Unraveling Oliver, Liz Nugent
Unraveling Oliver, Liz Nugent
4 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Unraveling Oliver

Author: Liz Nugent

Narrator: Sam O’Mahony

Unabridged: 6 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/22/2017


Synopsis

“Pitch-black and superbly written.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10

“Top-notch grip lit…incredibly brilliant.” —Marian Keyes, New York Times bestselling author

In this astonishing debut novel, a man’s shocking act of savagery stuns a local community—and the revelations that follow will keep you gripped until the very last page.

Oliver Ryan has the perfect life. Elegant and seductive, he wants for nothing, sharing a lovely home with his steadfast wife, Alice, who illustrates the award-winning children’s books that have brought him wealth and fame. Until one evening, after eating the dinner Alice has carefully prepared, Oliver savagely assaults her and leaves her for dead.

But why?

The people who know Oliver can only speculate about the reasons behind his brutal act: his empty-headed mistress Moya, vain and petulant; Veronique, the French chatelaine who tragically lost everything the summer she employed him in her vineyard; Alice’s friend Barney, who has nursed an unrequited love for her since childhood; Oliver’s college pal Michael, struggling with voiceless longings that have shamed him for years. What none of them understands is the dark secret that lies behind his immaculate façade.

The revelations that come to light as the layers of Oliver’s past are peeled away are as brutal as his singular act of violence. His decades of careful deception have masked a life irrevocably marked by abandonment, envy, and shame—and as the details of that life are laid bare, Oliver discovers that outrunning his demons is harder than it looks.

With its insight into the mind of a psychopath emerging from the wreckage of his own misbegotten past, Unraveling Oliver is a chilling page-turner, brilliantly crafted and unexpectedly moving, by a stunning new voice in fiction. Liz Nugent "presents a fresh look at a man hiding his violent personality in this intense character study" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). As powerful as Patricia Highsmith’s unforgettable noir classic, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Unraveling Oliver will enthrall you from its mesmerizing opening line to its equally shocking last page.

About Liz Nugent

Before becoming a full-time writer, Liz Nugent worked in film, theatre, and television. Her five novels—Unravelling Oliver, Lying in Wait, Skin Deep, Our Little Cruelties, and Strange Sally Diamond—have each been #1 bestsellers and she has won five Irish Book Awards, as well as the James Joyce Medal for Literature. She lives in Dublin. Visit her at LizNugent.com or follow her on Instagram at @LizNugentWriter. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by jessica

everything you need to know about this book is in the title and the synopsis. the story begins with oliver beating his wife into a coma. the remaining chapters are POVs of people who know oliver, little threads from his past, who provide insight and unravel his tangled history, until the reader is a......more

4.5 stars! Clever! Gripping! Addictive! Wow – this was really good! The very first sentence in this novel jaw-droppingly sucked me right into this story. I couldn’t put this book down! The story revolves around Oliver Ryan – a highly successful children’s author who is married to Alice, the illustra......more