Afterwards
The Sunday Times and top-ten bestseller
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- €4.49
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- €4.49
Publisher Description
Both a Sunday Times and top-ten bestseller, Afterwards is the second sensational novel from the international bestselling author of Sister, The Quality of Silence and Three Hours.
'I guarantee this novel will touch everyone' Jeffery Deaver
There is a fire and they are in there. They are in there . . .
Black smoke stains a summer blue sky. A school is on fire. And one mother, Grace, sees the smoke and runs. She knows her teenage daughter Jenny is inside. She runs into the burning building to rescue her.
Afterwards, Grace must find the identity of the arsonist and protect her family from the person who's still intent on destroying them. Afterwards, she must fight the limits of her physical strength and discover the limitlessness of love.
Praise for Afterwards:
'In Afterwards, we see a master's touch on every page. Uncompromising emotional impact, a poet's sonorous style and a gripping story all come together to make this a transcendent literary experience. I guarantee this novel will touch everyone' Jeffery Deaver
'A bold, impossible-to-categorise and riveting blend of psychological suspense, literary thriller and the paranormal. Afterwards proves that Lupton isn't just good - she's wickedly good' Seattle Times
'In a Lovely Bones-style conceit...Lupton works her theme of the corrosive effects of ambition with insight and gusto'
Guardian
'A bold, impossible-to-categorize, and riveting blend of psychological suspense, literary thriller and the paranormal...How Lupton pulls this off, making it believable even to this skeptical reviewer, is a wonder. Like the author's remarkable debut, Sister, a major subtext here is the all-powerful tug of family bonds. Afterwards proves that Lupton isn't just good - she's wickedly good' Seattle Times
'I became insanely gripped . . . The word "compelling" is used lightly of mystery and crime novels - this one will define it for you' Daily Mail
'Extraordinary...heart-stopping' Mail on Sunday
'Loved The Time Traveler's Wife? This is even better' Company
'Lupton takes her readers on a totally harrowing ride as she melds a suspenseful procedure with an emotionally fraught drama. Within a taut and sinuous narrative, heartbreak over a broken family vies with fear that the arsonist will return...Masterful pacing and a highly charged atmosphere combine to make this an exceptionally gripping read' Booklist, starred review
'Lupton pushes the boundaries of our imagination with the manner in which the mystery is solved, creating a stunningly good read that's impossible to second-guess. A literary crime novel that's as clever in its premise as it is well written' Glamour
'Chillingly good' Red Magazine
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A blaze at a suburban London school takes on sinister overtones in Lupton's superb follow-up to Sister (2010). During a sports day at the school of Grace Covey's son, Adam, the building catches fire, and Grace races inside when she realizes that her 17-year-old daughter, Jenny, a temporary teaching assistant, has not emerged. Defying official sanctions, Det. Sgt. Sarah McBride, Grace's sister-in-law, doggedly pursues the questions in the aftermath. These include the accusation that Adam set the blaze, though he's traumatized from the fire and unable to speak; the possible roles of investors, staff, journalists, and fired employees; and an earlier poisoned pen campaign against Jenny. Unusually, the gravely injured Grace and Jenny are having out-of-body experiences, wandering the hospital and other places in search of the truth, as Jenny remembers little of the day's events, and Grace is suspicious of Jenny's boyfriend, Ivo, and her daughter's other relationships. The uncommon but convincing narrative technique, adroit twists, and memorable characters combine to provide a wise and poignant portrait of a family confronted with malice and heartbreaking decisions.
