Little Comfort
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
In a brilliantly twisted debut set among Boston’s elite, Edwin Hill introduces unforgettable sleuth Hester Thursby—and a missing persons case that uncovers a trail of vicious murder . . .
Harvard librarian Hester Thursby knows that even in the digital age, people still need help finding things. Using her research skills, Hester runs a side business tracking down the lost. Usually, she’s hired to find long-ago prom dates or to reunite adopted children and birth parents. Her new case is finding the handsome and charismatic Sam Blaine.
Sam has no desire to be found. As a teenager, he fled his small New Hampshire town with his friend, Gabe, after a haunting incident. For a dozen years, Sam and Gabe have traveled the country, reinventing themselves as they move from one mark to another. Sam has learned how trusting wealthy people can be—especially the lonely ones—as he expertly manipulates his way into their lives and homes. In Wendy Richards, the beautiful, fabulously rich daughter of one of Boston’s most influential families, he’s found the perfect way to infiltrate the milieu in which he knows he belongs—a world of Brooks Brothers suits, Nantucket summers, and effortless glamour.
As Hester’s investigation closes in on their brutal truth, the bond between Sam and Gabe is tested and Hester unknowingly jeopardizes her own safety. While Gabe has pinned all his desperate hopes of a normal life on Hester, Sam wants her out of the way for good. And Gabe has always done what
Sam asks . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Harvard librarian Hester Thursby, the heroine of Hill's well-crafted, extremely promising debut and series launch, runs a side business locating lost people. She's hired by Lila Blaine to find her brother, Sam, who ran away from their home in New Hampshire 12 years earlier, when he was 14, with his friend Gabe DiPursio. Lila says she wants to sell a piece of lakefront property called Little Comfort and split the proceeds with Sam. Hester soon discovers that Sam is now living in Boston under an alias and has insinuated himself into the life of wealthy socialite Wendy Richards, while Gabe is supporting them both as a freelance programmer. When someone at a party recognizes Sam, Sam decides it's time to tie up loose ends and move on. Meanwhile, Hester has befriended lonely Gabe, who has built a homey domestic fantasy around her, but Sam views Hester as an obstacle and expects Gabe to help get her out of the way. An increasingly tense plot and striking characters in particular, compassionate, conflicted, loving Hester make this a standout.
