A Double Life

***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected copy proof***

Copyright © 2018 Flynn Berry



1

A man comes around the bend in the path. I stop short when he appears. We re alone. The heath has been quiet today, under dark snow clouds, and we re on the part of the path where the oak trees form a tunnel.

The man is wearing a hat and a wool overcoat with the collar turned up. When he stops to light a cigarette, I m close enough to see his knuckles rising under his gloves, but his face is hidden by the brim of his hat.

The dog is somewhere behind me. I don t call for him, I don t want the man to hear. Sparrows fly over our heads to the oaks, drawn into the branches like filings to a magnet. His lighter won t catch, and the metal rasps as he tries again.

Jasper brushes past me. I reach for his collar but miss, almost losing my balance. The lighter flares and the man tips his head to hold the cigarette in the flame. Then he drops the lighter in his pocket and holds out his fist for the dog to smell. Jasper whines, and for the first time the man looks down the path at me.

It isn t him. I call the dog, I say sorry in a strained voice. The path is narrow here, we have to pass within a few inches of each other, and I look at him again, to be sure. Then I clip the dog s leash and hurry towards the houses and people on Well Walk. I wish it had been him, and that instead I was searching the ground for a heavy branch, and following him into the woods.

It s been like this for the past three days, since the detective s visit. I ve been seeing him everywhere.

Last Thursday night, I came home from work and ran a bath before taking off my coat. While water filled the tub, I said hello to Jasper, kissing the crown of his head. His fur always smells like clean smoke, like he s recently been near a campfire. I poured a glass of wine and drank it standing at the counter.

In the bathroom, I filled a small

Flynn Berry is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers and the recipient of a Yaddo fellowship. Her first novel, Under the Harrow, won the 2017 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was named a best book of the year by the Washington Post and The Atlantic.

Breathtaking . . . as shocking as it is satisfying . . . Berry writes thrillingly . . . about women raging against a world that protects cruel and careless men. . . . As desperate and consumed as our messy heroine may get in the process, Berry always lets her hold onto her humanity. The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) 
 
[An] astute thriller . . . With exquisite pacing, Edgar Award-winner Berry guides us to a stunning conclusion. The Seattle Times

[A] page-turner. Entertainment Weekly

Thrilling. O, The Oprah Magazine  

Heart-stopping. Bustle

Impossible to put down. Suspense

[A] standout . . . Beautifully paced and satisfyingly ominous. The Guardian

Elegantly written [and] artfully structured . . . As her story unwinds, Berry reaches deep into the psychic wounds and social repercussions of the crime. BBC

Suspense at its very best. CrimeReads

Thrilling . . . Berry starts with a chilling, notorious unsolved true crime . . . and builds her story from there. Parade
 
Engrossing. Good Housekeeping

Psychological suspense has a new reigning queen. New York Journal of Books

As well as confirming the promise of Berry s debut...[A Double Life] demonstrates that fusing fiction and true crime can be mesmerizingly effective. The Times (London)

Satisfyingly ominous prose . . . Complex characters . . . are brought heartbreakingly to life while Britain s unjust, and still prevalent, class system, which lies at the heart of this tale, lends the narrative some moral weight. East Hampton Star

[An] engrossing psychological thriller . . . [that] builds to a shocking but satisfying conclusion. Berry tells this shattering story with surprising grace.   Publishers Weekly

A Double Life is that rare thing: a beautifully written page-turner. The Bookseller (London)

A thrilling page-turner [and] a compassionate and angry book: with forensic precision,