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Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Adult Fiction Book Hardback | 120791001795097 | F HAN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Praise for Sophie Hannah:
"What does motherhood mean? What should a mother do if her child is in danger? . . . It's those choices and their consequences that make "Little Face" compelling."--"The Washington Post"
"As . . . Agatha Christie gleefully trampled on that sacrosanct rule of the mystery novel to 'play fair with the reader, ' the power this novel packs derives from narrators who play fast and loose with what they know. . . . The solution is a stunner."--"The Boston Globe"
"Spine-tingling."--"Romantic Times" (top pick)
"A tautly claustrophobic spiral of a story."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Clever and original. . . . She has a brilliant new career ahead of her."--"BookPage"
"A splendid crime-psychological thriller. . . . A book so well-plotted and so well-written deserves to have its surprises kept intact."--"St. Louis-Post Dispatch"
"Riveting reading."--"Mystery Scene"
A serial rapist relies on successful career women's shame to insulate him from punishment. Then one of them sets out to find her missing lover, a married man, and in so doing exposes a sinister plot.
Sophie Hannah is an award-winning, best-selling poet in England. Her previous psychological thriller, "Little Face," was an acclaimed bestseller in the United Kingdom, as was "Hurting Distance."
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Hannah's intense second thriller (after Little Face), Det. Sgt. Charlie Zailer and her sidekick, Det. Constable Simon Waterhouse, pursue a serial rapist who preys on successful single career women and sells tickets to "live" rape parties. Naomi Jenkins, a sundial maker prone to panic attacks, reports her married lover, Robert Haworth, missing after he fails to show up for their weekly tryst. Later, in order to speed up the search, Naomi informs the police that Robert raped her three years earlier. Simon finds Robert at home, near death, after possibly being bludgeoned by his wife. But there's far more going on, and making matters more dodgy, aside from a growing victim list, is the foolish fling Charlie has with the owner of a chalet-style resort in Scotland. Full of clever plot twists, this satisfying shocker about "the victims and the perpetrators of violent crimes" suggests how obsessive love, while not a crime, is certainly within hurting distance. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Guardian Review
"It's the people we're closest to who can hurt us the most. The people you love are within hurting distance. Close range." This is the bleak premise upon which Hannah's second psychological thriller is based. Three years ago, sundial designer Naomi Jenkins was traumatised by a horrific event that has left her vulnerable and mistrustful. When her lover, Robert Howarth, goes missing, she resorts to extreme measures to ensure the police take his disappearance seriously. Alternate chapters are narrated by her; the others follow the police team led by Charlie Zailer and Simon Waterhouse. The plot is so convoluted that the reader is kept guessing until the end, at the cost of plausibility, and when Zailer as well as Howarth's wife and Jenkins all unravel, it starts to read like an extended study of female hysteria. Hannah's strength is in the details that bring characters into sharp focus, such as the parents who are so obsessed with golf they behave as if it "were their full-time job, one they might be fired from if they weren't diligent enough". Or the grumpy colleague: "Everything Gibbs said sounded like an excellent way to end a conversation". Caption: article-nonficpb18.1 It's the people we're closest to who can hurt us the most. The people you love are within hurting distance. Close range." This is the bleak premise upon which Hannah's second psychological thriller is based. Three years ago, sundial designer Naomi Jenkins was traumatised by a horrific event that has left her vulnerable and mistrustful. - Joanna Hines.
Booklist Review
British crime novelist Hannah brings back Detective Simon Waterhouse and his female boss, Sergeant Charlie Zailer, from her best-selling Little Face (2007). Successful businesswoman Naomi Jenkins is convinced something serious has happened to her married lover, with whom she is obsessed. When she suspects the police are not taking her seriously, she ups the ante by reporting him as a rapist, basing details of her account on an actual experience. It turns out, however, that Naomi's story bears a striking similarity to the stories of other rape survivors. Charlie and Simon realize they are dealing with a serial rapist and an emotionally damaged accuser while they also attempt to work out their own complicated relationship. Like Karin Slaughter in her Grant County novels, Hannah is interested in exploring the dark side of intimacy and does not shy away from depicting graphic sexual violence. Although her plotting is not as seamless as Slaughter's, she excels at depicting the emotional evolution of rape victims. Naomi's transformation from shrill neurotic to courageous fighter makes for compelling reading.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2008 Booklist
Library Journal Review
This British best seller from the author of Little Face features a serial rapist who remains free because his victims, successful businesswomen, don't come forward. But one uncovers a dark secret when she goes looking for her missing illicit lover. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.