Author:Tom Benn
Winner of the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award
It's Manchester, 1998, and the funeral party for Henry Bane's father is interrupted by a woman from Bane's past. Róisín is back in his life after an eight-year absence, inconvenient for Jan, his latest flame. Róisín has brought a wounded boyfriend with her - and a lot more trouble is following them up north.
Meanwhile, a Yardie who goes by the name of 'Hagfish' wants to take over the local ganglords' territory with Mary, his terrifying weapon of choice. It's Hagfish against Bane in a new turf war: a war that will claim lives and cement vendettas. It's a conflict steeped in half-forgotten history: a history that Bane and Róisín are forever tied to - and which ties them together.
If The Doll Princess was a startlingly original reimagining of noir, then Benn has upped his own game. Chamber Music takes all the genre’s most potent elements and makes them new and vital again.
—— Cathi Unsworth , GuardianIt’s so good, I almost forgot to breathe.
—— Tom Adair , ScotsmanSuperb...The result is a kind of Guy Ritchie-esque gangster comedy with infinitely more depth.
—— Jake Kerridge , Daily TelegraphA startlingly new, ridiculously stylish, home-grown voice
—— Henry Sutton , Daily MirrorOne of the most exciting young British novelists working in any genre.
—— ShotsmagBenn has a great ear for dialogue...[An] excellent book.
—— Crime Fiction LoverStarkly written, dropping in and out of patois and slang, Tom Benn paints a disturbing picture of our society's underclass.
—— Mark Timlin , Crime TimeEngagement reminds us too of the power of fiction, both within the story and outside it. Liese feels threatened by the stories she herself has told, and we in turn flip the pages breathlessly, suspending disbelief.
—— John Self , GuardianIn terms of myth, it is rather like Bluebeard’s castle...in film terms, it recalls Psycho.
—— David Grylls , Sunday TimesA gothic tale, filled with brilliantly creepy details.
—— Suzy Hansen , Financial TimesIf 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