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The Girl on the Stairs: A Masterful Psychological Thriller

The Girl on the Stairs: A Masterful Psychological Thriller

by Louise Welsh (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2012

    $5.64
Synopsis

Jane Logan is six months pregnant and has moved to Berlin to live with her long-term lover, rich banker, Petra. The women's chic new apartment is in a trendy part of the city but Jane finds herself increasingly uneasy there. She conceives a dread of the derelict backhouse across the courtyard and begins to suspect something sinister is happening in the flat next door, where gynaecologist Alban Mann lives with his teenage daughter Anna. Petra believes her lover's pregnancy is affecting her judgement, but Jane is increasingly convinced that all is not well. Her decision to turn detective has devastating results when her own past collides with the past of the building and its inhabitants.

A haunting, atmospheric novel from the acclaimed author of The Cutting Room.

$5.64

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Quantity

4 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 288
 Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd
Published: 02 Aug 2012
ISBN 10: 1848546602
ISBN 13: 9781848546608
Book Overview: Some buildings are alive with memories.

Media Reviews
Louise Welsh's taut new novel at times feels like a potent cross between The Yellow Wallpaper and Rear Window . . . Welsh expertly conveys the escalation of Jane's suspicions to something approaching obsession * Observer *
'An impressive psychological chiller' * Sunday Telegraph *
'Sharply rendered . . . The reader's anxiety is heightened by a myriad of small tensions . . . Welsh keeps the reader turning to pursue the multiple stories threading through the pages . . . The writing of crime fiction is, after all, a sort of conjuring trick played on the reader, a welcome deception. Welsh has developed flashing fingers with cards, rabbits and hats' * Independent *
Builds up atmosphere admirably * Sunday Times *
Brilliantly atmospheric, the tension builds until you are chilled to the core * Good Housekeeping *
A taut narrative that plays with our sense of what's real. Brilliant * Red *
'A stylish and violent Berlin-set thriller' * Guardian *
'The Girl on the Stairs is crisply written and tightly constructed, gaining much of its considerable impact by its economy. Welsh is a novelist who straddles the shadowy borderline between crime and literary fiction. Here, she subverts and updates the convention of the romantic thriller while retaining the genre's central premise...the result is powerful, impressive and as black as sin' * The Spectator *
'An outstanding work of psychological suspense that will thrill Welsh's existing fans and earn her many more' * Daily Record *
'A portrait of a city haunted by its past, with nods to Don't Look Now and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, it's a profoundly creepy read' * Guardian Books of the Year *
'The Girl on the Stairs feels like a ghost story. Taking place in a haunted city, the book's knowing evocation of Don't Look Now, Du Maurier's Venice-set story, is sharpened by the fact that this mother is not grieving the loss of a child but anticipating a birth. Yet what Welsh knows, and brings to a bloody conclusion, is that no supernatural manifestation of our darkest hours is any match for what real human beings can do to each other' * Guardian *
Welsh skilfully exposes Jane's growing obsession in a tale that becomes more compelling with every shocking twist * Psychologies *
A highly effective mystery, told by the kind of unreliable narrator able to rival the very best at keeping you guessing * Scotsman *
'We've come to expect two things from Welsh: a brilliant sense of location and knuckle-whitening suspense . . . Superbly entertaining' * Saga *
'Both chilling and disturbing insights into the female psyche' * Scotsman *
'Wonderfully atmospheric' * List *
A masterclass in sustained tension and hold-your-breath suspense * Bookseller *
'Edgy, tense and a real page-turner' * Woman *
'This is a fantastic, dark, edgy and edge of your seat thriller which will not disappoint fans of Louise Welsh but will also be perfect for fans of Rosamund Lupton and Julia Crouch. Be prepared to loose sleep' * lisabooks.blogspot.co.uk *
'The uncertainties and ambiguities kept me guessing to the end . . . The Girl on the Stairs is a dark, psychological thriller, full of atmosphere and claustrophobic tension. I really enjoyed it' * booksplease.org *
'A clever Rear Window type thriller . . . You won't be able to put this book down until the very end when there is a surprising twist. I was left with an uncomfortable feeling at the end and am still thinking about this book days after I finished it' * novelfriends.com *
'A dark haunting novel. The story builds and as the tension incrases I enjoyed it more and more, and felt it got better and better until I was gripped . . . It's a fairly short novel, written in spare prose with evocative descriptive passages and effective dialogue that always adds to the plot progression' * thelittlereaderlibrary.blogspot.co.uk *
'A fast-paced read...this is definately a must read novel for fans of mystery or psychology' * Ialwaysbelievedinfutures.blogspot *
'The Girl on the Stairs is a gritty, psychological thriller with plenty of suspense, tension and mystery. The twists and turns will have you believing Jane one minute and thinking she's mad the next. A definite page-turner and an excellent read' * NotesofLife.co.uk *
'This was everything I could have ever hoped for in a thriller/fiction-type book' * edelwaugh.blogspot.co.uk *
Utterly absorbing * Evening Herald (Dublin) *
Author Bio
After a history degree from the University of Glasgow, Louise Welsh opened a second hand bookshop, which she ran for several years before becoming a full-time author. She has been the recipient of several awards including The John Creasey Memorial Dagger, the Saltire First Book Award, the Glenfiddich/Scotland on Sunday Spirit of Scotland Writing Award and City of Glasgow Lord Provost's Award for Literature. In 2007 she was named one of the twenty-five authors of the future by Waterstone's.