The Dark Rose

British author Kelly follows her powerful debut, The Poison Tree (2011), with another stunning novel of psychological suspense. When Paul Seaforth meets garden designer Louisa Trevelyan at a garden restoration site in Warwickshire, where the authorities have sent him for safety until he can testify against a friend at a murder trial, Louisa reacts to him with shock. Paul resembles Adam Glasslake, a charismatic musician with whom she was once violently obsessed. Paul, who later becomes Louisa’s secret lover, hopes to give her closure by discovering Adam’s fate, but his plans explode when his own past finds him. The title, which alludes to the way a new rose won’t bloom where an old one has died, perfectly evokes the story’s theme: unhealed damage inevitably stunts fresh growth. With its rich intertwining of viewpoints and time frames, its nuances of character and class, its sustained suspense and its gothic/contemporary fusion, this harrowing novel is a work of true talent. Agent: Zoe Pagnamenta. (Feb.)