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“An absolute page-turner . . . I read it in a single sitting.”—Miranda Cowley Heller, bestselling author of The Paper Palace
The cleverest psychopaths hide in plain sight.
Gil is living a quiet life as a creative writing professor in a bucolic Vermont town, when he receives some shocking news: His sister and her husband have been killed in a car accident, and their only son is coming to live with him and his family.
Gil and his wife are apprehensive about taking in seventeen-year-old Matthew. Yes, he has just lost both his parents, but they haven’t seen him in seven years—and the last time the families were together, Matthew lured their young daughter into a terrifying, life-threatening situation. Since that incident, Gil has been estranged from his sister and her flashy, wealthy banker husband.
Now Matthew is their charge, living under their roof.
The boy seems charming, smart, and urbane, if strangely unaffected by his parents’ deaths. Gil hopes they can put the past behind them, though he’s surprised when Matthew signs up for his creative writing class. Then Matthew begins turning in chilling stories about the imagined deaths of Gil’s family and his own parents. Bewildered and panicked, Gil ultimately decides he must take matters into his own hands—before life imitates art.
Told in limber, mesmerizing prose, A Flaw in the Design is a twisting novel of suspense that brilliantly explores the tensions surrounding class, family, and the drive to control one’s own story.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 21, 2023 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780593446713
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780593446713
- File size: 2052 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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October 1, 2022
When his sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident, creative writing professor Gil reluctantly takes on their only child, 17-year-old Matthew, who placed Gil's daughter in a dangerous situation when he last visited seven years ago. Now Matthew is back, chilly as ever, and when he takes Gil's class, he submits stories imagining the death of Gil's family. A debut novel for Oates after his Spokane Prize-winning story collection, The Empty House.
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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December 12, 2022
In this gripping psychological thriller from Oates (The Empty House), 17-year-old Matthew’s wealthy Manhattanite parents have died in a suspicious car accident, and the newly orphaned high school senior goes to live with his uncle Gil and Gil’s family in Vermont. Gil is uneasy about this arrangement: as a boy, Matthew stood by as Gil’s daughter nearly drowned in a pool; Matthew cursed viciously at his French nanny; and even his mother admitted Matthew had difficulties. However, Gil, a creative writing professor, has stalled in his career, is badly in debt, and has reasons to be jealous of this handsome, often charming young man with a multimillion-dollar trust fund. So the question that drives the narrative is whether Gil projects his own hostility onto Matthew, or whether Matthew is a sociopath who has killed his parents for the inheritance. Meanwhile, Matthew writes disturbing stories about his family for Gil’s class, setting Matthew and Gil on a collision course. This immersive page-turner cleverly juxtaposes the writing of short fiction with the production of stories in people’s minds. Oates is definitely a writer to watch. Agent: Anna Stein, ICM Partners. -
February 1, 2023
A fortysomething college professor is living a comfortable life in Vermont with his wife and two teenage daughters. Gil admits to himself that he has not achieved the literary success he had thought he would, but he manages to get by. He goes toxic, however, when his newly orphaned, 17-year-old nephew, Matthew, comes to live in their home. Good looks, brains, and a hefty inheritance make Matthew seem arrogant and rude, but is he really evil, as Gil suspects? Maybe Gil is overreacting because Matthew, surprisingly, has everyone in his household, including the family dog, in his thrall. Or is Gil simply letting his own insecurities blind him to Matthew's devastation by his parents' gruesome deaths? Does he go too far in concluding that the boy may have arranged for the elimination of his mother and father? A highly literary yet suspenseful debut from Oates, who weaves a stunning tale of obsession, with a surprising ending that begs for a sequel. Perfect for fans of Mary Kubica and Shari Lapena.COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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