Looker

'A slim novel that has maximum drama'

By: Laura Sims

Narrated by: Katherine Fenton

A hugely compulsive, dark, stylish and intense novel, simmering with Hitchcockian undertones - for readers of Lullaby, Eileen or The Lemon Grove.

Have you ever wanted to steal someone else's life? The Professor lives in Brooklyn; her partner Nathan has left her; she can't have a baby. All she's left with is Nathan's old moggy, Cat. Who she doesn't even like.

Then a celebrity actress moves into the area. She's beautiful, with long auburn hair, perfect skin, a lovely smile. She's got children - a baby, even. And a husband who seems to adore her. She leaves discarded household items and toys outside for thrift collection. She leaves her windows open, even at night.

There's no harm, the Professor thinks, in recycling those items. Or looking in through the illuminated glass at that shiny, happy family. Is there?

©2019 Laura Sims (P)2019 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Critic reviews

"This intense, gripping first novel from Laura Sims shoehorns us into a gathering disquiet and sense of dread, heightened at every turn by our sympathetic understanding of her relentlessly unraveling protagonist. The precise, observant writing slips through the skin without ever calling attention to itself." (Peter Straub, author of A Dark Matter and Interior Darkness)