Lawrence Osborne is one of the best living writings turning out novels right now. Period.
His prose is beautiful, his attention to setting and detail (often in foreign exotic locations) is impeccable and the depth and momentum driving the stories is dazzling. Beautiful Animals is no exception.
It involves friends Naomi and Samantha on the Greek Island of Hyrdra discovering a stranger, a man named Faoud, sleeping heavily, exposed to the elements, but still alive. A story of manipulation, greed and ultimatel betrayal, Osborne takes us on a journey that does not let up!
As a writer, I learn so much from this man’s handle on craft, and as a reader, his are the books I cannot wait to return to.
During a white-hot summer on the idyllic Greek island of Hydra, two girls fall into one another's lives to devastating effect.
When Samantha, a young, impressionable American, meets Naomi, a Brit with a taste for danger, their relationship quickly takes on a special intensity. Amid the sun, sea and high society of island life, their imaginations are sparked when one day they find a young Arab man, Faoud, washed up on shore, a casualty of the crisis raging across the Aegean. But when their seemingly simple plan to help the stranger goes wrong, all…
McCarthy is a genius. He passed away this year, and I have read every one of his brilliant novels. His final work, The Passenger (along with a second novel, Stella Maris), is a slight departure from his earlier work but no less stunning.
He gives the reader those awe-inspiring, gorgeous sentences that transport you and take your breath away, but he also takes us on a journey into the soul of a man whose relationship with his psychotic sister is painfully rendered, and he also immerses us into the world of a salvage diver.
Of note: He is able to create amazing scenes using only dialogue. It is a great book for a writer and for readers looking for a wild, imaginative ride.
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Road returns with the first of a two-volume masterpiece: The Passenger is the story of a salvage diver, haunted by loss, afraid of the watery deep, pursued for a conspiracy beyond his understanding, and longing for a death he cannot reconcile with God.
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
“McCarthy returns with a one-two punch...a welcome return from a legend." —Esquire
Look for Stella Maris, the second volume in The Passenger series.
1980, PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western…
This is the creepiest book I have read in years. It crawled under my skin and stayed there.
A brisk, fast-moving read about a normal young woman who is inhabited in both a subtle and sinister way by a demon. This is a true page-turner. I read it on a weekend, and it spooked me in a way a book has not done in a long time.
It also packs a sudden punch of sadness at the end—truly a scary, well-done novel. Read if you dare!
'A dark, seductive cocktail of a thriller, with a splash of black humour and a twist of horror.' Francine Toon, author of Pine
There was no reason to assume anything out of the ordinary was going on. Strange noises in the apartment. Impulsive behaviour. Intense dreams. It wasn't like everything went wrong all at once. Shoplifting. Fighting. Blackouts. There must be a reasonable explanation for all this.
'It will scare the pants off you. It is a perfect horror novel.' Paul Tremblay 'A short, sharp shocker . . . Relentlessly creepy.' Sunday Times 'Deeply scary.' The Times 'Terrifying.' Daily Mail…
Set against the dazzling backdrop of modern Delhi, a gay couple's idyllic Indian journey takes a dark turn when a secret infidelity is revealed.
Newly-married New Yorkers Brant and Lloyd are enjoying the great beauty and frenetic atmosphere of Delhi until Brant's recent infidelity is revealed to his husband.
Left alone in what was supposed to be their honeymoon bungalow, Brant discovers a diary buried in the garden that was written by a diplomat's wife, Carol, who had a torrid, scandalous affair in Delhi in 1950. Brant connects with the 90-year-old Carol first on the page and eventually, in person-discovering a bond that transcends time and culture.
