Description

‘A wonderfully clever and howlingly funny thriller’ The Spectator

‘Glitters with secret agendas, hidden lies and sun-soaked desires’ Emma Stonex

‘Whip-smart and made me laugh out loud. Magnificent’ Joanna Cannon

‘Thorny and sexy’ Beth Morrey

‘Pulsing with heat and intrigue’ Marianne Levy

What if your perfect life was a charade?

It is August, and eight old friends have gathered at a country house for a writers’ retreat. By day, there is reading beside the pool or writing in the shady corners of the estate. In the evenings – drinks, dinner outdoors, games, midnight swimming.

But as temperatures rise in the stifling last days of summer, tensions do too. Old jealousies, new temptations and bitter rivalries bubble to the surface. By the end of the week, friendships – and lives – will have changed forever.

Astute, witty and page-turning, The Book Game is a novel about ambition, competition, regret and desire; about paths not taken and last chances suddenly seized; about the games people play. It asks what it means, in all senses, to be in the middle of life.

Publisher Review

‘Genuinely gave me the chills, there’s more than a pinch of P.G. Wodehouse in there too too, and the whip-smart observations made me laugh out loud. This is a novel about the fierce and pivotal moments in our lives which might seem all-consuming but which will, eventually, become only biscuit crumbs…and the ending was PERFECT. Magnificent’ Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep ‘Witty and gripping, with the heat rising from every page. These characters and their fates will stay with me for a long time’ Moa Herngren, author of The Divorce ‘A wonderfully clever and howlingly funny thriller’ The Spectator ‘Who’s in the mood for sumptuous country house intrigue? The Book Game is thorny and sexy. Everyone’s fraught or up to no good. Gloriously uneasy, richly detailed, absorbing and beautifully written’ Beth Morrey, Sunday Times bestselling author of Saving Missy ‘Wow, I really loved this. It’s such an intelligent and perceptive piece of work, as well as being wildly entertaining, funny, and at times very moving. Wise’s cast glitters with secret agendas, hidden lies and sun-soaked desires, in an irresistible character-driven story that slow-burns with menace. Fantastic’ Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters ‘The Book Game is gorgeous, pulsing with heat and sex and intrigue. The country estate setting is as beautiful as it is uneasy, and the writing is deliciously barbed. I devoured it in a day’ Marianne Levy, author of Don’t Forget to Scream ‘I can’t remember how long it’s been since I enjoyed a book this much. Brilliantly drawn and made me howl with laughter.’ Frances Wilson, author of The Enigma of Muriel Spark