Description:
Dark, witty, and suspenseful, this literary crime thriller reminiscent of The Dinner and The Silent Wife follows a famous author whose wife—the brains behind his success—meets an untimely death, leaving him to deal with the consequences.
“Evil is a matter of opinion…”
On the surface, Henry Hayden seems like someone you could like, or even admire. A famous bestselling author who appears a modest everyman. A loving, devoted husband even though he could have any woman he desires. A generous friend and coworker. But Henry Hayden is a construction, a mask. His past is a secret, his methods more so. No one besides him and his wife know that she is the actual writer of the novels that made him famous.
For most of Henry’s life, it hasn’t been a problem. But when his hidden-in-plain-sight mistress becomes pregnant and his carefully constructed facade is about to crumble, he tries to find a permanent solution, only to make a terrible mistake.
Now not only are the police after Henry, but his past—which he has painstakingly kept hidden—threatens to catch up with him as well. Henry is an ingenious man and he works out an ingenious plan. He weaves lies, truths, and half-truths into a story that might help him survive. But bit by bit the noose still tightens.
Smart, sardonic, and compulsively readable, here is the story of a man whose cunning allows him to evade the consequences of his every action, even when he’s standing on the edge of the abyss.
Advance Praise
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
STARRED REVIEW!
German scriptwriter Arango’s exceptional first novel, a highly entertaining thriller, focuses on Henry Hayden, a successful author who lives in a “nondescript coastal town.” Wealthy beyond imagination, he appears to be a loving husband to his wife, Martha, and is so humble that people automatically like him. In truth, the vain and selfish Henry is seeing a mistress, Betty Hansen, who’s also his editor, and a few other women besides. As for those bestsellers, Henry never wrote one word—Martha did, allowing him to take credit as long as her authorial role remained a secret. Henry’s carefully constructed world is in danger when Betty becomes pregnant. His decision to take drastic action results in an accidental death. Dodging the police inquiry and an old acquaintance determined to expose his erratic past, Henry takes charge of his own fate. Wry humor punctuates this insightful look at a soulless man.
KIRKUS REVIEWS
STARRED REVIEW!
Hayden is a drifter with no human connections. Waking up hung over after sleeping with a stranger, Martha, he discovers a manuscript under her bed and is so impressed that he sends it off to publishers as his own. Martha, an oddball who writes books in the middle of the night and tosses the perfectly composed manuscripts in the cellar, is fine with that. After Hayden marries her, the first novel becomes a huge bestseller. Living large with a sports car and fancy clothes, he has an affair with his editor, Betty, who becomes pregnant with his child. It's only a matter of time, or so it seems, before he's exposed for the fake he is. But he remains master of his made-up world, even with the police breathing down his neck after first Martha and then Betty disappear and even with a stalker who knows everything about his past seeking vengeance. A cross between James M. Cain and Patricia Highsmith, with a wide streak of sardonic humor, this is one wicked tale. You keep waiting for the author to slip, plot-wise, but, as with his protagonist, you wait in vain. German screenwriter Arango's first novel is superior pulp, with schemers all around and plenty to say about fame, identity, and mortality.
My Take:
5 Stars, of course!
BRAVO! A genius of a story! I LOVE psychological thrillers, and this is one that will stay with you when you read this one, forever, in utter shock! At times I couldn't believe what I was reading! This guy is so inhumane, but likable! I'm not going to go into much more detail than the 'Description' this book already provides, and what you have already read because I don't want to ruin one thing for you! I did include some Advanced Praise Reviews up above as well, but I did cut out a part in one of them I listed because it just gives away too much of the plot you which will want to learn while reading the book yourself. I don't want to do that to you. I want you to be able to read this book and enjoy it! This book has so many twists and turns, you'll start getting dizzy in a great way! This character is always one step ahead of the police, convincingly.
This book starts off with Henry, our protagonist, finding a finished manuscript wrapped in greaseproof paper hidden underneath a strange woman's bed. He was looking for his sock, and that's how he found it. He did not want to get to know this woman, Martha. Well, they do end up marrying, and this book becomes the first of five bestsellers, translated into twenty languages, becomes required reading in schools, and all under the pen name of Frank Ellis. However, this is a huge secret shared only between he and his wife. Frank did NOT write these books. Martha, his wife wrote them! No one knows he does not write these books, but his wife writes the books on an old typewriter. So now he's this huge author, and he ends up having an affair with his Editor, Betty. When something happens to Betty that will change everyone's lives, things start to spiral out of control. The rest is for you to enjoy!
I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't flip through this ebook fast enough to read this entire story to find out what happened next that I didn't realize how fast I read this book!
I noticed this book is translated from the German edition, and it is fabulous! I think many people who like the Thriller genre in general will enjoy this book very much! I would like to thank Atria, a Division of Simon and Schuster through NetGalley so 'very' much for an egalley of this book for review purposes in exchange for my opinion of this book, be it either positive or negative.
About the Author, Sascha Arango
Sascha Arango is one of Germany’s most prominent screenplay writers and a two-time winner of the Grimme Prize, a prestigious award for German television, for his work on the long-running detective series Tatort. His first novel, The Truth and Other Lies, will be published in more than thirteen countries in 2015. He lives in Germany.
THE TRUTH AND OTHER LIES by Sascha Arango
Atria Books | 256 pages | ISBN: 978-1-4767-9555-3 | $24.99
(Amazon ebook: $12.99, Hardcover $17.46, Audible $18.37 or free)
(Paperback IF available is Used only from the UK at this time through Amazon)
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