Author:John Katzenbach
When the body of a young female nurse is found horribly murdered in the Western State Mental Hospital, Massachusetts, there is apparently no shortage of suspects - a whole hospital of them. One inmate claims to have seen the killer who he will only describe as The Angel.
Twenty years later, Francis Petrel, once a patient at the hospital, writes his account of the events of the murder and its investigation on the walls of his tiny apartment. As he goes deeper and deeper into his story, he plunges further into the return of his own madness. He remembers how he is co-opted into the investigation by Lucy Jones, a driven young profiler who has her own reasons for pursuing this particular killer. But she, and Francis, face the same conundrum: how does one find a cold blooded killer masquerading as mad in a world populated by the deranged?
In the end it will come down to Francis for he is the only one of the investigating team capable of recognizing the essential lie that The Angel embodies: for though his acts are those of a mad man, he most emphatically is not...
'Wonderful. This haunting story will linger in your mind long after you've left the asylum'
'Beautifully written, thoroughly engrossing thriller'
'A novel that rises to the top of the genre, a page-turner whose authenticity takes the reader on an unexpected journey'
—— Denver Post'A tour de force, superior storytelling designed to scare your pants off and very likely to succeed'
Kurt Wallander is right up there with Ian Rankin's John Rebus
—— Waterstone's Books QuarterlyA truly impressive writer
—— We Love This BookPossibly Child's best Reacher novel yet
—— Yorkshire PostAnother great book for him, gives us hero Jack Reacher's back-story. Hurrah
—— Kate Atkinson , Daily TelegraphLee Child writes a good story, twisting it into labyrinthine folds and keeping his readers guessing right to the end. He has obviously done his research
—— Irish TimesUtterley irresistible, proof that there is no substitute...
—— ObserverIf Fifty Shades is your thing, you might just love The Engagement.
—— Wendy Holden , Daily MailHooper serves up a chilling story of obsession, delusion, and the slippery nature of sexual identity.
—— Claire Allfree , MetroThere’s more than a shade of Fifty Shades in this erotic, psychological thriller...the unreliability of the narrator will have you guessing till the end of this dark and thought provoking tale.
—— Sunday MirrorThis is a tense, elegant, psychological thriller about an emotional tug-of-war... This tale of self-willing entrapment keeps us guessing to the end... Compelling and memorable.
—— Viv Groskop , Red MagazineHooper has constructed a modern fairy tale of a kind, complete with Bluebeard and his castle, and using some of the fictional paraphernalia of Gothic horror and melodrama she delivers a compelling, at times disturbing, but always humorous and readable cautionary tale.
—— Brian McCabe , HeraldThe difficulty with a thriller - even if it is literary - is not to fall into cliche and predictability. At the points where it seems as this may happen, Hooper wrong foots the reader without losing any credibility, leading to a very clever ending.
—— bookmunchThis beautifully crafted psychological thriller really got under my skin.
—— A.N. Wilson , Readers DigestHooper is a very clever writer. Her prose is uncluttered, but every phrase is packed with meaning.
—— bookoxygen.comA chilling, compulsive read.
—— Fanny Blake , Woman & HomeNew, dark literary thriller...read it for its seductive plot.
—— TatlerA dark unsettling read which will appeal to fans of the gothic as well as those who enjoy tales of twisted relationships such as Gone Girl.
—— lisabooks.blogspotLiterary thriller The Engagement by Chloe Hooper takes a Fifty-shades style plot about erotic games between estate agent Liesel and business man Alexander to a darker place.
—— Good HousekeepingPart gothic novel, part thriller, this will keep you guessing until the end.
—— GlamourHooper has crafted a terrific tale full of dark corners and dead-ends that leave the reader wondering what to believe. The result is a collision between a psychological thriller and a very dark romance that has something for fans of either genre.
—— Irish ExaminerThe Engagement has all the ingredients of a top psychological thriller with the bonus of literary style. I think it could be a huge hit. I hope so. I really want to see the film…
—— Literary Sofa BlogBeautifully crafted and sleek psychological thriller… The Engagement, by one of Australia’s newest and brightest writers, explores mind control, power games and emotional abuse, so do not expect it to be a romance novel as it is, most definitely, not!
—— Yattar YattarAn unsettling thriller... A book which deftly explores the power of money and property, romance and sex
—— Marie ClaireA dark, erotic and tense tale
—— GraziaPlain and lucid, with beautifully accurate word-choice, and plenty of grace-notes that one pauses to appreciate... A highly intelligent, unpredictable, very grown-up, and crazily readable novel
—— Brandon Robshaw , Independent on SundayA sleek and sly two-hander, a thriller almost, that sets everything out clearly for the reader and yet remains filled with uncertainty
—— John Self , GuardianAn intense psychological thriller, strewn with enough red herrings to satisfy the most demanding reader
—— Mail on SundayHooper's writing is singularly challenging and confrontational... For those who prefer their erotic literature less Fifty Shades of Grey, more Jane Eyre
—— Daily TelegraphA fine, literary thriller; cold, at times almost nauseatingly disturbing
—— Alison Flood , GuardianA fascinating, subtle, really original modern Gothic thriller
—— Rebecca Chance , Daily Record