Nearest Thing to Crazy

Written in the tradition of Maggie O'Farrell and Louise Doughty, this is psychological suspense at its very best

 

Dan and a group of his friends enjoy a Sunday lunch together on a perfect summer's day. They're pleased to welcome their glamorous new neighbor and novelist, Ellie, who has rented a house in the village to work on her book. She likes to place herself in the center of her plots, she says, although it's hard to see what she'll find to write about in this quiet country backwater. As Ellie slots effortlessly into the village social scene, Dan's wife begins to feel increasingly alienated from her friends and isolated from her family, but, for the life of her, she can't fathom why . . .