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The Hours Before Dawn

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About this listen

WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH AUTHOR: 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' (Sunday Times)

Discover the original psychological thriller as a sleep-deprived young mother struggles to stay sane.

'A lost masterpiece.' Peter Swanson
'Brilliant ... Such clever, witty writing.' Elly Griffiths
'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin
'Splendid ... Got me hooked.' Ruth Rendell
'A slow-burning chill of a read by a master of suspense.' Janice Hallett
'The grandmother of psycho-domestic noir; Britain's Patricia Highsmith.' Sunday Times

Louise would give anything - anything - for a good night's sleep. Forget the girls running errant in the garden and bothering the neighbours. Forget her husband who seems oblivious to it all. If the baby would just stop crying, everything would be fine.

Or would it? What if Louise's growing fears about the family's new lodger, who seems to share all of her husband's interests, are real? What could she do, and would anyone even believe her? Maybe, if she could get just get some rest, she'd be able to think straight . . .

WINNER OF THE 1960 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST MYSTERY NOVEL

'Barbara Pym with arsenic.' Clare Chambers
'Sinister, witty and utterly compelling. A genius.' Nicola Upson

©2024 Celia Fremlin (P)2024 Faber & Faber Cosy Crime Thrillers Mystery Psychological Thriller & Suspense Fiction Witty Marriage
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very nice voice, very calming I quite enjoyed it!the story itself was interesting I can say at least

voice

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I love Celia Fremlin’s books and this is another enjoyable listen beautifully narrated. I thoroughly recommend.

How is it that Celia Fremlin has been so neglected?

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I loved every aspect of this domestic noir, and the narrator made it an absolute pleasure to listen to. Hearing the inner world of a 1950s mother, so strikingly similar to my own thoughts, was comforting and moving. That mental connection with the protagonist made the events of the plot feel all the more unsettling.

Motherhood through the lens of the 1950s: brilliant!

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One of a very few books I have not completed. Chose mainly as Clare Corbett was the narrator. Unfortunately I only got to understand that someone with children takes in a lodger.Nothing else seems to happen.

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