He Said/She Said

This riveting psychological thriller from British author Kelly (Broadchurch) explores the extremes to which people will go to conceal a lie. While celebrating the 1999 solar eclipse at a festival in Cornwall, eclipse-chaser Christopher “Kit” McCall and his girlfriend, Laura Langrishe, interrupt the apparent rape of Beth Taylor. They call the police, and their testimony leads to the capture and conviction of a man named Jamie Balcombe. Beth showers Kit and Laura with gratitude, but then her behavior takes a strange turn and they decide to distance themselves. Come 2015, Kit and Laura have changed their names and are living as ghosts, only risking travel to see the moon cover the sun. The couple share the narration, which moves back and forth in time to fill the 15-year gap. Kelly’s pacing is deliberate, but patient readers will be rewarded with airtight plotting, mounting tension, and shocking twists. Attempts to match the beats of the story with the phases of an eclipse feel somewhat contrived, but overall, this is an affecting tale of infatuation, desperation, and betrayal. [em]Agent: Zoe Pagnamenta, Zoe Pagnamenta Agency. (June) [/em]