Description
Shortlisted for Best Independent Voice at the Amazon Publishing Readers’ Awards
Longlisted for the Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize
THRILLER OF THE YEAR in GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH AND DAILY EXPRESS
‘Totally addictive. Like Fight Club, only darker’ S.J. Watson
‘I loved this book. Dark and at times almost comical, a great blend of crime thriller and the darkest imaginable domestic noir’ Sarah Pinborough
Dark, deviant and disturbing domestic noir … one of the most entrancing, sophisticated and page-turning psychological thrillers of the year…
One crossed wire, three dead bodies and six bottles of bleach…
Seth Beauman can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.
But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker, when Seth brings Hadley home… And someone is watching…
Dark, sexy, dangerous and wildly readable, Good Samaritans marks the scorching return of one of crime fiction’s most exceptional voices.
Tracey Harriman (verified owner) –
Seth is an insomniac. At night, when he can’t sleep, he goes through his phone book and calls random strangers hoping to find someone willing to have a chat.
Hadley struggles with depression. She has already made suicide attempts and has again come to a point where she doesn’t want to live. She calls The Samartians.
Thanks to a crossed line, Hadley and Seth end up talking. Talking results in meeting.
Ant works for The Samaritans. When Hadley calls saying she will only talk to Seth he gets worried and tries to track her down.
Detective Sergeant Pace is on the hunt for a killer. Someone who has killed 2 women already, scrubbed them in bleach, wrapped them in plastic and dumped them 100 miles from their homes. 2 women who are seemingly unconnected.
This is a dark book. Not for the feint hearted or for those not in a great place themselves. It’s not a light holiday read.
That said, I was captivated. Carver has taken his imagination to the murkiest of places and produced an uncomfortable read with characters of little morality.
A crime thriller where the focus is actually on the crimes as opposed to Police procedure.
I believe this is the 1st of 3 books (so far) to feature Detective Sergeant Pace. We get to hear very little of him in this book, none of his back story and no mention of his colleagues. This is where Carver’s style differs from that of many of his peers. We learn about the lives of the perpetrators and the victims. The story is very much in the realm of evil rather than good.
I could not turn away from this book. Complaints that dinner was late fell on deaf ears. I feel like an addict… I want more!
Is there a part of me that’s a little twisted to have been so hooked in? Maybe, I don’t care. Bring me the next one!
Paula Fullerton –
I received this as my secret santa from one of Bert’s lovely customers. I was delighted with it. I love a bit of crime fiction but this was something a bit special with a plot twist about half way through I didn’t see coming. And, another at the end for good measure! I will definitely be reading more by Will Carver soon.