The Long, Long Afternoon
Inga Vesper
04 February 2021
9781838772277416 pages
Synopsis
'A remarkably assured debut. A tale of inequality, broken dreams and quiet desperation behind a picture-perfect facade' Guardian
'A clever and absorbing debut by Inga Vesper, who bricks Joyce up in her perfect house, then smashes it to pieces with aplomb' The Times
A stunning 1950s set debut mystery brimming with atmosphere and perfect for fans of Tangerine, Small Pleasures and Mad Men.
________
Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time . . .
It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.
While the Haney's neighbours get busy organising search parties, it is Ruby Wright, the family's 'help', who may hold the key to this unsettling mystery. Ruby knows more about the secrets behind Sunnylakes' starched curtains than anyone, and it isn't long before the detective in charge of the case wants her help. But what might it cost her to get involved? In these long hot summer afternoons, simmering with lies, mistrust and prejudice, it could only take one spark for this whole 'perfect' world to set alight . . .
A beguiling, deeply atmospheric debut novel from the cracked heart of the American Dream, The Long, Long Afternoon is at once a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced and ultimately under-estimated.
Everyone is talking about The Long, Long Afternoon
'Beguiling and evocative. This vivid and atmospheric pageturner will keep readers guessing all the way to its satisfying finale'
Sunday Express
'Beautifully crafted, claustrophobic and compelling'
Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars and The Foundling
'Such a vivid atmosphere of stifling LA heat and stifling 50s domesticity'
Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures
'Breathtakingly stylish, hypnotic and masterfully gripping'
Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End, Waterstones Thriller of the Month
'A perfect read'
Mary Paulson Ellis
'Loved this taut slice of classic noir'
C.J. Tudor
'Beautifully written and brilliantly observed'
Simon Lelic
'Atmospheric, beguiling'
Araminta Hall
'A tasty, tense, page-turning combo of James Ellroy and Kate Atkinson with a bit of Mad Men thrown in'
Liz Hyder
'Completely gripping and kept me guessing right to the end'
Amanda Mason, author of The Wayward Girls
'This wonderful, beautifully written novel held me to the very last word'
Stephanie Butland, author of Lost for Words
'Stunning'
Amanda Reynolds, author of Close To Me
'Evocative, stylish and gripping'
Deborah O'Connor
EditBuild
'A clever and absorbing debut by Inga Vesper, who bricks Joyce up in her perfect house, then smashes it to pieces with aplomb' The Times
A stunning 1950s set debut mystery brimming with atmosphere and perfect for fans of Tangerine, Small Pleasures and Mad Men.
________
Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time . . .
It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.
While the Haney's neighbours get busy organising search parties, it is Ruby Wright, the family's 'help', who may hold the key to this unsettling mystery. Ruby knows more about the secrets behind Sunnylakes' starched curtains than anyone, and it isn't long before the detective in charge of the case wants her help. But what might it cost her to get involved? In these long hot summer afternoons, simmering with lies, mistrust and prejudice, it could only take one spark for this whole 'perfect' world to set alight . . .
A beguiling, deeply atmospheric debut novel from the cracked heart of the American Dream, The Long, Long Afternoon is at once a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced and ultimately under-estimated.
Everyone is talking about The Long, Long Afternoon
'Beguiling and evocative. This vivid and atmospheric pageturner will keep readers guessing all the way to its satisfying finale'
Sunday Express
'Beautifully crafted, claustrophobic and compelling'
Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars and The Foundling
'Such a vivid atmosphere of stifling LA heat and stifling 50s domesticity'
Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures
'Breathtakingly stylish, hypnotic and masterfully gripping'
Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End, Waterstones Thriller of the Month
'A perfect read'
Mary Paulson Ellis
'Loved this taut slice of classic noir'
C.J. Tudor
'Beautifully written and brilliantly observed'
Simon Lelic
'Atmospheric, beguiling'
Araminta Hall
'A tasty, tense, page-turning combo of James Ellroy and Kate Atkinson with a bit of Mad Men thrown in'
Liz Hyder
'Completely gripping and kept me guessing right to the end'
Amanda Mason, author of The Wayward Girls
'This wonderful, beautifully written novel held me to the very last word'
Stephanie Butland, author of Lost for Words
'Stunning'
Amanda Reynolds, author of Close To Me
'Evocative, stylish and gripping'
Deborah O'Connor
EditBuild
I was hooked from the opening sentence. I loved the setting and the way Inga gradually reveals the human struggles at the heart of the burgeoning civil rights and women's rights movements. As well as being a sharp examination of privilege and oppression, it's also completely gripping and kept me guessing right to the endAmanda Mason, author of The Wayward Girls
A stunning debut. Set against a backdrop of increasing racial tension and the rise of the Women's Movement, a personal story of female friendship and tragedy unfolds. I loved every page, evocative of a time in relative recent history and yet a world away. The story unfolds intricately, but with pace and easeAmanda Reynolds
The Long, Long Afternoon is beautifully written and brilliantly observed, as well as being a page-turning mystery. The 1950s come alive with issues that resonate todaySimon Lelic
