In her memories, it was always the sound she remembered first. Marisa’s own childhood had been studded through with noise. It was this that ultimately persuaded her. ‘Yes, it’s got a lovely sense of calm to it.’ When she commented on this, the woman who was showing her around nodded. She noticed the quiet, which was rare for London, especially when you were this close to a main road. Marisa stood on this terrace, her sandals shadowed on biscuit-coloured patio stones, and she looked down to the garden below, which had a strip of lawn lined with potted plants, the soil newly turned. Someone had made the odd decision to put a bathroom on the second floor with doors that led out onto a roof terrace. The plantation shutters were plastic and layered with thin spores of dust. The flooring, which had clearly been bought in bulk by the developer, was a shade too light, the wood-laminate a touch too smooth to pass for real. Well, not perfect exactly, because houses never are, but at least the imperfections were liveable with. ‘A rich plot that also delves into meaty topics’ ‘Be prepared for a sleight-of-hand-twist that will leave you gasping’ ‘A compassionately crafted psychological drama’ ‘A pacy, stylish thriller in which suspense is accompanied by fist-pumping feminism and, perhaps toughest of all, hope.’ How far will she go to find the answer – and how much is she willing to lose? That the woman sleeping in their house will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

And she trusts him – doesn’t she?īut Marisa knows something is wrong. Is it the way she looks at Marisa’s boyfriend? Sits too close on the sofa? Constantly asks about the baby they are trying for? Or is it all just in Marisa’s head?Īfter all, that’s what her Jake keeps telling her. In Jake, Marisa has found everything she’s ever wanted. She puts her toothbrush right there in the master bathroom, on the shelf next to theirs. She makes herself at home without any self-consciousness. Sometimes Marisa gets the fanciful notion that Kate has visited the house before. LISA TADDEO, AUTHOR OF THREE WOMEN AND ANIMAL 'A book that needed to exist in the world.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day