Alys, Always: A Novel
“This highly entertaining and squirm-inducing short novel that Frances herself might reductivelypitch to her boss in the books department as Howards End meets All About Eve.….A breezy, lacerating first novel.” —New York Times Book ReviewA “taut debut novel.” —New York Times“Harriet Lane writes with style, wrapping her suspenseful debut in lovely bits of gently creepy description, as well as delicious social critique…a fast, sharp read.” —Boston Globe“A deft and lively brain-twist of a thriller for which the only word that seems apropos is ‘spellbinding.’” —Chicago Tribune"Controlled and precise, Lane’s writing bewitches with its undertones of implied meanings and carefully hidden secrets. This is a gem." -Kirkus(starred review)“Lane’s wry debut delves into the political machinations of London’s literary scene.” —Publishers Weekly“Harriet Lane’s mesmerizing debut novel, Alys, Always, is a slow-burning psychological novel that unsettles and satisfies in equal, tantalizing measure—a literary All About Eve that stands testament to the old saying that it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.” —The Daily Beast"This novel begins with a bang and delivers all sorts of surprises, but manages some accute and moving observations...A very fine debut. Lane works out her dramatic premise with great originality."--The Times(UK)"Wonderfully observed...This is a gripping, psychologically complex achievement, whose greatest success is its lingering sense of unease."--The Telegraph(UK)"[An] exceptional first novel...In Frances [Harriet Lane] has created a character Daphne du Maurier might have been prood of: vulnerable, manipulative, resourceful, chippy, but one of us."--Financial Times(UK)"This chilling and accomplished debut is in classic Ruth Rendell territory. Crucially, the author knows the trick of what to leave out, and of how to tantilise."--The Independent(UK)"A superbly disquieting psychological thriller...Lane is a formidable wordsmith, and the literary world is conjured up in all its delicous, gossipy hierarchy....Mordantly funny, yet chilling, this tale of an ordinary woman inveigling her way into a position of power is compulsive reading."--The Spectator(UK)"Superbly, even poetically written with an almost feverish hyper-realism, thisAll About Evefor our times misses no telling detail...A brilliant idea, brilliantly realized. I loved it, loved it. I've run out of superlatives and all that remains to say is that I wish I was you; I wish I hadn't read it and had that pleasure to come."--Daily Mail(UK)“Fabulous... Like its narrator,Alys, Alwaysis unforgettable” —USA Today