The Other Side of Everything
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Laura Lippman meets Megan Abbott in this suspenseful mystery debut set in the aftermath of a violent crime—for “fans of crime fiction wanting literary flair and emotional depth” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
After her elderly neighbor is murdered, Amy Unger, a fledgling artist and cancer survivor, takes to the canvas in an effort to make sense of her neighbor’s death. Painting helps Amy recover from the devastating illness that ended her marriage and left her life in ruin. But when her paintings prove to be too realistic, her neighbors grow suspicious, and the murderer, still lurking, finds his way to her door.
Bernard White, a widower who has isolated himself for years after a family scandal, can’t stop thinking about the murder of an old friend—and what it means for his fellow octogenarians as the death toll rises. He convinces the neighborhood’s geriatric residents to band together to protect one another. But the Originals, as they are known, can’t live together forever. As it is, Bernard is pressing his luck with the woman he’s moved in with.
Maddie Lowe is a teenager trying to balance her waitressing job and keeping her family intact after the disappearance of her mother, even as their neighborhood becomes more dangerous by the second. She has information crucial to solving the crime. But she doesn’t realize it–until it’s almost too late.
Their paths converge around the killer terrorizing their neighborhood and they are all faced with a life—or death—decision…
A gripping page-turner that explores the strange connections between strangers, the past and the present, and the power of tragedy to spark renewal, The Other Side of Everything marks the exciting debut of a vibrant and riveting new voice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Owens's tense, rich debut follows the wide-ranging consequences of a brutal murder for the lives of three unconnected neighbors in sleepy Seven Springs, Fla.: widower Bernard, teenage waitress Maddie, and painter Amy. Bernard, a reclusive widower, convinces his cohort of fellow single retirees to pair up in a buddy system for safety, and the time he spends with his next-door neighbor prompts him to reevaluate his lifestyle and reopens the old wounds of his marriage. Fifteen-year-old Maddie, waiting tables and coping with her mother's abandonment through expertly hidden self-harm, worries about the vagrant accused of the murder. Lastly, the victim's next door neighbor Amy, whose creativity and marriage have been strained by her hysterectomy and double mastectomy, is inspired to paint again by the murder. Her creepy works make her a target of both the media and the murderer after she's interviewed for a blog. Owens impressively captures the emotional landscape of three generations and the varying compromises required of women in each. Fans of crime fiction wanting literary flair and emotional depth will gladly follow this trio of complicated characters.