Unraveling Oliver - Hardcover

Nugent, Liz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1501167758 ISBN 13: 9781501167751

Publisher: Gallery Books, 2017

Synopsis

"Searing, searching, finally scorching. Think Making a Murderer via Patricia Highsmith: an elegant kaleidoscope novel that refines and combines multiple perspectives until its subject is brought into indelible, tragic focus." --A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"Pitch-black and superbly written." --Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10

"Top-notch grip lit...incredibly brilliant." --Marian Keyes, New York Times bestselling author

Oliver Ryan has the perfect life. Elegant and seductive, he wants for nothing, sharing a lovely home with his steadfast wife, Alice, who illustrates the award-winning children's books that have brought him wealth and fame. Until one evening, after eating the dinner Alice has carefully prepared, Oliver savagely assaults her and leaves her for dead.

But why?

The people who know Oliver can only speculate about the reasons behind his brutal act: his empty-headed mistress Moya, vain and petulant; Veronique, the French chatelaine who tragically lost everything the summer she employed him in her vineyard; Alice's friend Barney, who has nursed an unrequited love for her since childhood; Oliver's college pal Michael, struggling with voiceless longings that have shamed him for years. What none of them understands is the dark secret that lies behind his immaculate façade.

The revelations that come to light as the layers of Oliver's past are peeled away are as brutal as his singular act of violence. His decades of careful deception have masked a life irrevocably marked by abandonment, envy, and shame--and as the details of that life are laid bare, Oliver discovers that outrunning his demons is harder than it looks.

With its insight into the mind of a psychopath emerging from the wreckage of his own misbegotten past, Unraveling Oliver is a chilling page-turner, brilliantly crafted and unexpectedly moving, by a stunning new voice in fiction. Liz Nugent "presents a fresh look at a man hiding his violent personality in this intense character study" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). As powerful as Patricia Highsmith's unforgettable noir classic, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Unraveling Oliver will enthrall you from its mesmerizing opening line to its equally shocking last page.

About this title

Review:

"Pitch-black and superbly written."--Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of IN A DARK, DARK WOOD

"Searing, searching, finally scorching. Think Making a Murderer via Patricia Highsmith: an elegant kaleidoscope novel that refines and combines multiple perspectives until its subject is brought into indelible, tragic focus."--A. J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window

"Top-notch 'grip lit."--Marian Keyes, New York Times bestselling author

"A pyschopath's true face is reflected in a vast hall of mirrors--friends, family, and lovers--in this gripping, original tale."--Erica Ferencik, author of The River at Night

"Truly excellent, beautifully written ... strongly recommended."--Sophie Hannah, New York Times bestselling author

"Outstanding... The tension subtly rises as Oliver's past unravels, revealing a loveless childhood rooted in religious hypocrisy. Nugent presents a fresh look at a man hiding his violent personality in this intense character study."---- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A clammy and compelling psychological thriller... The eerily detached Ryan is a spectacularly unreliable narrator."--Seattle Times

"Already an award-winning debut in the author's native Ireland, this will attract fans of domestic suspense... readers will eagerly turn the pages all the way to the shocking conclusion."--Library Journal

"'I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.' From that searing opening line, the 'who' and the 'what' of this unnerving psychological thriller are never in doubt.. it's the 'why' that fascinates as Nugent expertly peels back the layers to reveal the truth."--PEOPLE

"A dark secret life is at the center of Nugent's debut novel... Nugent may be used to spending her life behind the scenes. But she'll be in the foreground for the foreseeable future."
--Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover:

'I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.'

Oliver Ryan is a handsome and charismatic success story. He lives a life of enviable privilege and ease with his wife, Alice. Enviable until, one evening after dinner, Oliver attacks Alice so viciously that he beats her into a coma.

Oliver is stunned by his own actions. In the aftermath, as everyone tries to make sense of this astonishing act of savagery, he tells his story. So do those whose paths he has crossed over five decades. What unfolds is both tragic and monstrous - a story of shame, envy, breath-taking deception and masterful manipulation.

'A page-turning, one-sitting read from a brand new master of psychological suspense' Sunday Independent

'Compelling, clever and dark ... you'll gobble it up ' Heat Magazine

'Persistently satisfying ' Sunday Times

'Formidable' Irish Times

'I stayed awake until 3am to finish it' Irish Independent

'Startlingly good' Irish Examiner

'A superbly paced and shocking story' Sunday Mirror

About this edition

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1501167758
• ISBN 13: 9781501167751
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320