History of architecture lecturer Marianne Thackeray has been looking over her shoulder for three decades, but the past she hoped she'd outrun finally threatens to catch up with her-with potentially life-shattering consequences-in this uneven psychological thriller from Kelly (He Said/She Said). Back as an ambitious teen itching to escape remote Nusstead, England, a town dying after the closure of its major employer, Nazareth Mental Hospital, by Helen Greenlaw, the despised chair of the East Anglian Regional Health Authority, Marianne let then-boyfriend Jesse Brame bully her into blackmailing the bureaucrat using abandoned hospital records she'd discovered. But while she and Helen, now an MP, have prospered over the years, Jesse teeters on the brink of financial ruin-and threatens to out Marianne to her husband and mentally unstable 20-year-old daughter unless she helps him. Unfortunately, Kelly's main characters never transcend serviceable. The most moving aspect of the novel is the glimpses it offers, largely through flashbacks from Helen, of the horrors inflicted on heartbreakingly vulnerable patients in the name of mental health. Still, fans of plot-propelled thrillers will be satisfied. Agent: Zoe Pagnamenta, Zoe Pagnamenta Agency. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Marianne never planned to return to her small hometown, but when her mother's dementia symptoms worsen, she finds herself back to help care for her. Leaving her mentally ill daughter in London, Marianne is already nervous about the distance, never mind her anxiety about the memories that could resurface in the shadow of Nazareth, the town's now-shuttered asylum. Her husband, not knowing her full past, surprises her by purchasing a flat in the newly renovated institution turned housing complex. It doesn't take long for the memories and secrets to start haunting Marianne, forcing her to confront her past in order to keep her family safe. Kelly's latest (after He Said/She Said, 2017) is a fast-paced, thrilling, and extremely clever novel. Written in several parts that show the passage of time through the development of the mental institution which is a character itself the book's secrets are revealed slowly. Full of blackmail and lies, this novel grows in intensity as each character's story is told. Utterly engaging, terrifying, and unputdownable, this novel will haunt readers and have them wanting more from Kelly.--Erin Holt Copyright 2019 Booklist