Description
Book SynopsisWhen the elderly Madame Préau returns to her own house after several years spent in a convalescent home, she immediately notices that the neighbourhood has changed. A new family has moved in next door and, from her window, she watches their three children playing in the garden after school.
Two of the children seem perfectly healthy, but Madame Préau is struck by the third child, who seems listless and stands apart from the others. When she reports this to social services, they refuse to believe her. Cut off some years ago from her own grandson, she begins a mission to help this boy, even when those around her start to fear for her sanity.
The Stone Boy is an award-winning and darkly atmospheric psychological thriller from a critically acclaimed French author. Packed with shocking twists and turns that will appeal to fans of Barbara Vine and Erin Kelly, Madame Préau's story will hold you entranced until the very last page.
Trade ReviewAn absorbing psychological thriller. * Marcel Berlins - The Times *
Translated in a deliciously forthright style by Nora Mahony, The Stone Boy mischievously toys with the reader's expectations, blending elements from the traditional mystery tale with those of the paranormal...The irascible and irrepressible Madame Préau makes for a delightfully ambiguous protagonist, and Loubiere deftly plots a compelling tale that is as poignantly heartbreaking as it is thrilling. * Irish Times *
A thoroughly menacing psychological thriller. * Morning Star *
On the evidence of this atmospheric and complex thriller, France is shaping up as a font of impressive new crime writers specialising in unorthodox and genuinely unsettling narratives. * Barry Forshaw, Financial Times *
A beautiful narrative, and stylistically fascinating * Mystery People *
