Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

 

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

" In the summer of 1969, Frances accepts a job at a once-grand, now-decrepit estate in the English countryside. When she meets Peter and Cara, the beautiful, worldly couple living downstairs, she's flattered by their friendship... but beneath the facade of their happy trio is a toxic stew of lies, jealousy and anger that threatens to turn Frances into someone she no longer recognizes.  The perfect marriage of a spooky, memorable setting, enigmatic characters, and a conclusion that's both haunting and satisfying. "  - Recommended by Erika
Bitter Orange By Claire Fuller Cover Image
$25.95
ISBN: 9781947793156
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tin House Books - October 9th, 2018

From the attic of Lyntons, a dilapidated English country mansion, Frances Jellico sees them--Cara first: dark and beautiful, then Peter: striking and serious. The couple is spending the summer of 1969 in the rooms below hers while Frances is researching the architecture in the surrounding gardens. But she's distracted. Beneath a floorboard in her bathroom, she finds a peephole that gives her access to her neighbors' private lives.

 

To Frances' surprise, Cara and Peter are keen to get to know her. It is the first occasion she has had anybody to call a friend, and before long they are spending every day together: eating lavish dinners, drinking bottle after bottle of wine, and smoking cigarettes until the ash piles up on the crumbling furniture. Frances is dazzled.

 

But as the hot summer rolls lazily on, it becomes clear that not everything is right between Cara and Peter. The stories that Cara tells don't quite add up, and as Frances becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of the glamorous, hedonistic couple, the boundaries between truth and lies, right and wrong, begin to blur. Amid the decadence, a small crime brings on a bigger one: a crime so terrible that it will brand their lives forever.