NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE • With the emotional complexity of Everything I Never Told You and the psychological suspense of The Girl on the Train, O. Henry Prize winner Jan Ellison delivers a brilliantly paced, beautifully written debut novel about one woman’s reckoning with a youthful mistake.“Part psychological thriller, part character study . . . I … thriller, part character study . . . I peeled back the pages of this book as fast as I could.”—The Huffington Post
At nineteen, Annie Black trades a bleak future in a washed-out California town for a London winter of drinking and abandon. Twenty years later, she is a San Francisco lighting designer and happily married mother of three who has put her reckless youth behind her. Then a photo from that distant winter in Europe arrives inexplicably in her mailbox, and an old obsession is awakened.
Past and present collide, Annie’s marriage falters, and her son takes a car ride that ends with his life hanging in the balance. Now Annie must confront her own transgressions and fight for her family by untangling the mysteries of the turbulent winter that drew an invisible map of her future. Gripping, insightful, and lyrical, A Small Indiscretion announces the arrival of a major new voice in literary suspense as it unfolds a story of denial, passion, forgiveness—and the redemptive power of love.
Praise for A Small Indiscretion
“Ellison is a tantalizing storyteller . . . moving her story forward with cinematic verve.”—USA Today
“Rich with suspense . . . Lovely writing guides us through, driven by a quiet generosity.”—San Francisco Chronicle (Book Club pick)
“Delicious, lazy-day reading. Just don’t underestimate the writing.”—O: The Oprah Magazine (Editor’s Pick)
“Rich and detailed . . . The plot explodes delightfully, with suspense and a few twists. Using second-person narration and hypnotic prose, Ellison’s debut novel is both juicy and beautifully written. How do I know it’s juicy? A stranger started reading it over my shoulder on the New York City subway, and told me he was sorry that I was turning the pages too quickly.”—Flavorwire
“Are those wild college days ever really behind you? Happily married Annie finds out.”—Cosmopolitan
“An impressive fiction debut . . . both a psychological mystery and a study of the divide between desire and duty.”—San Jose Mercury News
“A novel to tear through on a plane ride or on the beach . . . I was drawn into a web of secrets, a world of unrequited love and youthful mistakes that feel heightened and more romantic on the cold winter streets of London, Paris, and Ireland.”—Bustle
“Ellison renders the California landscape with stunning clarity. . . . She writes gracefully, with moments of startling insight. . . . Her first novel is an emotional thriller, skillfully plotted in taut, visual scenes.”—The Rumpus
“To read A Small Indiscretion is to eat fudge before dinner: slightly decadent behavior, highly caloric, and extremely satisfying. . . . An emotional detective story that . . . mirrors real life in ways that surprise and inspire.”—New York Journal of Books
“If you liked Gone Girl for its suspenseful look inside the psychology of a bad marriage, try A Small Indiscretion. . . . It touches many of the same nerves.”—StyleCaster
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I rarely rate a book with five stars, but this story has haunted me, in that I can’t stop thinking about it. I feel as if I lived it and then I remind myself, no, it was simply a book I read. Oh, right.
A happy San Franciscan family becomes undone when their son meets a rather manic beauty. He disappears with her one night and becomes a victim of a car wreck. As the driver, she walks away with a scratch, he is hospitalized and in a coma for months.
His parents relationship begins to falter under the strain and we learn about the wife’s life at a younger age in England. There’s so much More going on – threads intersecting in various ways over the years, but I don’t want to ruin the story.
The characters are so real I feel as if this happened to my family. There are some unexpected twists in the plot, and you have a great psychological thriller. 5 *****.
This book was slow moving and it took me a while to read it…because I was not that interested but hate to leave a book unfinished.
I have to say that I didn’t like the heroine much and other characters were much more likeable but the course of her life has the potential to be a real life experience. There were a few twists that I didn’t figure out until much later in the book which made it fun. It was an easy, light read. Perfect for busy times when I want my books to be simple and whimsical, not heavy or deep.
This book was remarkably well written with a literary flair. The plot has unexpected twist, and is presented with great subtlety. The characters will stay in your mind long after you put down the book.
I thought the writing was horrible and the writer tried too hard to make this literature. This book could not decide if it was a thriller or a memoir.
Very well written. Jan Ellison weaves together a fantastic story and I could not put it down!
I wasn’t sure I was going toblove this at first but it really drew me in.
I liked the format of a mother writing to her son. I also liked the way the narrative switched from present day to the past. While some aspects of the plot were predictable, other of the “twists and turns” were not. The relationship of the spouses was well-developed and I thought it true to life. I was disappointed with the conclusion of the book as to the “younger generation” and wonder if it was left open for a sequel to be written.
Beautifully written.
Wonderful book – a page turner – stayed up late to read. Recommended for anyone who wants to revisit their own youthful indiscretions.
I just could not get into this book. I don’t believe I made it to page 50. Seldom do I do this…. I read so many great reviews. It was written oddly. Maybe I started it on a bad day, but I won’t try again. The author is long winded about her descriptions.