Laura Sims – författare

** ''A MARVELLOUSLY INTENSE, READ-IN-ONE-SITTING GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE AMONG THE BOOK STACKS'' - GUARDIAN **

From the author of Looker comes this razor-sharp suspense about two librarians whose lives become dangerously intertwined.

No one knows Margo''s real name. Her colleagues and patrons at a small-town public library only know her middle-aged normalcy, congeniality and charm. They have no reason to suspect that she is, in fact, a former nurse with a trail of countless premature deaths in her wake. She has turned a new page, so to speak, and the library is her sanctuary, a place to quell old urges.

That is, at least, until Patricia, a recent graduate and failed novelist, joins the library staff. Patricia quickly notices Margo''s subtly sinister edge and watches her carefully. When a patron''s death in the library bathroom offers a hint of Margo''s mysterious past, Patricia can''t resist digging deeper - even as this new fixation becomes all-consuming.

Taut and compelling, How Can I Help You explores the dark side of human nature and the dangerous pull of artistic obsession.

PRAISE FOR HOW CAN I HELP YOU

‘A dark and spellbinding descent into jolly madness’ – MONA AWAD

‘A gripping and dark psychological thriller... Delicious... I read it one sitting’ – HARLAN COBEN

‘A sly meditation on art and identity and the depths we''ll go to protect our constructs. I couldn''t have loved this book more’ – PAUL TREMBLAY

‘With transfixing dual female narrators and an artful, innovative structure, How Can I Help You is both a riveting commentary on false pretenses and an utterly beguiling cat and mouse thriller’ – KIMBERLY McCREIGHT

''Openly indebted to Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith, this is a terrific two-hander... This makes for fine cat-and-mouse (or cat-and-cat?) suspense, but also an unsettling moral tale'' - SUNDAY TIMES

''A fun and entertaining cat-and-mouse novel... a perfect book for when you just want to sit back, relax, and read about women behaving badly... you''ll fly through the pages'' - GLAMOUR

‘A delicious mystery begging to be enjoyed beachside… Sure to satisfy just about any thriller craving’ – ROLLING STONE

‘Unnerving... reads like a homage to Shirley Jackson’s work’ – NEW YORK TIMES

‘Sims plumbs the depths of obsession and madness... deftly building the tension until the explosive ending’ – WASHINGTON POST

‘Fresh and funny... A quick read that is reminiscent of Laura Lippman''s Sunburn and Christine Mangan''s Tangerine’ – BOOKLIST

** A Publishers Weekly Book of the Week **** A CrimeReads Book of the Month **** A Town & Country Must-Read Book of the Summer **

From the highly acclaimed author of How Can I Help You comes a masterful domestic suspense novel that follows a 1960s housewife turned amateur photographer who begins to fear for her life when she notices the dark silhouette of a man in the background of her self-portraits.

The photos Judith Stanley takes are just for her, a private passion to fill her suburban days. But when she shares them with Paul Sorenson, her new photography instructor, she''s unprepared to hear his astonished praise. ''Stunning,'' he calls her photos. ''Extraordinary.'' She has an uncanny eye, he says, and should consider publication. He could help. Except Judith has no interest in sharing her work; in fact, the mere idea of it frightens her.

Still, emboldened by Paul''s encouragement, Judith ventures out beyond her quiet neighbourhood to the city in search of increasingly striking images. When she starts to notice the dark shape of a man in the corner of her self-portraits, Judith is certain he''s an attacker from her past. She doesn''t know why he has returned, but she''s sure of his presence: the hoarse sound of his breathing, his hard grip on her elbow. Perhaps it would appease the man if she were to put her camera down and give up her private passion. But she can''t; she refuses. Until one night when the man finally emerges from the shadows, and Judith''s story suddenly and irrevocably becomes his own.

Chilling and heart-poundingly propulsive, The Man explores the inescapable fear of living as a woman, the tantalizing seduction of artistic freedom and the very real dangers that lurk both inside and outside the confines of the mind.

''Haunting, atmospheric and relentlessly unnerving, The Man kept me up late reading - and had me looking over my shoulder at dark corners. Beneath the muscular prose and quiet sense of dread is a thoughtful exploration of power imbalances, our relationship with art and the roles we allow women to play'' - Andrea Bartz, author of We Were Never Here and The Last Ferry Out

''A chilling page-turner that explores art, ambition, gender dynamics and true fear. Creepy, disturbing and dripping with dread, I had to force myself to put it down'' - Robyn Harding, author of Strangers in the Villa

''Fiercely intelligent... It''s the sort of novel I immediately want to talk about with others - the perfect book club read. I wish I could read it again for the first time!'' - Ana Reyes, author of The House in the Pines

''This book kept me awake at night, heart in throat, then stayed with me long afterward. I could not stop turning the pages. Sims has done it again'' - Vanessa Chan, author of The Storm We Made

''A gorgeous, haunting exploration of creativity, confinement and desire. Sims captures the inner life of an artist with uncanny precision and lyricism... I could not put it down'' - Danielle Trussoni, author of The Puzzle Box

''I was gripped by this twisty, creepy tale... Art and trauma, obsession and ambition all collide with terrifying consequences'' - Susan Barker, author of Old Soul

''An absolute page-turner. I tore through this novel in two feverish sittings... Expertly paced, utterly gripping and deeply layered, The Man is the kind of novel that stays with you long after you finish it'' - Kirsten King, author of A Good Person

This novel contains depictions of stalking and sexual violence.

''Dazzlingly creepy storytelling, reminiscent of NOTES ON A SCANDAL'' Grazia ''A short, bracing shock of a novel, easily gulped down in one sitting'' Metro''Written with a precise, sinister elegance, this is a gripping portrait of one woman''s descent into madness'' Heat

The Professor lives in Brooklyn; her partner Nathan left her when she couldn''t have a baby. All she has now is her dead-end teaching job, her ramshackle apartment, and Nathan''s old moggy, Cat. Who she doesn''t even like.

The Actress lives a few doors down. She''s famous and beautiful, with auburn hair, perfect skin, a lovely smile. She''s got children - a baby, even. And a husband who seems to adore her. She leaves her windows open, even at night.

There''s no harm, the Professor thinks, in looking in through the illuminated glass at that shiny, happy family, fantasizing about them, drawing ever closer to the actress herself. Or is there?

''Unsettling and compelling'' Tammy Cohen

''Laura Sims has pulled off the high-wire act of making bitterness delicious'' Vogue