Hurting Distance
A Novel
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4.1 • 12 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A psychological thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author: “No one writes twisted, suspenseful novels quite like Sophie Hannah” (Liane Moriarty).
Naomi Jenkins, a successful professional woman prone to panic attacks, has a terrible secret she’s been keeping for three years. Also secret is Naomi’s current relationship with Robert Haworth, who is married, albeit unhappily.
When Robert doesn’t show up for one of their trysts, Naomi fears for him—but the police don’t take it seriously, since Robert’s wife claims he isn’t missing. Naomi is desperate, and comes up with a plan: If she convinces the police that Robert is a danger to others, they will have to track him down. Using details from her own troubled past, she spins a story for them—but twists and turns lie ahead that she never expected.
“Naomi’s concern for her married lover’s well-being grows when his wife insists he is fine, just away. Naomi uses the story of a rape from her past to get the police to sit up and take notice. What makes this novel work so well is that more than one character has a bit of a screw loose—even the detectives on the case are grappling with some crippling personal issues—and it takes the full ride of the novel to find out who is playing whom.” —Time Out
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Hannah's intense second thriller (after Little Face), Det. Sgt. Charlie Zailer and her sidekick, Det. Constable Simon Waterhouse, pursue a serial rapist who preys on successful single career women and sells tickets to "live" rape parties. Naomi Jenkins, a sundial maker prone to panic attacks, reports her married lover, Robert Haworth, missing after he fails to show up for their weekly tryst. Later, in order to speed up the search, Naomi informs the police that Robert raped her three years earlier. Simon finds Robert at home, near death, after possibly being bludgeoned by his wife. But there's far more going on, and making matters more dodgy, aside from a growing victim list, is the foolish fling Charlie has with the owner of a chalet-style resort in Scotland. Full of clever plot twists, this satisfying shocker about "the victims and the perpetrators of violent crimes" suggests how obsessive love, while not a crime, is certainly within hurting distance.
