When she was thirteen years old, Ada Howell lost not just her father, but the life she felt she was destined to lead. Now, at eighteen, Ada is given a second chance when her wealthy godmother gifts her with an extravagant art history trip to Italy. In the palazzos of Venice, the cathedrals of Florence and the villas of Rome, she finally finds herself among the kind of people she aspires to be: sophisticated, cultured, privileged. Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set. But everything hidden must eventually surface, and when it does, Ada discovers she’s been keeping a far darker secret than she could ever have imagined.
The Favour
£8.99
1 in stock (can be backordered)
1 in stock (can be backordered)
Description
Corvus
Paperback
326pp
Corvus
198x129x21
Laura Vaughan Corvus FBA|VFV Paperback 2022
A treat … excellent insights … elegant prose
Daily Mail
With a frisson of uneasiness throughout, this intensely captivating thriller will cast its spell, leaving you on edge with unexpected twists.
Heat Magazine
Intelligent, elegant and immersive. I found myself absorbed by the voice and story, and fascinated by a complex narrator who made me feel both empathy and horror.
Claire Kendal, bestselling author of ‘The Book of You’
Absorbing, intelligent and atmospheric, full of cool, incisive observations on class, loyalty and friendship – and oh my goodness, a razor-sharp twist. Genius.
Elizabeth Haynes
Ambition, lust, family secrets and lashings of Italian art – what could go wrong? A compulsive story, written with steely intelligence and wicked prose, that should propel the author into the bestseller lists.
Elizabeth Buchan
A heady tapestry of desires, secrets and entitled cruelties, suffused with the heat and shimmer of Italy… beautifully written, intoxicating… Fab!
Philippa East
Glamour and art with a very dark underbelly of deceit and jealousy, that kept me guessing (and gasping) to the very end.
Cressida McLauglin
The Favour is a refreshing, fun and compelling read about deception and consequences that had me hooked from the start. Ada is a wonderful creation who will stay with me for some time.
Lisa Ballantyne
Intense and intelligent, with a deliciously dark and dangerous atmosphere, and a story suffused with secrets and lies. Not to mention the intrigue of Italy, a fascinating central character and a killer twist. I loved it!
Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl
Devious and manipulative, she pulls the reader through this tale of gilded youth misbehaving and paying the price. The tension comes not so much from whether the truth about the crime will emerge as from whether or not Ada will ultimately get what she wants or the punishment she so richly deserves.
Literary Review
Riveting … an enormously engrossing, satisfying book – darkly funny, sharply ironic, keenly observed and elegantly written
Western Mail
A gripping plot, fascinating characters and a glorious backdrop … a hugely ambitious debut that delivers handsomely on its promise
Irish Times