The Hand

By: Georges Simenon, Linda Coverdale - Translator

Narrated by: Peter Brooke

A new translation of George Simenon's taut, devastating psychological novel set in American suburbia. The inspiration for the new play by award-winning playwright David Hare.

'I had begun, God knows why, tearing a corner off of everyday truth, begun seeing myself in another kind of mirror, and now the whole of the old, more or less comfortable truth was falling to pieces.'

Confident and successful, New York advertising executive Ray Sanders takes what he wants from life. When he goes missing in a snowstorm in Connecticut one evening, his closest friend begins to reassess his loyalties, gambling with Ray's fate and his own future.

©2016 Georges Simenon (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

predecessor of Gone Girl

Upon listening to this, I wonder whether Gillian Flynn has read it and used it as a model for Gone Girl. The psychological perspective is superbly written, and you can feel the agony of a the protagonist in a oppressive marriage. There is also an echo of Poe's Tell Tale Heart in terms of the narrative voice which is awesome, and it is perdectly paced. Many novels that could be excellent are reduced to mediocrity by poor pacing and this author masters it.