The Hours Before Dawn
'Britain's Patricia Highsmith'
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4.3 • 19 Ratings
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- £7.49
Publisher Description
WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH AUTHOR: 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' (Sunday Times)
Discover the original psychological thriller as a sleep-deprived young mother struggles to stay sane.
'A lost masterpiece.' Peter Swanson
'Brilliant ... Such clever, witty writing.' Elly Griffiths
'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin
'Splendid ... Got me hooked.' Ruth Rendell
'A slow-burning chill of a read by a master of suspense.' Janice Hallett
'The grandmother of psycho-domestic noir; Britain's Patricia Highsmith.' Sunday Times
Louise would give anything - anything - for a good night's sleep. Forget the girls running errant in the garden and bothering the neighbours. Forget her husband who seems oblivious to it all. If the baby would just stop crying, everything would be fine.
Or would it? What if Louise's growing fears about the family's new lodger, who seems to share all of her husband's interests, are real? What could she do, and would anyone even believe her? Maybe, if she could get just get some rest, she'd be able to think straight . . .
WINNER OF THE 1960 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST MYSTERY NOVEL
'Barbara Pym with arsenic.' Clare Chambers
'Sinister, witty and utterly compelling. A genius.' Nicola Upson
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
First published in 1958, this pioneering psychological thriller set an immaculate blueprint for some of the most successful crime fiction being written today.
Sarah Hilary’s review: “Imagine a British contemporary of Patricia Highsmith, writing astute social commentary with pin-sharp psychology and pleasingly twisty plots. This is simply one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read. Fremlin writes with a lightness of touch which holds you in her world (the world of my mother’s youth, in foggy London) as the story unwinds with the slipperiness of a fretful snake. An absolute classic, long overdue its glittering revival this year.”
Val McDermid’s review: “The current fascination with so-called ‘domestic suspense’ or ‘grip-lit’ – or ‘having “girl” in the title lit’ – is spoken of as if it had just been invented but women were writing successful suspense novels set around the home lives of ‘ordinary’ women more than 50 years ago. This is one of the best, it turns the screw till I could hardly breathe. It’s a gripping, all too plausible and modern read which gives any current bestseller a run for its money.”
Joseph Knox’s review: “Not just the first psychological thriller, but a genuinely enjoyable read. While the plot works perfectly, it’s in Fremlin’s sharply-drawn characters that the Patricia Highsmith comparisons start to make sense. But let’s put the history lesson to one side and ask the most important questions: Does this book hold up? Will it grip its reader as tightly as contemporary psychological thrillers bursting from the shelves? The answer to both is absolutely yes. A fun find.”
