“Beautifully written and suffused with dread. Jane Shemilt’s domestic settings are seductively vivid, and the final outcome is profoundly shocking and terrifying.” — Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny
Big Little Lies meets Lord of The Flies in this electrifyingly twisty psychological thriller, follow-up to Jane Shemilt’s breakout debut The Daughter.Over the course of … electrifyingly twisty psychological thriller, follow-up to Jane Shemilt’s breakout debut The Daughter.
Over the course of a long, hot summer in London, the lives of three very different married couples collide when their children join the same tutoring circle, resulting in illicit relationships, shocking violence, and unimaginable fallout.
There’s Eve, a bougie earth mother with a well-stocked trust fund; she has three little ones, a blue-collar husband and is obsessed with her Instagrammable recipes and lifestyle. And Melissa, a successful interior designer whose casually cruel banker husband is careful not to leave visible bruises; she curates her perfectly thin body so closely she misses everything their teenage daughter is hiding. Then there’s Grace, a young Zimbabwean immigrant, who lives in high-rise housing project with her two children and their English father Martin, an award-winning but chronically broke novelist; she does far more for her family than she should have to.
As the weeks go by, the couples become very close; there are barbecues, garden parties, a holiday at a country villa in Greece. Resentments flare. An affair begins. Unnoticed, the children run wild. The couples are busily watching each other, so distracted and self-absorbed that they forget to watch their children. No one sees the five children at their secret games or realize how much their family dynamics are changing until tragedy strikes.
The story twists and then twists again while the three families desperately search for answers. It’s only as they begin to unravel the truth of what happened over the summer that they realize evil has crept quietly into their world.
But has this knowledge come too late?
“Countless psychological thrillers get compared to Big Little Lies; Shelmilt’s is the real deal.” — People
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Beautifully written and suffused with dread. Jane Shemilt’s domestic settings are seductively vivid, and the final outcome is profoundly shocking and terrifying.
A new friendship between three sets of parents and six children develops when one child in each family takes part in tutoring for dyslexia. To say these families are different is putting it mildly. We have:
-Eve, living well on her trust fund and her husband Eric, a landscaper. They live in a large but messy house with their three children Eve believes that children shouldn’t lead structured lives and should be free to play without parental interference.
-Melissa is an interior decorator who lives her life very strictly and tries her best to stay out of Paul’s way. Paul is an abuser to his wife but very close to their daughter Izzy.
-Grace and Martin have two children. She is from Zimbabwe and works to keep the family fed and taken care of. He is an author who has had one big book and appears to be having a major writer’s block as he tries and fails on his second book. Grace is also a writer but doesn’t have time or energy to write after her long days at work.
Over the course of the summer, the six adults all become closer and even go to Greece on vacation. The unsupervised children also grow close but what is really going on with the kids. Is it simple hide and seek or is there something much more sinister going on? The story twists and turns while the three families search for answers. It’s only as they begin to unravel the truth of what happened over the summer that they realize evil has crept quietly into their world while they weren’t paying attention.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down.
The atmosphere traps you, the unexpected twists take you by surprise, the characters in this book, both children and adults, move through the pages to create a unique universe that will keep your eyes open until late at night. This is a jewel of a book. Don’t miss it!
Excellent well written book as expected from Jane Smemilt. Keep an eye on your children! Well developed characters although there were a few times I questioned character’s motives/actions. Gripping story line that starts slow and builds. Harrowing in places as expected for a murder mystery. Strongly recommended for your TBR pile!
I went into this book feeling very excited. The blurb had me expecting something with twists, turns, some heat, some intrigue. What I got, though, was a lot less exciting.
I don’t know if there are too many people with too many children (it did get a little tiresome trying to keep track of whose kid was whose, largely because these kids all seemed like the same person, except for one or two) or if the plot wound up being not all that interesting, but this book didn’t click with me the way I’d hoped. Or maybe it’s that the three women felt a little too straight out of Central Casting: the earth mother, the abused wife, the unappreciated and ignored wife. Their back stories didn’t feel unique enough.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this book. Do I need to give it another try?
A slow burn with beautiful, atmospheric writing. While not a light read, this one will make you keep an eye on your children, even when your own life is spinning out of control. I recommend for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction.
BRILLIANT, and frighteningly credible, partly because the characters are so beautifully realized. Exquisitely written, utterly gripping and almost unbearably tense — you’ll be thinking about it long after you read the final page.