A Thousand Lies

Laura Wilson is another class act who just gets better and better. Her last novel, The Lover, was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger. A Thousand Lies would be my first nomination for this year’s, with or without books in translation.

It’s a bleak story about two fathers – a sadistic bully and a charismatic con-man – and their damaged wives and daughters. Sheila Shand got a suspended sentence in 1987 for murdering her abusing father. Investigative journalist Amy Vaughan discovers worrying links between her con-man father and the Shands. There’s more to worry about when two long-buried skeletons are dug up in the woods near the family home.

Wilson is the equal of Rendell and Walters in exploring the dark depths of the twisted psyche. But she’s just as good at laying bare the emotions of damaged victims. A Thousand Lies is creepy, moving and surprising. Superb.