The Other Half Lives [Hardcover]

'This utterly gripping thriller should establish her as one of the great unmissables of this genre - intelligent, classy and with a wonderfully Gothic imagination'

'A masterclass in plotting that adds twist after twist in a hectic finale'

'Beautifully written and precision-engineered to unsettle'

'The interest of any crime or thriller fan will be piqued by Hannah's early chapters, but even the most Machiavellian-minded will be confounded by the serpentine twists of her audacious plotting.'

'This book is long but never tedious, and, as with the finest examples of the genre, Hannah refuses to allow the reader any hope of predicting how it will all end until she decides to put the final piece of the jigsaw in place'

'Beautifully written and absorbingly chilling, this is a tale that steadily builds in tension, throwing up twists and turns that keep you guessing right up until the very end'

'An intricate and sinister suspense novel'

'Sophie Hannah is the new British queen of the psychological thriller'

'Sophie Hannah has become the master, or mistress, of suspense. This one's even better than her others. Each moment is so purely enjoyable. Her genius is that she creates these very real characters - absolutely incredible. She's at the very peak of crime fiction at the moment.'

'Hannah combines the baroque pleasures of dizzyingly convoluted plotting with witty dialogue, a rare depth of characterisation and emotional force . . . addictive stuff . . . the book will have to be prised from your hands'

'Sophie Hannah has done this before and is doing it again brilliantly. You have to keep turning the pages. As twisted as fairy lights in the loft after Christmas. Very clever, very cunning.'

 'A truly gripping thriller'

'Wonderfully inventive'

'This is a monster book in every sense. It is both a chunky psychological thriller and a testamony to the legacy of depravity . . . The trademark neuroses that afflict many of Sophie Hannah's characters lead to multiple twists in the plot, while her brilliantly acerbic dialogue lightens this clever but complicated tale'

'The pages keep turning . . . The firm grip of suspense will hold you fast until the thrilling ending.'

'A real chiller; the clever plot will keep you hooked and guessing to the end'

'Genuinely unsettling . . . Fabulous stuff '

'Hannah, like Rendell and Fremlin before her, takes ordinary domestic setting and turns them into something extraordinary . . . THE OTHER HALF LIVES proves that she is an established force to be reckoned with . . . a marvellous piece of literary conjuring'

Praise for Sophie Hannah's previous novels

'Bewitching'

'Beautifully written, outstandingly chilling'

'A superbly creepy, twisty thriller about obsessive love, psychological torture, and the darkest chambers of the human heart'

'Sophie Hannah's ingenious, almost surreal mysteries are so intricately constructed that it's impossible to guess how they will end.  It's a compelling and disquieting story, told with the author's usual panache.'

'Chilling, compulsive and with a genius twist'

'Sophie Hannah brings many gifts to crime fiction. She is a poet whose use of language is precise, and her images are evocative. As a novelist, her overriding interests lie in people on the edge and in the relationships that have driven them there.'

Ruth Bussey knows what it means to be in the wrong - and to be wronged.  She once did something she regrets, and was punished excessively for it.  Now Ruth is trying to rebuild her life and has found a love she doesn't believe she deserves.  Aidan Seed is a passionate, intense man who has also been damaged by his past.  Desperate to connect with the woman he loves, he confides his secret: he killed a woman called Mary Trelease.

Through her shock, Ruth recognises the name.  And when she's realised why it's familiar, her fear and revulsion deepen.  The Mary Trelease that Ruth knows is very much alive...