder, Claire’s father disappears. Her family’s life is ruined, they must take on new identities to escape the gossip and fallout from the crime. But, Claire needs answers, and she will stop at nothing to determine if her father, aided by his wealthy friends, committed murder and covered it up, allowing him to escape and live life elsewhere as a free man. Along the way, she finds secrets about her father and his wealthy friends, and discovers what she will do to uncover the truth.
This is a very quick read, and I liked it OK.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Another fantastic literary suspense novel by Flynn Berry, one that burrows deep in your soul and takes you along as it hurtles toward its unexpected conclusion.
A fictional story based on the disappearance of the alleged murderer Lord Lucan, although the names were changed and he was never mentioned. Very clver.
One night while Claire and her brother slept upstairs someone came into their home and committed murder. Claire’s mother stood by her accusation of her estranged husband but Claire always wanted to believe that it was not true. Almost thirty years later Claire now a physician, is visited by a detective who claims her father is still alive. Even though the clue turns into a dead end, Claire decides to do some digging on her on to find her father who disappeared the night of the murders. While Claire starts watching her father’s old friends, pretending to be someone else while she investigates, the secrets she will uncover finally give her the answer of whether her father was guilty or not.
I received this book as an ARC.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began this book. I felt the description was slightly vague. But, as I got into it, it became clear that this would be an interesting story. Typically I prefer an intense fast paced form of story telling, but this was so well written, and it was woven so well, it really just needs to be savored.
3.5 ‘s. I was intrigued by the fact that the book was loosely inspired by one of the most notorious unsolved crimes of the 20th century—the Lord Lucan case. It was well written and interesting, but I didn’t care for the way it jumps between present and past, without warning at times. But it held my attention enough to make me curious about the details of the actual case.
The story is told by the POV of the daughter—Claire—who is obsessed with finding her father. She is now a doctor, leading a quiet life in London. Her younger brother Robbie is a mess, with an addiction to pain meds. They’ve both changed their names so their past can remain hidden.
Almost thirty years ago, Claire woke to noises and went downstairs to discover the body of their nanny—Emma—covered in blood. Her mother and father—Faye and Colin—were estranged at the time.
Faye said Colin attacked her when she found him over Emma’s body. She escaped, ran for help and Colin fled the scene. His car was found abandoned near the English Channel, with bloodstains on the front seat. His powerful, privileged friends maintained his innocence and the first lord accused of murder in more than a century has been missing ever since.
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review!
#AdoubleLife #NetGalley
3.5 Stars
Claire’s father has been missing almost 30 years. He disappeared after committing a brutal crime against her mother and her mother’s friend. Claire’s mother survived to tell people that her husband had done this. Her father’s family disputed it.
Her father’s car was found abandoned a short distance away, but he disappeared. Over the years there have been sightings, but it was never her father. The theory is that his family somehow smuggled him out of the country.
Claire is tired of not knowing if she’s the daughter of a murderer or a man framed by someone else.
Claire will soon learn how far she’ll go to finally find the truth.
This was an engrossing look at Claire’s life … her memories of her father, her life as a child, her life as an adult, trying to take care of her younger brother who has issues of his own… all told in her own voice. This is not a highly suspenseful book, but it did hold my attention. The ending came as a surprise, one I didn’t see coming.
Many thanks to the author / Penguin Group – Viking / Netgalley for the digital copy of A DOUBLE LIFE. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
The blurb for A Double Life caught my attention, especially with it being loosely based on an unsolved murder. However, the execution came up lacking for me. The story is a mix of past and present with the past story being told in a series of flashback-like scenes. I agree that the past story needed to be told, but the changes from present to past and back again are abrupt and without any warning. That combined with a choppy writing style made the story confusing and was distracting at best. For me, it felt a bit like Claire was scatterbrained, which may have been the idea, but it just didn’t work for me. There is some mystery, but I wouldn’t necessarily call this one a thriller unless Claire’s behavior counts as thrilling. A bit out there, yes, but I wouldn’t say that it had that thriller quality. There is a thrilling scene toward the end that could’ve saved this one for me had the story ended at around the 97% mark. Instead, it went on to bring in a couple of characters that in my opinion were completely unnecessary. One of those did answer a question raised earlier in the story, but with what had already happened, I didn’t quite understand the point. All in all, this one had great potential that just wasn’t realized.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This was an interesting book and one that I highly enjoyed. This is the story of a girl whose nanny is murdered and mum is beaten up one night in her childhood. Everyone, including the police think that her father did it. From the night that it happened, he disappears. She and her mum and brother change their names and move away. She always wanted to know who really did it, was it him, or someone else. She follows her father’s friends thinking that they might know. She finally gets up enough courage to approach the daughter of one of her father’s friends and finds out where he is. She finds him and finally ends her double life. This was a great read and one that I greatly recommend!