One Step Behind

Zusatztext Praise for One Step Behind The lives of two troubled women intertwine in this unsettling psychological thriller.A nice see-sawing of emotions and motives will keep most readers guessing to the end. North remains a writer to watch. Publishers Weekly A great psychological thriller with twists and turns that keep the reader engaged to the very end.Red Carpet Crash Praise for The Perfect Son "[A] perfect summer thriller.... The author's ability to create a sense of escalating unease is one of her most notable achievements.... The twist in The Perfect Son is a big one."-- The Columbus Dispatch "[An] emotionally harrowing debut...an intimate, unbalancing mix of grief, paranoia, gaslighting, maternal protectiveness, and profound compassion."-- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Taking a page from The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn, The Perfect Son is a perfect psychological thriller...this tour de force novel is shocking."--Fresh Fiction "A powerful, unpredictable debut thriller about a mother's attempt to reassemble her life from the shards of tragedy. Lauren North's skillful narrative casts everyone as a suspect and keeps the reader guessing until the final emotion-packed pages."--David Bell, USA Today bestselling author of The Request "A fast-paced psychological thriller."--Book Riot "A heartrending evocation of grief that packs a devious punch. It left me reeling."--Lesley Kara, international bestselling author of The Rumor Informationen zum Autor Lauren North studied psychology before moving to London, where she lived and worked for many years. She now lives with her family in the Suffolk countryside. The Perfect Son was her debut suspense novel. Klappentext A woman pushed to the breaking point by a stalker develops an obsession of her own in this shocking new novel of psychological suspense from the acclaimed author of The Perfect Son. Jenna is a wife, a mother, a doctor. She's also the victim of a stalker. Frightening "gifts" are left on her doorstep, her home is broken in to, and when she leaves her house to take her children to school, he's waiting. She feels powerless, and the police are unable to help. Then her stalker is brought into the emergency room after a terrible accident, and Jenna has to treat the man who's been tormenting her for months. With her stalker in a coma, Jenna is desperate to understand the life of this seemingly normal man. When she finds startling images on his phone, she is consumed by her need for answers-and her own obsession leads her down a twisting path of destruction. Just how far is Jenna willing to go to take back control of her life? Story Locale: England...

Praise for One Step Behind
 
“The lives of two troubled women intertwine in this unsettling psychological thriller….A nice see-sawing of emotions and motives will keep most readers guessing to the end. North remains a writer to watch.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“A great psychological thriller with twists and turns that keep the reader engaged to the very end.”—Red Carpet Crash
 
Praise for The Perfect Son

"[A] perfect summer thriller.... The author's ability to create a sense of escalating unease is one of her most notable achievements.... The twist in The Perfect Son is a big one."--The Columbus Dispatch

"[An] emotionally harrowing debut...an intimate, unbalancing mix of grief, paranoia, gaslighting, maternal protectiveness, and profound compassion."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Taking a page from The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn, The Perfect Son is a perfect psychological thriller...this tour de force novel is shocking."--Fresh Fiction

"A powerful, unpredictable debut thriller about a mother's attempt to reassemble her life from the shards of tragedy. Lauren North's skillful narrative casts everyone as a suspect and keeps the reader guessing until the final emotion-packed pages."--David Bell, USA Today bestselling author of The Request

"A fast-paced psychological thriller."--Book Riot

"A heartrending evocation of grief that packs a devious punch. It left me reeling."--Lesley Kara, international bestselling author of The Rumor

Auteur

Lauren North studied psychology before moving to London, where she lived and worked for many years. She now lives with her family in the Suffolk countryside. The Perfect Son was her debut suspense novel.

Texte du rabat

A woman pushed to the breaking point by a stalker develops an obsession of her own in this shocking new novel of psychological suspense from the acclaimed author of The Perfect Son.

Jenna is a wife, a mother, a doctor. She's also the victim of a stalker. Frightening "gifts" are left on her doorstep, her home is broken in to, and when she leaves her house to take her children to school, he's waiting. She feels powerless, and the police are unable to help.

Then her stalker is brought into the emergency room after a terrible accident, and Jenna has to treat the man who's been tormenting her for months. With her stalker in a coma, Jenna is desperate to understand the life of this seemingly normal man. When she finds startling images on his phone, she is consumed by her need for answers-and her own obsession leads her down a twisting path of destruction.

Just how far is Jenna willing to go to take back control of her life?

Story Locale: England

Échantillon de lecture

Chapter 1

 

Wednesday, June 12

 

Jenna

 

My heart is beating machine-gun-fire fast as I reach out to undo the new dead bolt at the top of the front door. I move to the chain next with the fluid movement of doctor's hands-calm and steady-masking the truth, keeping the shaking fear deep inside. I used to think I was invincible. I used to think nothing could rattle me, but that was before.

 

Where will you be today? Leaning against a tree in the park opposite our house, standing in broad daylight? Or will you be a shadow watching out of sight? A feeling I can sense but not see? How many e-mails will you send? How many ways will you find to torment me today? The questions are like caffeine hits to my exhaustion. I can't have slept for more than three hours last night. My eyes itch, my muscles ache with heaviness, but at least the fog is clearing over my thoughts. Three hours. It feels like less.

 

"Are we walking or driving, Mummy?" Beth asks from behind me.

 

I turn around and feel the love well up inside-a visceral heat. I wish I could shield them from you. Nine-year-old Beth, and Archie, six almost seven, are standing ready at the bottom of the stairs, school shoes on, dark green book bags looped around one shoulder. Archie is a miniature version of Stuart with shaggy brown hair and a wide toothy grin. He's wearing gray shorts and a white polo shirt with a grass stain on the collar that hasn't washed out. His arms and legs have tanned a golden brown in the weeks of endless sun.

 

Beth is more like me with her fair skin and the red freckles that sprinkle the bridge of her nose. Her green gingham summer dress is the new jumpsuit style, so she can do cartwheels and handstands without the boys seeing her knickers. Strands of dark orange hair are falling out of her ponytail and over her face, but I've given up trying to neaten it. She gets her independent streak from me too.

 

There is no last-minute scramble for reading books, no final cramming of spellings for the test, no lost items to hunt for in our house. They've been conditioned from the get-go in efficiency and routines. I'd love to take the credit but it's Christie, our childminder, who's done it.

 

"It's really hot. Can we drive?" Archie asks, dragging out the final word in the whiny voice we dislike so much, but …