Keep You Close

February 15, 2016
When Rowan Winter, the heroine of this nail-biting psychological thriller from Whitehouse (Before We Met), learns that prominent painter Marianne Glass has died after falling from the roof of her Oxford, England, house, Marianne refuses to believe that it was an accident. Rowan knows that Marianne, her best friend from childhood, suffered from extreme vertigo and would never willingly have stood anywhere near a roof’s edge. Days later, Rowan receives a note from Marianne, postmarked the day before she died, that simply says, “I need to talk to you,” breaking a silence of 10 years. After the two had a serious misunderstanding, Rowan left Oxford for London, but at Marianne’s funeral she’s forced to revisit the past. With bulldog tenacity, she delves into Marianne’s personal and professional history, determined to unlock the mystery of what really happened to her friend. Whitehouse explores the many layers of Marianne’s and Rowan’s intertwined experiences in an emotionally satisfying read that builds to a thrilling climax. Agent: Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Literary Management.

March 15, 2016
A woman retraces an estranged friend's last days following her seemingly accidental death. Secrets can bind a friendship or tear it apart. For Rowan Winter, it's been 10 years since she's spoken to Marianne Glass, once her closest companion, but the news of Marianne's death is still a crushing blow. A renowned artist, Marianne allegedly fell from the roof of the same Oxford home where, years earlier, Rowan once considered herself an honorary member of the lively, intellectual Glass clan. Whitehouse (Before We Met, 2014, etc.) teases the reader by withholding the specifics of what drove the two women apart that summer following college graduation and patriarch Seb Glass' death, leaving just enough crumbs to generate a healthy dose of suspense. Encouraged by Marianne's mother, Jacqueline, to attend the funeral, Rowan, currently living in London, finds herself back in Oxford, and from there, it's easy to become ensnared in the life Marianne, darling of the art world, led. Convinced that her friend, who'd always suffered from crippling vertigo, didn't simply tumble off the roof, Rowan volunteers to housesit--an offer that Marianne's grieving mother and brother gladly accept--and begins digging into Marianne's final, haunting series of paintings, as well as her tabloid-fodder relationship with her gallerist. Marianne isn't the only one with secrets, and Whitehouse expertly unpeels Rowan's layers to reveal someone who's infinitely more intriguing--and darker--than she initially lets on. A first-rate psychological thriller about the decisions we make that forever define us.

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Starred review from March 1, 2016

Rowan has been estranged from her former best friend, Marianne Glass, for over a decade when she receives a call from Marianne's mother notifying her of the young woman's accidental death. A few days later Rowan receives a cryptic note from Marianne that was mailed just prior to her demise, requesting that they meet. Rowan reunites with the Glass family and begins a personal quest to determine whether her friend's fatal fall was truly accidental. As she pieces together the lost decade of her friend's life, from her successful career as an artist to her recent relationships, Rowan uncovers several disturbing clues. She also reminisces about good times spent with Marianne, but the dark secret the two friends shared makes Rowan realize that the past and the present are irrevocably intertwined. VERDICT Whitehouse (Before We Met) has written a wickedly addictive psychological thriller with enough twists and turns to keep genre enthusiasts captivated and reading well past their bedtime. Readers unfamiliar with the author will rush to stock up on her previous works.--Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016
When Rowan Winter and Marianne Glass became best friends as teenagers, Rowan finally found the warm, supportive family she needed. Ten years ago, however, Rowan and Marianne had a monstrous falling out and haven't spoken since. Rowan, until recently a BBC television producer, has followed Marianne's rising fame in the art world, fervently hoping she'd reach out for a reunion. When she finally hears from the Glass family, though, it's Marianne's mother calling to tell her that Marianne has died in a fall from her rooftop thinking spot. Rowan is immediately skeptical; Marianne suffered from extreme vertigo and wouldn't have ventured near the roof's edge. Reluctant to let go of her connection with the Glasses, Rowan agrees to house-sit to protect the valuable paintings left in Marianne's Oxford home. In the home where her best and worst memories were made, Rowan confronts her loss and resolves to discover whether Marianne's secrets drove her to suicide or caused her murder. An absorbing, twisty psychological thriller that plays with the line between love and obsession.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)