Description
Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Baileys Women''s Prize for Fiction 2014
Littlefield, Massachusetts: home to psychologists, college professors and their over-achieving children, and recently lauded as one of the Ten Best Places to Live in America. If happiness had a home it would be here.
Then the first dog is poisoned. At first, there is shock and disbelief: who would commit such a cruel act - and why? As more dogs die, residents notice other signs that something''s not right in their home: the appearance of menacing grafitti, the persistent triggering of fire alarms at the middle school and the haunted looks neighbours begin exchanging.
For the Downings, Margaret, Bill and daughter Julia, Littlefield''s gathering darkness hints at flaws in their own lives. What is wrong? What can save them?
''Well-observed shrewd satire . . . sharp, funny and painful. Berne takes the domestic and turns it into the majestic'' Sunday Telegraph
Trade ReviewBerne takes the domestic and turns it into the majestic * Sunday Telegraph *
A very well-written novel: clean, delicate, both devastating and funny in its well-chosen detail . . . it's insightful, too, with a clearly original mind behind it. Highly recommended * Daily Mail *
As astute in her observations of contemporary culture as she is in capturing the minutiae of longing, disappointment and loss * Sunday Times *
Fans of Anne Tyler and Alison Lurie will enjoy this peek behind the white picket fences * The Times *
This funny novels explores the flaws of a perfect neighbourhood with a bizarre killer on the loose * Psychologies *
A compelling novel that examines life, love and loss with a cynical but insightful world view. Original and brilliant * Sunday Mirror *
