Unraveling Oliver

Liz Nugent

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• eBook ISBN:
  9781501191282
• Year: 2018

“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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Chapter 1: Oliver
• Chapter 2: Barney
• Chapter 3: Michael
• Chapter 4: Oliver
• Chapter 5: Barney
• Chapter 6: Michael
• Chapter 7: VéRonique
• Chapter 8: Michael
• Chapter 9: Stanley
• Chapter 10: Oliver
• Chapter 11: Eugene
• Chapter 12: Oliver
• Chapter 13: Moya
• Chapter 14: Oliver
• Chapter 15: Philip
• Chapter 16: Oliver
• Chapter 17: VéRonique
• Chapter 18: Michael
• Chapter 19: VéRonique
• Chapter 20: Oliver
• Chapter 21: Moya
• Chapter 22: VéRonique
• Chapter 23: Oliver
• Chapter 24: Barney
• Epilogue
• Acknowledgments
• Reading Group Guide
• ‘Strange Sally Diamond’ Teaser
• About the Author
• Copyright