The Night Visitor

May 28, 2018
This moody, meticulously plotted suspense novel from Atkins (The Other Child) opens at a launch party held at London’s Hunterian Museum for history professor Olivia Sweetman, who’s celebrating the release of her scandalous new biography of one of Britain’s first female surgeons, Annabel Burley. The book is already a bestseller, so Olivia should be on top of the world; instead, she’s furious with her husband for some unspecified betrayal, anxious regarding an overcoat-clad figure lurking at the back of the room, and terrified that her research assistant, socially maladjusted sexagenarian Vivian Tester, will reveal “the truth” about what Olivia has done. Flash back two months. Chapters from Olivia’s perspective are interspersed with journal entries by Vivian, painting a detailed portrait of the women’s complicated relationship while chronicling the events precipitating and then succeeding Olivia’s launch night angst. Evocative writing heightens the sense of impending doom created by the tale’s structure, keenly rendered characters enrich Atkins’ exploration of the pettier aspects of human nature, and the book’s harrowing conclusion gratifies without feeling pat. Agent: Matthew Bialer, Sanford J. Greenberger Assoc.

July 1, 2018

Olivia Sweetman has hit the big time. She's worked hard to balance her marriage, her three kids, her career as a respected historian, and a high-profile TV personality. Now she's written a historical novel set to become a runaway best seller, but danger lurks. As her launch party nears, the atmosphere darkens. Vivian Tester, the socially inept researcher who led her to the Victorian diary that's at the heart of her novel, is about to drop a bombshell. If Vivian reveals her deceit, Olivia's world will crumble and her reputation will be shattered. Can Olivia save herself? Will Vivian reveal the truth and destroy her? How many historians before her have lost sleep over just such a nightmare? Brace yourself for a breakout tale of hubris and deception with a shocking finale. VERDICT A deliciously creepy novel fueled by fraud, greed, and violence. This latest from Atkins (The Missing One; The Other Child) fits right in with the best of the psychological thrillers on everyone's lists. Readers of Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn will love it.--Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA

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