When The Lights Go Out: The addictive new thriller from the bestselling author of The Good Girl
‘Creepy and oh so clever, with a brilliant twist I did not see coming!’ ALICE FEENEY‘A captivating edge-of-your-seat read.’ MEGAN MIRANDAMary Kubica is back with a bang in this compulsively gripping tale of obsession and desperation.***As far as the world’s concerned, she’s already deadJessie Sloane is getting her life back on track after caring for her sick mother. But she’s stopped short when she discovers, that according to official records, ‘Jessie Sloane’ died seventeen years ago.So why does she still feel in danger? Thrown into turmoil and questioning everything she’s ever known, Jessie’s confusion is exacerbated by a relentless lack of sleep. Stuck in a waking nightmare and convinced she’s in danger, she can no longer tell what’s real and what she’s imagined.The truth lies in the past…Twenty years ago, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret history. Has her whole life been a lie? The truth will shock her to the core…if she lives long enough to discover it.Why readers love Mary Kubica:‘One of the very best thrillers I’ve read – ever.’‘Kept me guessing the whole way through. Sheer genius.’‘Messed with my mind (in a good way). I want more!’‘Totally riveting and all-consuming’‘The ending is a real twist of the knife – it doesn’t get much better than this.’‘A very fast paced story which keeps you guessing till the end and what a twist!’‘Omg! This is one of the best books that I have ever read! Great thriller, love it!’
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A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica
Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.
Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.
Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?
MARY KUBICA holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and American Literature from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She lives near Chicago with her husband and two children.
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018
Copyright © Mary Kyrychenko 2018
Mary Kyrychenko asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9781474057622
‘Brilliant, intense, and utterly addictive. Be prepared to run a gauntlet of emotions!’
B A Paris
‘Grabs you from the moment it starts’
Daily Mail
‘Gets right under your skin and leaves its mark. A tremendous read’
The Sun
‘Sensational’
Metro
‘Perfect suspense’
BuzzFeed
‘Fans of Gone Girl will embrace this’
Lisa Gardner
‘An utterly mesmerising tale of marriage and secrets… it’ll have you rapt until its final pages’
Megan Abbott
‘Single White Female on steroids’
Lisa Scottoline
For
Dick & Eloise
Rudy & Myrtle
Contents
The city surrounds me. A panorama. With arms outstretched, I can’t help but spin, taking it all in. Enjoying the view, knowing fully well this may be the last thing my eyes ever see.
I stare at the four metal steps before me, aware of how frail and broken-down they look. They’re orange with rust, paint flaking, some of the slats loose so that when I press my foot to the first step, it buckles beneath me and I fall.
Still, I have no choice but to climb.
I pull myself back up, set my hands on the rails and scale the steps. The sweat bleeds from my palms so that the metal beneath them is slippery, slick. I can’t hold tight. I slip from the second step, try again. I call out, voice cracking, a voice that doesn’t sound like mine.
As I reach the roof’s ledge, my knees give. It takes everything I have not to topple over the edge of the building and onto the street below. Seventeen floors.
I’m so high I could touch the clouds, I think. The sense of vertigo is overpowering. The ground whooshes up and at me, the skyscrapers, the trees starting to sway until I no longer know what’s moving: them or me. Little yellow matchbooks soar up and down the city streets. Cabs.
If I was standing at street level, the ledge would feel plenty wide. But up here it’s not. Up here it’s a thread and on it, I’m trying to balance my two wobbly feet.
I’m scared. But I’ve come this far. I can’t go back.
There’s a moment of calm that comes and goes so quickly I almost don’t notice it. For one split second the world is still. I’m at peace. The sun moves higher and higher into the sky, yellow-orange glaring at me through the buildings, making me peaceful and warm. My hands rise beside me as a bird goes soaring by. As if my hands are wings, I think in that moment what it would be like to fly.
