The Other Half Lives

226 Pages·2010·1.02 MB·English

by  Hannah Sophie

Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication

Chapter 1 - Friday 29 Feb 2008
Chapter 2 - 1/3/08
Chapter 3 - Sunday 2 March 2008
Chapter 4 - 3/3/08
Chapter 5 - Monday 3 March 2008
Chapter 6 - 3/3/08
Chapter 7 - Monday 3 March 2008
Chapter 8 - 4/3/08
Chapter 9 - Tuesday 4 March 2008
Chapter 10 - 4/3/08
Chapter 11 - Tuesday 4 March 2008
Chapter 12 - 5/3/08
Chapter 13 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 14 - 5/3/08
Chapter 15 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 16 - 5/3/08
Chapter 17 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 18 - 5/3/08
Chapter 19 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 20 - 5/3/08
Chapter 21 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 22 - 5/3/08
Chapter 23 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 24 - 5/3/08
Chapter 25 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 26 - 5/3/08
Chapter 27 - Wednesday 5 March 2008
Chapter 28 - 12/3/08
Chapter 29 - Tuesday 1 April 2008
Acknowledgements
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THE DEAD LIE DOWN

SOPHIE HANNAH is a bestselling crime fiction writer and poet. Her
psychological thrillers, including Little Face and The Wrong Mother, have been
published in ten countries. Sophie lives in Yorkshire, England, with her husband
and two children.
Praise for Sophie Hannah
THE WRONG MOTHER

‘Paced like a ticking time bomb with flawlessly distinct characterization, this is a
fiercely fresh and un-put-downable read.’
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

‘The Wrong Mother is an un-put-downable read, and as a $15 paperback, the
bargain mystery of the year!’
—BookPage

‘Sophie Hannah just gets better and better. Her plots are brilliantly cunning and
entirely unpredictable. The writing is brilliant and brings us uncomfortably close
to the dark, ambivalent impulses experienced by the parents of difficult,
demanding children.’
—The Guardian (London)

‘Sophie Hannah’s ingenious, almost surreal mysteries are so intricately
constructed that it’s impossible to guess how they will end. The Wrong Mother is
a compelling and disquieting story, told with the author’s usual panache.’
—Daily Telegraph (U.K.)

‘The fresh and the original have been Hannah’s hallmark since her debut Little
Face. The Wrong Mother is her most accomplished novel yet. As the revelations
tumble forth, the tension is screwed ever tighter until the final shocking
outcome. Exemplary.’
—Daily Express (U.K.)

‘Sophie Hannah’s third psychological suspense novel is a creepy thriller with an
unsettling side-story concerning “family annihilation”—the murder of a child by
a parent. . . . This is a superior exercise in storytelling that takes time away from
the killer-on-the-loose cop chase to reflect on the chillingly plausible thin line
between parenting and psychosis.’
—Financial Times
‘Hannah reinforces her reputation as a great new thriller writer. Chilling,
compulsive and with a genius twist.’
—Elle (U.K.)

LITTLE FACE

‘She’s a writer to watch.’
—Bloomberg News

‘It is not every day that a writer makes the move from best-selling poetry to
suspense fiction, and I suspect it’s rarer still for the transition to be as successful
as that of British author Sophie Hannah, who has penned a clever and original
debut in Little Face. . . . Judging from her excellent debut, she has a brilliant
new career ahead of her.’
—BookPage

‘An unsettling psychological thriller.’
—L.A. Weekly
‘Few authors play with reality and perception as skillfully as Hannah does . . .
riveting reading.’
—Mystery Scene

‘A great premise for a mystery . . . intriguing.’
—New York Daily News

‘Engrossing.’
—Publishers Weekly
‘The British edition of Sophie Hannah’s Little Face shot up the best-seller list,
and no wonder. It’s a splendid crime-psychological thriller. Men who read the
book will be riveted by the crime part, while women will grab onto the
psychology part.’
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

‘Hannah has a keen ear for her characters’ foibles, snobberies and hypocrisies,
and the observation remains acute throughout.’
—The Observer (London)

‘Echoes of [Hitchcock’s] Gaslight and Rebecca . . . A tautly claustrophobic
spiral of a story delivered with self-belief.’
—Kirkus Review

‘This may well turn out to be the detective novel of the year. . . . So develops a
terrifying mystery of manipulation, counter-manipulation and, finally,
astounding revelation—it’s a haunting story told with bewitching skill.’
—Scotsman

‘The author is a poet by trade and she brings a wealth of psychological and
literary subtlety to bear in this impressive novel. Smart and disarmingly
unnerving.’
—Daily Mail (U.K.)

‘Hannah adapts to crime fiction with arresting aplomb: her characters are vivid,
the novel’s challenging double narrative is handled with flair, and its
denouement is ingenious.’
—The Sunday Times (London)

‘Little Face is that most fascinating and intelligent of modern crime novels:
rather than a whodunit, it escalates from a how-andwhydunit to a point where the
reader is unsure if a crime has been committed at all. . . . Hannah never deviates
from her intention: to deliver a gripping crime story of the first order, loaded
with subtext and meaning.’
—Leeds Guide
‘Hannah’s whodunit milks a classic formula with subversive results. This
missing-baby tale chimes with very modern anxieties. Custody issues lie at the
heart of the resolution, and the increasingly perverse relationship between Alice
and David is grounded in recognisable reality that serves only to make our flesh
crawl more.’
—The Independent

‘I do not really want to discuss this thriller. I do not want to give away any of the
quite brilliant twists to those who may not have read Little Face or have not yet
finished it. So, you will just have to take my word, and that of those who mailed
the Books group, that Sophie Hannah delivers as good a finale as any crime
writer. I was extremely impressed.’
—The Times (London)

‘This taut psychological thriller is full of heart-thumping suspense.’
—Sainsbury’s Magazine

‘Sophie Hannah is a real star.’
—Daily Telegraph (U.K.)
‘A chilling thriller. I was left thinking about the book for days, and that’s usually
a good sign.’
—The Guardian (London)

‘Women in peril flit through the pages of traditional Gothic fiction, murmuring
“Had I but known!” as they fall for the wrong man, open the wrong door or
apply for the wrong job. Sophie Hannah takes the trusty formula in both hands,
gives it a vigorous shake and uses it to produce something fascinating and
original in her novel. Beautifully written the novel is outstandingly chilling—
terror lurks in the half understood and in anticipation. Little Face is a hugely
promising debut. Sophie Hannah is an author to watch.’
—The Spectator

‘I could barely put this book down . . . definitely worth a read.’
—Birmingham Post