Tarnished
Published on 14. March 2013
361 pages
978-0-7553-7808-1 (ISBN)
Description
'Wow, this book was fantastic, it gripped me from start to finish!' Goodreads reviewer ? ? ? ? ?
Some secrets are better left buried...
Peg always felt a little blurred, a little lacking in definition. Her mother died when she was six, her father simply disappeared, and she was brought up by her grandparents and her obese, bedridden aunt. But, despite all this, she never developed the habit of asking questions.
At least, not until she met Loz, her straight-talking, psychotherapeutically literate girlfriend, who urges her to confront her demons.
But as the skeletons come tumbling out of the family closet and the full horror of the past begins to reveal itself, Peg starts to wonder whether her youthful lack of curiosity might not have been a good thing. A very good thing indeed...
Why readers love Tarnished:
'You'd be crazy not to read this book... an absolutely brilliant writer' Daily Mail
'Will keep you up at night to finish it and the characters will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'Truly chilling... you won't want to read it alone in the house' Sunday Mirror'
'An intense psychological thriller that left me reeling.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'I read this one in double quick time... Brilliant storytelling... I had my hand over my mouth at one stage trying to stop myself talking out loud on the bus.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'Wow, this book was fantastic, it gripped me from start to finish! I highly recommend it if you like family themed thrillers where you can never work out who to trust!' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'Yikes!... A well written, addictive story with a very twisted core... It's a powerful book. A page turner.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'I stayed up reading this novel until 11.30pm, woke again at 4.30am and just had to pick the book back up and finish it. It was worth losing sleep for.' Goodreads reviewer ? ? ? ? ?
Some secrets are better left buried...
Peg always felt a little blurred, a little lacking in definition. Her mother died when she was six, her father simply disappeared, and she was brought up by her grandparents and her obese, bedridden aunt. But, despite all this, she never developed the habit of asking questions.
At least, not until she met Loz, her straight-talking, psychotherapeutically literate girlfriend, who urges her to confront her demons.
But as the skeletons come tumbling out of the family closet and the full horror of the past begins to reveal itself, Peg starts to wonder whether her youthful lack of curiosity might not have been a good thing. A very good thing indeed...
Why readers love Tarnished:
'You'd be crazy not to read this book... an absolutely brilliant writer' Daily Mail
'Will keep you up at night to finish it and the characters will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'Truly chilling... you won't want to read it alone in the house' Sunday Mirror'
'An intense psychological thriller that left me reeling.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'I read this one in double quick time... Brilliant storytelling... I had my hand over my mouth at one stage trying to stop myself talking out loud on the bus.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'Wow, this book was fantastic, it gripped me from start to finish! I highly recommend it if you like family themed thrillers where you can never work out who to trust!' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'Yikes!... A well written, addictive story with a very twisted core... It's a powerful book. A page turner.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
'I stayed up reading this novel until 11.30pm, woke again at 4.30am and just had to pick the book back up and finish it. It was worth losing sleep for.' Goodreads reviewer ? ? ? ? ?
Reviews / Votes
You'd be crazy not to read this book. Julia Crouch is an absolutely brilliant writer, sharp and compassionate and with a great gift for characterisation and comedy... The plot twists and turns until, as in the best whodunnits, almost everyone seems a possible suspect. A dramatic finale follows. Julia Crouch's low-key, intelligent, determinedly unprurient style is a welcome relief in a genre where the opposite dominates * Daily Mail * This slow-burning psychological thriller is truly chilling and races to a creepy conclusion that's so genuinely scary you won't want to read it alone in the house * Sunday Mirror * Skilfully written and cleverly structured (Crouch is a meticulous plotter)Tarnished is a memorably disquieting story that twists brilliantly from its humdrum, kitchen-sink opening to a chilling, destructive ending * Telegraph * Twisty, unsettling but unforgettable * Cosmopolitan * Tarnished, the third and undoubtedly best thriller so far from the pen of Julia Crouch, is a masterclass in menace, a slow-burning, psychological story of love, guilt and obsession which takes us into the deepest, darkest corners of the human mind....Crouch's chiller-thrillers are always so perfectly executed... terrifying, white-knuckle dramas unfold through beautifully honed and descriptive language, and without losing their excellent grip on time and place * Lancashire Evening Post * Tarnished starts off as heart-wrenching, moves quickly to intriguing and very soon after that becomes downright terrifying. You will not want to miss this book -- Elizabeth Haynes, author of <i>Into the Darkest Corner </i> Julia Crouch's latest, a wonderfully vibrant and witty psychological thriller, achieved the rare feat of making me laugh, and cry, and care about her characters; it kept me on tenterhooks to the very end -- Penny Hancock, author of <i>Tideline</i>More details
Edition
Digital original
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Headline Publishing Group
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Digital original
File size
1,65 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-7553-7808-1 (9780755378081)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
After a drama degree at Bristol University, Julia Crouch spent ten years devising, directing and writing for the theatre. During this time she had twelve plays produced and co-founded Bristol`s Public Parts Theatre Company. She lives in Brighton with her husband, the actor and playwright Tim Crouch, and their three children.
