The Girlfriend

Successful TV producer Laura Cavendish, the heroine of BBC development executive Frances’s gripping debut, has poured her heart and soul into rearing her only child, Daniel, now a medical student who lives with her in London. The prospect of his moving to his own flat worries her. Laura grows even more anxious when she meets his new girlfriend, Cherry, who was born on the wrong side of the tracks and using any means necessary to claw her way out of poverty. The first encounter between the two most important women in Daniel’s life does not go well. As Laura uncovers Cherry’s lies and ruses, Cherry cunningly retaliates, until a rift results between mother and son. After a near-tragic accident, Laura is convinced that there’s only way to save her son: she must eliminate Cherry. But Cherry is not going to go away quietly. The tension rises as the two women hurtle toward a final confrontation. Fans of psychological thrillers will eagerly look forward to Frances’s next book. (Feb.)