The Lover
A twisty scandi thriller about a woman caught in her own web of lies
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
"An absolutely prime slice of Scandicrime . . . the writer channels her professional expertise into a noteworthy domestic thriller" Barry Forshaw, FT
"Having hit a bull's-eye with . . . The Therapist . . . Helene Flood repeats the trick with another twisty tale of domestic goings-on . . . teasing and pleasing the reader till the very last page" Sunday Times Crime Club
"The Lover is taut, clever and irresistible" Anna Bailey
"A wonderful storyteller" Chris Whitaker
Is it worse to deceive to your husband or the police?
Rikke is lying to them both.
But how many lies can she get away with?
When her upstairs neighbour Jørgen is found murdered, she's questioned alongside her husband. How can she admit that she and Jørgen were having an affair? Or explain to the police the complexity of her feelings? The hint of relief that he's dead. And what would they say if they knew she used a spare key to enter his apartment the morning after he was killed?
Rikke knows she can't hide the evidence of the affair from the police. And if she's caught in her lie, suspicion will turn to her.
With her perfect family life threatening to unravel, Rikke realises that finding the killer is the only way to put herself in the clear. So long as the killer doesn't get to her first.
Praise for The Therapist
"Creepy, compelling and very well written" Harriet Tyce
"Wonderfully creepy, twisty and compelling" Karen Hamilton
"Masterfully paced and hauntingly written" Anna Bailey
"Gets under your skin" Jo Spain
"I couldn't put it down" Sarah Ward
"A marvellously assured debut thriller" Irish Times.
"A striking debut" Spectator
Translated from the Norwegian by Alison McCullough
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Thirtyish Rikke Prytz, the narrator of this mesmerizing tale of adultery, deceit, guilt, and betrayal from Flood (The Therapist), is married to her stodgy first love, Åsmund. Rikke, who feels like "a rat in a wheel," becomes captivated by her handsome upstairs neighbor, Jørgen, a roving-eyed journalist whose wife has given up her concert career to keep his home and raise his child. Rikke's breathless fling with him, delineated in heady flashbacks, turns sour just before Jørgen is found dead, his throat slashed in his study. Lying to both Åsmund and the police about her actions, Rikke gradually descends into a terrifying emotional maelstrom, caught between guilt that motivates repairing what's damaged and shame that impels her to hide it. With razor-keen psychological insights into all her fully fleshed characters, Flood delivers a sure-handed portrait of a bored wife as an immature everywoman adulteress. This is impossible to put down.
Customer Reviews
The Lonwinded Lover
Excellent writing and characters. The twist at the end was one this reader saw coming hundreds of pages earlier. For the plot, the novel feels about 20 percent too long. But the author is inventive and fascinating to read.