Author:Wilkie Collins,Tim McInnerny,Matthew Sweet
Brought to you by Penguin.
This Penguin Classic is performed by acclaimed British actor Tim McInnerny, known for his many roles on stage and screen including in Notting Hill and Blackadder. This definitive edition includes an introduction by Matthew Sweet.
The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.
This fast-paced, authentic thriller – written by an ex-crime analyst – immerses you so deeply in the investigation, you’ll be desperate to get to the bottom of the case.
—— Crime Monthly Magazine‘The darkness surrounding the two girls and their vulnerable hopelessness twanged at my heart strings…That the author is a former crime analyst gives the story an authentic, experienced and intelligent feel. Yet pleasingly there is not too much police jargon. There is a good sense of atmosphere along with time and place in both timelines…an excellent debut novel.’
—— Crime ReviewWith well-judged interweaving narratives and plenty of rich description, this is an absorbing and promising debut.
—— Spectator, named best new crime novel for 2019Skilfully-plotted debut… the journey to the truth is one of high tension.
—— Sunday Times Crime ClubProvides a clever, unexpected solution, by way of some fine writing
—— The TimesMy Name Is Anna has plenty of reveals but it’s the big emotions this book evokes that make you keep reading this debut by Lizzy Barber.
—— Good HousekeepingDark, disturbing and powerful, the gripping plot is full of twists, turns and suspense. You will not want to put it down.
—— CandisYou won’t put it down until you finish it!
—— PrimaLizzy Barber’s psychological suspense debut is fast-paced, compelling and impossible to put down.
—— CultureFlyCompelling, emotional and haunting in ways beyond your imagination, this story is everything I hoped it would be and more. I would be shocked if we don't see it on our television screens in the future. A must-read for 2019
—— Books of All KindsEnthralling, and often deeply moving, it is a brilliant debut
—— Daily MailAs convincing as it was gripping, a fabulous debut thriller
—— Sunday MirrorThis strong debut features two very different teenage girls, both trying to make sense of their lives… Barber skilfully evokes their contrasting worlds and blundering steps towards the truth.
—— Mail on Sunday, Thriller of the MonthBarber has created characters with sufficient appeal to fuel real suspense.
—— Guardian, Thriller of the MonthConvincing and gripping, this is a fabulous debut thriller.
—— The PeopleAs convincing as it was gripping, a fabulous debut thriller.
—— Sunday MirrorThis strong debut features two very different teenage girls, both trying to make sense of their lives…
Barber skilfully evokes their contrasting worlds and blundering steps towards the truth.
A fast paced and interesting exploration of the lives of two teenagers in very different circumstances. A gripping read… thoroughly enjoyable
—— Frost MagazineI thoroughly enjoyed My Name is Anna from the outset, my attention was grabbed by the intriguing prologue and beautiful prose. Lizzy Barber manages to balance a compelling narrative with excellent attention to detail and exquisite descriptions.
—— Something BookishA chillingly compulsive read
—— Daily MailA gripping story about loss, memory and love
—— BestDark, disturbing and powerful, the gripping plot is full of twists, turns and suspense. You will not want to put it down.
—— CandisA gripping one-sitting read… this is a deft and assured debut novel from Lizzy Barber.
My Name Is Anna is a book that instantly compels you to keep reading after the first chapter. If you like compulsive psychological dramas with emotionally complex characters, make this your next read.
I'll also be calling in sick for The Need, by Helen Phillips, whose unexpected fiction reminds us that the membrane between reality and madness is porous indeed
—— New York TimesWhat presents at first as a straightforward thriller is quickly revealed — in a series of short, sharp chapters — to be a sort of narrative nesting doll, a story infused with both essential home truths and a wild, almost unhinged sense of unreality....
—— Entertainment WeeklyThe Need opens with the taut terror of a suspense novel, but its destination is not the twist reveal or the explosive showdown — it’s an exquisitely tender meditation on motherhood’s joys and comorbid torments
—— Huffington PostCompelling and original… Told in terse, claustrophobic chapters, this is a creepy, poignant tale that picks at the very edges of what we understand to be reality. Or not’
—— Dan Brotzel , UK Press SyndicationThe Need is most compelling when most savage
—— Beejay Silcox , Times Literary SupplementThe Need is an examination of the dark side of the best-case scenario, the necessary lamination of joy with fear, adoration with resentment and boredom, all the contradictions that attend the unfolding of an identity predicated on the loss of identity
—— Adam Mars-Jones , London Review of BooksThe terror of the home invasion is perfectly vivid, and so is the disturbing prospect that we’re embedded in the consciousness of a woman who is dangerously split off from reality. Phillips can conjure pure nightmare in a single sentence… Thrillingly disturbing, frighteningly insightful about motherhood and love, and spilling over with offhand invention, The Need is one of this year’s most necessary novels.
—— Sarah Ditum , GuardianLoved this. Funny, frightening, goes out with a BANG. Believe the hype!
—— Chris Whitaker, author of Tall OaksA brilliantly sharp and distinctive voice and super-creepy plot. Fab
—— Roz Watkins, author of The Devil's DiceFinished this creepy corker last night. Utterly compelling with a host of intriguing characters and brilliant writing. Fans of The Chalk Man will definitely not be disappointed
—— Isabelle Broom, author of One Thousand Stars and YouI loved The Chalk Man, but The Taking of Annie Thorne is even better, creepier and more addictive! I was so creeped out I had to stop reading until my husband came home one night! Brilliant stuff - well done, C. J. Tudor!
—— Elle Croft, author of The Other SisterThe Hot List
—— Inside SoapFollowing on from C J Tudor's successful debut, comes a novel about bullying, cruelty and deceit. . . Tudor keeps the novel moving at a fast pace
—— Literary ReviewA Stephen King style thriller that will have you transfixed and submerged in the entanglement of the twisting plot. This book kept me intrigued all the way to the very end
—— Places & FacesCrime meets psychological suspense meets out-and-out horror. From the stomach-churning first chapter to the grand guignol ending that is as shocking as it is surprising, Tudor racks up the nastiness . . . Another hit.
—— Buzz MagazineMatches Stephen King for creepiness. A must-read for horror fans
—— Leamington CourierCreepy beyond words. Just like Stephen King, the fact that Tudor's characters are so believable makes the events even creepier
—— People's FriendThe Chestnut Man is an intensely gripping first novel that feels anything but debut-like. Seasoned crime fans with feel as though they're in very safe hands ... [Sveistrup] throws his hat into the ring with extreme professionalism and a talent for deploying his special tricks in precisely calibrated doses.
—— BørsenPraise for The Killing
—— -Excellent . . . A shrewd mix of police procedural, political thriller and domestic drama
—— New York TimesTV of the absolute finest quality . . . the writing shines
—— GuardianA gripping psychological thriller.
—— Choice magazineThis is without a doubt one of my favourite reads of the year.
—— Ronnie Turner (Blog)Featuring two entangled families and a house with the darkest of secrets, this is a compulsive new thriller from Lisa Jewell.
—— Sheer LuxeFrom the first page we were hooked. If you’ve got a lazy day planned over the Christmas break, this is the type of novel you could read in a day…It makes us shiver just sharing the plot and we guarantee you’ll be on the edge of your seats throughout.
—— Yahoo! Style UKOf the crop of great thrillers out this year, this is my pick [...] Lisa Jewell is brilliant at creating a menacing atmosphereand this is almost unbearably tense at times, with a knock-the-wind-out-of-you ending.
—— Good HousekeepingAn enthralling tale rich in psychological suspense that mixes family saga with domestic noir.
—— VouchercodesPart family saga and part-psychological thriller, this is an exceptional read.
—— Sunday ExpressBreathtaking thriller
—— i PaperPerfect book to inhale by the fire. Had no idea how creepy and nuanced it would be but couldn’t put it down and stayed up half the night reading it. Highly recommend.
—— iNews