Undertow - Hardcover

Grant-Adamson, Lesley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340748079 ISBN 13: 9780340748077

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 1999

Synopsis

Lovely copy in protected jacket.

About this title

Review:

Lesley Grant-Adamson continues to prove that she is an author with an unswerving grasp of the demands of the psychological thriller with Undertow, a highly adroit follow-up to such previous winners as Patterns in the Dustand Evil Acts. Her heroine, the insecure Alice, tells herself that the small town of Stark Point is a delightful place and the perfect spot to revive her relationship with her boyfriend Charles. But she grows to hate the bleak community, especially when her alienated husband turns up and drags her into the 40-year-old mystery of a vanished local couple. She then finds herself the unlikely ally of local man Joe Keenthorne, regarded by the whole community as a murderer who has cheated justice. And soon she is on the receiving end of violence herself.

Grant-Adamson's grasp of the psychology of her characters and the windswept setting achieve the kind of balance found only in the best thriller writers. There are echoes of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca in the lucid and powerful unfolding of a complex mystery; and if Alice is a very different protagonist from some of the author's more assured heroines, this is still a suspenseful and atmospheric outing. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

The atmosphere of menace builds to a terrifyingly believable climax...well-crafted, low-key and very scary (Cosmopolitan (THE GIRL IN THE CASE))

Generic reviews
'One of the classiest thriller writers around' Sunday Times
'The British writer who has set new standards in crime writing' London Evening Standard
'She is turning the genre into an art form' Cosmopolitan
'With finely crafted plots and colourful characterisation, Lesley Grant-Adamson has brought the detective novel into the Eighties. Gossip columnist Rain Morgan of the Daily Post is her latter-day Miss Marple, lending style, glamour and a hint of romance to the books.' Times Educational Supplement
'She knows how to create an atmosphere of unease and incipient horror' PD James
'She succeeds in finding new avenues among the well-trodden paths of the crime story' The Independent
'Her pace never flags. Her novels are constantly diverting' The Times Literary Supplement
'Her work has shades of John Buchan, even Domford Yates. Her stories rattle along' Daily Telegraph
'Grant-Adamson excels at creating a sinister atmosphere and she can take the simplest of plots and produce a dramatic climax' Sunday Telegraph
'Lesley Grant-Adamson can conjure up a sense of everyday reality tinged with frightening potential more deftly than anybody else in the business' Hampstead and Highgate Express
'She has a talent for poking her finger through the barrier between the everyday world and sheer horror' The Times
'The thriller queen' Ms London
'An outstanding writer' Woman
'Few are as adept as Grant-Adamson at keeping the readers on the edge of their seats' Yorkshire Post
'Grant-Adamson is certainly among the top crime writers of our younger generation' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Anyone who enjoys thrillers will not be disappointed by Lesley Grant-Adamson's masterly novels.' Cosmopolitan
'Lesley Grant-Adamson is a crime writer who doesn't steer clear of life's rough edges. Her crime novels are not set in a fantasy world of clean corpses and rational motives' William Leith, Sunday Telegraph
'Her insights into the causes of criminal behaviour coupled with her elegant yet menacing prose, mark Lesley Grant-Adamson out as one of the most remarkable crime writing talents of her generation; one senses too, that for all her achievements so far, the best is probably yet to come.' Martin Edwards, Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers

Grant-Adamson excels at creating a sinister atmosphere and she can take the simplest of plots and produce a dramatic climax (Sunday Telegraph (THE GIRL IN THE CASE))

Reviews of individual titles
The following titles were published by Faber and Faber:
Patterns in the Dust
'Excellent mood of lurking evil beneath the placidity of English village life' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'I wish all authors would write them as urbanely as Lesley Grant-Adamson does' Christopher Pym, Punch
'Murder and motives are believable, as is the horror of being trapped with a killer. I believed and enjoyed it.' Daily Telegraph
'Written with cinematic clarity, Patterns in the Dust combines an unpredictable and exciting plot with a colourful array of charismatic characters.' Times Educational Supplement
'Good stylish story, a fast moving plot in an enjoyable setting.... a writer with a keen eye for character' Mail on Sunday
'Tense, quietly sinister' Country Living
'A well crafted tale' Sunday Express

THE FACE TO DEATH
'A superb psychological thriller' She
'The gradual disintegration of the facade and the woman's growing realization of the truth are handled with tension and intelligence' The Times
'She sustains a tense sense of something nasty' City Limits
Even better than PATTERNS IN THE DUST' Daily Telegraph
'This psychological drama of horror on a housing estate is an appealing successor to the author's first thriller' Mail on Sunday
'A chilling psychological thriller' Weekend
'A very creepy crime story indeed, full of interesting characters and situations' Manchester Evening News
'The pace never flags' - Times Literary Supplement
'Like PATTERNS IN THE DUST it would adapt brilliantly for the screen. It has the kind of macabre appeal of the more sensational stories in the tabloid press.' Times Educational Supplement
'A chilling experience for the reaGeneric reviews
'One of the classiest thriller writers around' Sunday Times
'The British writer who has set new standards in crime writing' London Evening Standard
'She is turning the genre into an art form' Cosmopolitan
'With finely crafted plots and colourful characterisation, Lesley Grant-Adamson has brought the detective novel into the Eighties. Gossip columnist Rain Morgan of the Daily Post is her latter-day Miss Marple, lending style, glamour and a hint of romance to the books.' Times Educational Supplement
'She knows how to create an atmosphere of unease and incipient horror' PD James
'She succeeds in finding new avenues among the well-trodden paths of the crime story' The Independent
'Her pace never flags. Her novels are constantly diverting' The Times Literary Supplement
'Her work has shades of John Buchan, even Domford Yates. Her stories rattle along' Daily Telegraph
'Grant-Adamson excels at creating a sinister atmosphere and she can take the simplest of plots and produce a dramatic climax' Sunday Telegraph
'Lesley Grant-Adamson can conjure up a sense of everyday reality tinged with frightening potential more deftly than anybody else in the business' Hampstead and Highgate Express
'She has a talent for poking her finger through the barrier between the everyday world and sheer horror' The Times
'The thriller queen' Ms London
'An outstanding writer' Woman
'Few are as adept as Grant-Adamson at keeping the readers on the edge of their seats' Yorkshire Post
'Grant-Adamson is certainly among the top crime writers of our younger generation' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Anyone who enjoys thrillers will not be disappointed by Lesley Grant-Adamson's masterly novels.' Cosmopolitan
'Lesley Grant-Adamson is a crime writer who doesn't steer clear of life's rough edges. Her crime novels are not set in a fantasy world of clean corpses and rational motives' William Leith, Sunday Telegraph
'Her insights into the causes of criminal behaviour coupled with her elegant yet menacing prose, mark Lesley Grant-Adamson out as one of the most remarkable crime writing talents of her generation; one senses too, that for all her achievements so far, the best is probably yet to come.' Martin Edwards, Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers

Convincing psychological insight and a high frisson count (Marcel Berlins, The Sunday Times (EVIL ACTS))

She knows how to create an atmosphere of unease and incipient horror (P D James (PATTERNS IN THE DUST))

THE FACE TO DEATH
'A superb psychological thriller' She
'The gradual disintegration of the facade and the woman's growing realization of the truth are handled with tension and intelligence' The Times
'She sustains a tense sense of something nasty' City Limits
Even better than PATTERNS IN THE DUST' Daily Telegraph
'This psychological drama of horror on a housing estate is an appealing successor to the author's first thriller' Mail on Sunday
'A chilling psychological thriller' Weekend
'A very creepy crime story indeed, full of interesting characters and situations' Manchester Evening News
'The pace never flags' - Times Literary Supplement
'Like PATTERNS IN THE DUST it would adapt brilliantly for the screen. It has the kind of macabre appeal of the more sensational stories in the tabloid press.' Times Educational Supplement
'A chilling experience for the reaGeneric reviews
'One of the classiest thriller writers around' Sunday Times
'The British writer who has set new standards in crime writing' London Evening Standard
'She is turning the genre into an art form' Cosmopolitan
'With finely crafted plots and colourful characterisation, Lesley Grant-Adamson has brought the detective novel into the Eighties. Gossip columnist Rain Morgan of the Daily Post is her latter-day Miss Marple, lending style, glamour and a hint of romance to the books.' Times Educational Supplement

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0340748079
• ISBN 13: 9780340748077
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320