The Silent Patient


Book Description

**THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "An unforgettable—and Hollywood-bound—new thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy." —Entertainment Weekly The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive. Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....




The Maidens


Book Description

**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides’s long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." —The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read—with a twist that blew my mind. I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that's saying something!" —Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements “Michaelides as a major player in the field” (Publishers Weekly). Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge. Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld? When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.




The True Deceiver


Book Description

In the deep winter snows of a Swedish hamlet, a strange young woman fakes a break-in at the house of an elderly artist in order to persuade her that she needs companionship. But what does she hope to gain by doing this? And who ultimately is deceiving whom? In this portrayal of two women grappling with truth and lies, nothing can be taken for granted. By the time the snow thaws, both their lives will have changed irrevocably.




The Patient


Book Description

The Silent Patient by way of Stephen King: Parker, a young, overconfident psychiatrist new to his job at a mental asylum, miscalculates catastrophically when he undertakes curing a mysterious and profoundly dangerous patient. In a series of online posts, Parker H., a young psychiatrist, chronicles the harrowing account of his time working at a dreary mental hospital in New England. Through this internet message board, Parker hopes to communicate with the world his effort to cure one bewildering patient. We learn, as Parker did on his first day at the hospital, of the facility's most difficult, profoundly dangerous case--a forty-year-old man who was originally admitted to the hospital at age six. This patient has no known diagnosis. His symptoms seem to evolve over time. Every person who has attempted to treat him has been driven to madness or suicide. Desperate and fearful, the hospital's directors keep him strictly confined and allow minimal contact with staff for their own safety, convinced that releasing him would unleash catastrophe on the outside world. Parker, brilliant and overconfident, takes it upon himself to discover what ails this mystery patient and finally cure him. But from his first encounter with the mystery patient, things spiral out of control, and, facing a possibility beyond his wildest imaginings, Parker is forced to question everything he thought he knew. Fans of Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes and Paul Tremblay's The Cabin at the End of the World will be riveted by Jasper DeWitt's astonishing debut.




Gentlemen and Players


Book Description

The New York Times bestselling author takes a riveting new direction with this richly textured, multi-layered novel of friendship, murder, revenge, and class conflict set in an upper-crust English school—as enthralling and haunting as Ian McKewan’s Atonement and Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley Audere, agere, auferre. To dare, to strive, to conquer. For generations, elite young men have attended St. Oswald’s School for Boys, groomed for success by the likes of Roy Straitley, the eccentric classics teacher who has been a revered fixture for more than 30 years. But this year, things are different. Suits, paperwork, and Information Technology rule the world, and Straitley is reluctantly contemplating retirement. He is joined in this, his 99th, term by five new faculty members, including one who—unknown to Straitley and everyone else—holds intimate and dangerous knowledge of St. Ozzie’s ways and secrets, it’s comforts and conceits. Harboring dark ties to the school’s past, this young teacher has arrived with one terrible goal: Destroy St. Oswald’s. As the new term gets underway, a number of incidents befall students and faculty alike. Beginning as small annoyances—a lost pen, a misplaced coffee mug—they soon escalate to the life threatening. With the school unraveling, only Straitley stands in the way of St. Ozzie’s ruin. But the old man faces a formidable opponent—a master player with a strategy that has been meticulously planned to the final move. A harrowing tale of cat and mouse told in alternating voices, this riveting, hypnotically atmospheric novel showcases Joanne Harris’s astonishing storytelling talent as never before.




The Silent Patient


Book Description

I was in my thirties when I attended nursing school, and I took the year-long crash course to get it over with as a LPN (licensed practical nurse). I was blessed to be able to cram the crash course in a year. I was particularly nervous when I had to take the state board exam to determine my becoming a nurse. After studying so hard for a complete year, I wasn’t sure if I would pass the state board exam. But I did pass the test, and I was so thankful to Jesus for this, for allowing me to pass the first time I took the exam. Prior to me going to nursing school and during nursing school, people and some family members were telling me that studying to be a nurse was not going to be easy and that it was going to be hard. There were even statements that I wouldn’t graduate, also gossip that I would drop out. I stayed away from those type of people with negativity and waiting for my failure. Readers, remember, the only thing that beats a failure is a trier, and as long as one tries, then you’re not a failure because at least you tried. After retiring as a nurse, an 8-mm aneurysm was discovered in my brain. I died during brain surgery, and now I know there is life after death. Even though I wanted to stay in the arms of God and not return to my body, He sent me back anyway ’cause it wasn’t my time yet. I will never forget the wonderful experience being with the Lord. That’s why I wanted to stay because of the joy and happiness. I titled this book The Silent Patient ’cause when my spirit returned back into my body—I was in a coma for a week—I was told that I couldn’t speak, but I could hear my visitors and could hear the health care staff. I just couldn’t speak or respond. I had to fight all my life, and now I had to fight to come out of a coma. I’ve been diagnosed with another brain aneurysm, but life goes on and live it to its fullest. Addendum to The Silent Patient: Roger and I didn’t sleep in the same bedroom the last two years of our marriage, which was my decision because he disgusted me. I had grown to despise him. I discovered, as years passed, that he had been doing illicit drugs since he was twelve years old. He would sneak and wear my panties and negligees, and I asked him for a divorce. He told me he would never divorce me, and if I tried to divorce him that he would make my life a living hell, and he smirked and said, “You know what I am capable of doing.” He said he would ruin me in every way that he could dream of. He told me he planned to kill his father for insurance but decided not to go through it. He also told me that he kept trying to get his ex-wife to go to the mountains so he could push her over a cliff and kill her. I did not know how to swim, and he kept insisting that we go see the ocean. Well, I wasn’t going to do that based on what he had told me. It was all about money with him no matter what he had to do to get it. Knowing his murderous intentions, he was capable of anything. I know he drugged me sometimes because I have flashbacks of some things. He was a drug addict; whether it would be prescription drugs or illicit drugs, he would do it. He always became violent when he was on drugs. I receive a lump sum of award money, and since I couldn’t count or do a lot of things after brain surgery, he went through my money like water. I had no idea he was doing this. He was plotting since the day we met. I can see that now. Most of my money went on his drugs and splurging all his desires. He was not going to let go of me. He only wanted to live off me ’cause he was too lazy to work. I overheard him on the phone one day, saying he was not going to work anymore. He didn’t realize that some of my memory was coming back to me. One day, when I came home, he wouldn’t let me in the house ’cause he didn’t want me to see him in women’s clothing and makeup. When I pushed the door open with my key, he slammed the door on my hand, and I called the police. He was arrested, and I filed for divorce right away with a restraining order. I didn’t care what threats he was going to do although I knew he would stalk me, which he did. I just went for the divorce and got it. That was a happy day for me.




Behind Her Eyes


Book Description

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES The instant New York Times and #1 international bestseller. “You should read Behind Her Eyes...It’s bloody brilliant.” —Stephen King "An eerie thriller...Pinborough keeps us guessing about just who’s manipulating whom – until the ending reveals that we’ve been wholly complicit in this terrifying mind game.” —The New York Times Book Review Why is everyone talking about the ending of Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes? Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone. When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar...who says the kiss was a terrible mistake, but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise. And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend. But she also just happens to be married to David. And if you think you know where this story is going, think again, because Behind Her Eyes is like no other book you’ve read before. David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife. But then why is David so controlling? And why is Adele so scared of him? As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. But Louise can’t guess how wrong—and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets. In Behind Her Eyes, Sarah Pinborough has written a novel that takes the modern day love triangle and not only turns it on its head, but completely reinvents it in a way that will leave readers reeling.




The Deep End of the Ocean


Book Description

"Masterful...A big story about human connection and emotional survival" - Los Angeles Times The first book ever chosen by Oprah's Book Club Few first novels receive the kind of attention and acclaim showered on this powerful story—a nationwide bestseller, a critical success, and the first title chosen for Oprah's Book Club. Both highly suspenseful and deeply moving, The Deep End of the Ocean imagines every mother's worst nightmare—the disappearance of a child—as it explores a family's struggle to endure, even against extraordinary odds. Filled with compassion, humor, and brilliant observations about the texture of real life, here is a story of rare power, one that will touch readers' hearts and make them celebrate the emotions that make us all one.




The Chef's Secret


Book Description

A captivating novel of Renaissance Italy detailing the mysterious life of Bartolomeo Scappi, the legendary chef to several popes and author of one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time, and the nephew who sets out to discover his late uncle’s secrets—including the identity of the noblewoman Bartolomeo loved until he died. When Bartolomeo Scappi dies in 1577, he leaves his vast estate—properties, money, and his position—to his nephew and apprentice Giovanni. He also gives Giovanni the keys to two strongboxes and strict instructions to burn their contents. Despite Scappi’s dire warning that the information concealed in those boxes could put Giovanni’s life and others at risk, Giovanni is compelled to learn his uncle’s secrets. He undertakes the arduous task of decoding Scappi’s journals and uncovers a history of deception, betrayal, and murder—all to protect an illicit love affair. As Giovanni pieces together the details of Scappi’s past, he must contend with two rivals who have joined forces—his brother Cesare and Scappi’s former protégé, Domenico Romoli, who will do anything to get his hands on the late chef’s recipes. With luscious prose that captures the full scale of the sumptuous feasts for which Scappi was known, The Chef’s Secret serves up power, intrigue, and passion, bringing Renaissance Italy to life in a delectable fashion.




The Latinist: A Novel


Book Description

An NPR Best Book of 2022 One of The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of 2022 A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of 2022 Selection "Ingenious.…a superb literary suspense novel that calls to mind an earlier such debut, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History." —Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post A contemporary reimagining of the Daphne and Apollo myth, The Latinist is a page-turning exploration of power, ambition, and the intertwining of love and obsession. Tessa Templeton has thrived at Oxford University under the tutelage and praise of esteemed classics professor Christopher Eccles. And now, his support is the one thing she can rely on: her job search has yielded nothing, and her devotion to her work has just cost her her boyfriend, Ben. Yet shortly before her thesis defense, Tessa learns that Chris has sabotaged her career—and realizes their relationship is not at all what she believed. Driven by what he mistakes as love for Tessa, Chris has ensured that no other institution will offer her a position, keeping her at Oxford with him. His tactics grow more invasive as he determines to prove he has her best interests at heart. Meanwhile, Tessa scrambles to undo the damage—and in the process makes a startling discovery about an obscure second-century Latin poet that could launch her into academic stardom, finally freeing her from Chris’s influence. A contemporary reimagining of the Daphne and Apollo myth, The Latinist is a page-turning exploration of power, ambition, and the intertwining of love and obsession.