3.9 (521)

The Body Lies

by Jo Baker
3.9 (521)
‘Powerful and moving, I read The Body Lies in one sitting. As a thriller, it grips and shocks: as a portrayal of the way women move through the world, and the way men see them, it has never been more timely. Absolutely stunning’ ERIN KELLY, bestselling author of He Said/She Said

A layered and thrilling suspense novel that grapples with how to live as a woman in the modern world – or in the pages of a book – when the stakes are dangerously high.

When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote countryside, it’s meant to be a fresh start, away from the big city and the scene of a violent assault she’s desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of a new life and single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative writing group.

When a troubled student starts sending in chapters from his novel that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognises herself as the main character in his book – and he has written her a horrific fate.

Will she be able to stop life imitating art before it’s too late?

At once a breathless battle-of-wits and a disarming exploration of sexual politics, The Body Lies is an essential book for our times.

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‘Gripping and strange in the best possible way: the perfect marriage of risky literary fiction and full-on thriller’ MARIA SEMPLE, bestselling author of Where d’ya go Bernadette?

‘This page-turning thriller has a sympathetic and utterly believable heroine, but it’s also an examination of how women’s bodies are treated, in life and in fiction.’ The Bookseller

Publication date
  • July 21, 2020