Product Description

Why would anyone confess to the murder of someone who isn’t dead?

Ruth Bussey knows what it means to be in the wrong and to be wronged. She once did something she regrets, and her punishment nearly destroyed her. Now Ruth is rebuilding her life, and has found a love she doesn’t believe she deserves: Aidan Seed. Aidan is also troubled by a past he hates to talk about, until one day he decides he must confide in Ruth. He tells her that years ago he killed someone: a woman called Mary Trelease.

Ruth is confused. She’s certain she’s heard the name before, and when she realises why it sounds familiar, her fear and confusion deepen – because the Mary Trelease that Ruth knows is very much alive . . . (20081114)

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2899 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-03
• Released on: 2009-09-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Review

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

(The Times on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

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

(Sunday Times on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'Beautifully written and precision-engineered to unsettle'

(Guardian on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'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.'

(Independent on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'Hannah brings us spectacularly sinister characters and throws them into some wincingly creepy dilemmas'

(Independent on Sunday, Books of the Year )

'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'

(Daily Express on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'It's a difficult tightrope to walk but Hannah does it triumphantly, maintaining the tension until the very end'

(Val McDermid, The Times )

'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'

(SHE on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'An intricate and sinister suspense novel'

(Woman & Home on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

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

(Heat )

'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.'

(Boyd Hilton, Simon Mayo, BBC Radio 5 Live )

'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.'

(Joel Morris, Simon Mayo, BBC Radio 5 Live )

 'A truly gripping thriller'

(Psychologies on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'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'

(Charlotte Norman, Waterstone's Books Quarterly on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

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

(Sunday Telegraph, Australia )

'A terrific page-turner, one of those really creepy suspense novels with so many twists that it is impossible to guess the ending.' (Bookseller on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

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

(Choice on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'Genuinely unsettling . . . Fabulous stuff '

(shotsmag.co.uk on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

'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'

(Crime Squad magazine )

'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.'

(Times Literary Supplement )

'Sophie Hannah is very, very good at setting things up and moving on - a chunky book you'll get through in no time'

(Evening Standard on THE OTHER HALF LIVES )

About the Author
As well as writing psychological thrillers, Sophie Hannah is a bestselling poet and an award-winning short story writer. Her fifth collection of poetry, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the 2007 TS Eliot Award. She regularly performs her poetry live to audiences nationwide and abroad. She won first prize in the Daphne du Maurier Festival Short Story Competition for her psychological suspense story The Octopus Nest. Her psychological thrillers Little Face and Hurting Distance were long-listed for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel Award. Sophie lives in West Yorkshire with her husband and two children. More information about Sophie can be found at www.sophiehannah.com. (20081114)

---

Customer Reviews

Not the easiest book to enjoy
I usually love Sophie Hannah and was excited to have this latest big fat book. However I found it really all too much of a puzzle and sadly difficult to get involved with. I just never cared for any of the characters and the plot seemed too clever by half, in fact it was almost insane. The idea of artists being so obsessively jealous and machiavellian didn't work for me and I felt excluded from the sub plot about the detective Charlie and her past. Too many people to get to know and nearly all of them absolutely ghastly with the most disturbing ideas of brutality. Not one I could recommend or want to pass on, for me it wasn't worth the effort of reading - or, being so heavy, holding!

Not for me, thanks
On page 491, the author writes: "The story, when Charlie told it to herself, seemed too outlandish to be possible." Never a truer statement was written in a book. This story is so implausible, even by psychological thriller standards, that I threw it across the room at one point. None of the characters are likeable. That in itself doesn't matter. After all, Humbert Humbert must be one of the most unpleasant characters ever created yet Lolita is a superbly written book. No, what matters is that I didn't care at all what happened to the characters. They deserved each other. I enjoyed Little Face, didn't think much of Hurting Distance and found The Point of Rescue ok. After this one though, I won't buy another of her books.

a let down
It seemed a good idea to begin with but ended up as a let down. It was over long, contrived and I couldn't really care less about any of the mostly unpleasant, cardboard characters. As for plot development, it veered between over long boring explanations and the 'with one mighty leap he was free' schools of thought.