Exquisite

By Sarah Stovell

When two writers meet at a retreat, the chemistry is instant, and they begin a sinister relationship … or do they? An exquisitely tense, twisty She Said/She Said psychological thriller from number one bestselling author Sarah Stovell…

***The Times BOOK OF THE MONTH***
***Telegraph BOOK OF THE YEAR***

‘Slickly claustrophobic, this arch story of obsessive, forbidden love taken to the extreme will have you squirming in your seat’ Sarah Pinborough

‘Whip-smart, lushly written and truly page-turning … Sarah Stovell is a thrilling talent’ Holly Seddon

‘A moving, gripping story … twists keep coming till the very last page. I loved it’ Erin Kelly

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Bo Luxton has it all – a loving family, a beautiful home in the Lake District, and a clutch of bestselling books to her name.

Enter Alice Dark, an aspiring writer who is drifting through life, with a series of dead-end jobs and a freeloading boyfriend.

When they meet at a writers’ retreat, the chemistry is instant, and a sinister relationship develops…

Or does it?

Breathlessly pacey, taut and terrifying, Exquisite is a startlingly original and unbalancing psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

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‘The characters are so untrustworthy you wont know what to believe, but you won’t put it down till you’ve found out. A superb debut’ Sunday Mirror

'Cunningly constructed and gorgeously written, this is outstanding’ Express

'It’s a remarkable debut in the crowded psychological thriller field, written with great sureness of touch and tone' The Times

‘Addictive, terrifying and beautifully written, Exquisite is up there with the best psychological thrillers I’ve ever read. Fucking awesome’ Chris Whittaker

‘Sarah Stovell writes beautifully’ Essie Fox

‘Beautifully written and perfectly twisted, I was sucked deeply into the intertwined worlds of Alice and Bo and found myself reading through my fingers, compelled yet terrified at what the outcome might be…’ Susi Holliday

‘I bloody loved it. So clever, so beautifully written, such brilliant characterisation and THAT ENDING!’ Lisa Hall

‘Beautifully written, atmospheric and sexy’ Cass Green

‘A dark, sensual and twisted character study, rife with murky motivations and sinister revelations … hard to put down’ Foreword Reviews

‘Kept me reading long into the night … a majestic debut and utterly compelling’ James MacManus, TLS

‘The characters are untrustworthy so you won’t know what to believe. But you won’t be able to put the book down until you find out’ Sunday People

‘An alarming novel: infuriating at times, appalling, even frightening, and always a page-turner’ Shots Mag

‘Beautifully written, gripping and utterly believable’ Crime Review

‘A psychological thriller that will simply blow your mind’ New Books Magazine

‘If you’re looking for a new and exciting psychological thriller that’s packed with unexpected twists, Exquisite won’t disappoint’ CultureFly

• Language: English
• Publisher: ORENDA BOOKS
• Release date: Apr 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781910633755

Sarah Stovell

Sarah Stovell was born in Kent in 1977 and now lives in Northumberland with her partner and two children. She has an MA and a PhD in creative writing and is a lecturer in creative writing at Lincoln University. She is the author of four previous novels, Mothernight, The Night Flower, Exquisite and The Home. Exquisite was chosen by The Times as one of the top 40 crime novels of the past 5 years.

Reviews for Exquisite

[nibbles_243 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Took me a hit to get into this book. Once I got into it I was hooked. A suspense love story that is twisted beyond twisted. A woman who had her life together but in reality she was a manipulator. She finally didn't get away with it. Wont ruin it all

[pamv-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was OK not great! The writing was OK and the "thriller" part was a bit lacking. I was entertained and engaged through most of the book and felt like I did want to finish.

My thanks to netgalley and Orenda Books for this advanced readers copy.

[nicx27 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was so highly anticipated by myself and other reviewers. The beautiful cover just captured my imagination and that along with the title made this one of those books I couldn't wait to get my hands on.So.....did it live up to my expectations? Yes it did! Bo Luxton is the successful author with an easy life. Alice Dark is much younger and just hoping to start out on her writing career. When they meet there is an intense chemistry between them which is beautifully portrayed by Sarah Stovell. But this is also a book where the words 'collision course' came into my mind.Twists are mentioned when this book is talked about but I think they were fairly obvious. I suspect this is a side-effect of reading so many of these kinds of books where twists have become almost a pre-requisite and so we're more attuned to what they might be. It didn't spoil anything for me though and I just enjoyed reading the book as a story from start to end without needing huge surprises in the plot. The story itself was more than enough to keep me interested and was certainly twisty-turny from Bo and Alice's points of view.The setting of the Lake District is fantastic. The backdrop of beauty against this intense and oppressive relationship is perfect and skilfully described.This is a creepy, freaky and tense thrill of a read. I found I didn't want to put it down and only did so when I really had to. The story is told by Bo and Alice in short chapters which helped me to race through it as I just needed to know how it all ended. And that ending, well yes, it certainly made me think. Exquisite is a perfect unreliable narrator story - who is telling the truth? The writing is stunning and the story is clever. Truly exquisite!

[pgchuis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bo, a successful author with a tragic past, meets Alice, an aspiring writer with a slightly less tragic past, at a writers' retreat. Their relationship, told in alternating point of view chapters, ends in disaster.SPOILERSThe first third of this novel was excellent, but after that I got increasingly confused. The repetition of the same story line from the two different points of view, was (while I appreciate we were supposed to be spotting discrepancies), frankly, repetitious. Also, if there is going to be unreliable narration, shocking twists etc, I need by the end to know where I stand. Was this meant to be the text of Alice's novel and therefore wholly unreliable. If so, what about the prison chapters? If so, how can it include the final page?Ultimately disappointing.

[beamis12 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was a sisters read and the group was entrenched in to polar camps. Those of us, such as myself, who were having trouble relating to the book, did much eye rolling as we were reading. I mentioned at one point that the constant, I love you, I adore you, was curdling my stomach. I mean really, who talks like this in real life? If they did,couldn't you be tempted to run the other way. I would. Of course, for the story to progress, the other involved person answered in kind. Rather nauseating.Anyway, this is just my opinion, there are many, many reviews out there from people who have much love for this book. Me? I found it over the top, over written and unbelievable. Other readers? That for you to judge for yourself.ARC from Netgalley.

[kathl33n-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I have to say I didn't love this but I think it may not be the book's fault. It's being described as suspenseful and as a thriller and it was neither of those. The plot was slow to pull you along and I thought the alternating chapters of the two main characters was a bit tedious. Honestly I wanted to DNF around 60% but, from the very first chapter you know someone is in prison, and my curiosity has been peaked enough that I did want to know which of the two main characters it was. What the book did do very well was portray these ladies deep emotions and keep the plot outcome very carefully guarded with clever ambiguity.I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[jess_reads_books · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Meet Bo Luxton: successful author, happily married mother of two girls living in a picture-perfect Lake District home. Bo has agreed to teach a writing seminar for a week and is busy reviewing applicants when she stumbles upon Alice Dark’s submission. Alice’s writing is genuine and heartfelt, which out of the norm from the retired adult submissions Bo is used to receiving. Bo is instantly drawn to Alice’s writing and thinks she could help mold her in to a successful writer, so she accepts her for the seminar and approves her grant application. Alice Dark is everything Bo thought she would be. She’s young, ambitious, and fully equipped with a mouth that knows no filter. Deep down lies a truth to her childhood and strained relationship with her mother, that draws Bo to want to connect with her unlike any other student in her seminar. The chemistry between Alice and Bo is electric and soon is drifting beyond the realm of mentor and student. A relationship is formed between the two that will forever change both of their lives. Is their bond truly what it seems or is it simply a web of lies?Fans of unreliable narrators and psychological thrillers will be in awe of Sarah Stovell’s EXQUISITE. With face-paced, short chapters that leaving the reader wanting to know more, Stovell explores Bo and Alice’s relationship from both of their points of view. Each woman has a different take on what happened between them and what the future looks like. Bo and Alice each have flaws that leave the reader confused about who is innocent and who is guilty. EXQUISITE is a chilling, griping, and edge of your seat read that will leave you second guessing every sentence you read!

[atticusfinch1048 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Exquisite – An Exquisite ReadExquisite has been called a perfect literary thriller, but do not allow that to put you off, as it is so much better, this is a psychological thriller that will simply blow your mind. Exquisite really is an exquisite read, a smart and well written thriller that keeps you turning the pages all the way to the end, with twists you cannot see coming until you have read them. It is hard to believe that this is a debut book from Sarah Stovell and it is a piece of work that belies that fact, this really is a winner, winner, chicken dinner!Alice Dark is twenty-five-year-old English graduate from York University and is currently existing in Brighton, between her bedsit and her boyfriend’s, Jake, flat share. Neither living the dream, Alice teaching English as a foreign language to students at a college and Jake, when sober and not high, selling the occasional painting. She can see no way, but is trying her hand at writing, and hopes she has a book inside that she can release on the world. She keeps returning to the poor relationship she has with her mother, whom she rarely saw, and did not care about.Bo Luxton, a successful author, mother and wife, having escaped from Oxford now living in Grasmere in the Lake District. An ideal life for her children, plenty of fresh air, plenty of time with both parents where they can grow and not have to worry. Now that her husband, Gus, has retired she is the main breadwinner in the house, through the sales of her books, she is a popular author. This all hides the fact that she was a child runaway, escaped her mother and the life she had in a caravan.Alice is invited to a creative writing week that Bo Luxton out in Northumbria and they manage to encourage each other and find hidden depths. Bo also has a habit of collecting waif and strays, and Alice is just the project she has been looking for. As they get closer and more personal, things take a turn for the worst, well for one of them anyway, or is it both of them?The book has been sensibly split up in to sections, and begins with the thoughts of a woman who is in prison in Yorkshire, but we do not know who that is. We see the developing story from both Alice and Bo’s perspective as you are drawn in, and you begin to think you know what is happening, but there are a couple of curve balls waiting to be pitched at the reader.This is a book that will leave the reader breathless, terrified and aghast at what two women really can do.

[sboren-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I ordered this book from Thriftbooks to participate in discussion with @blackheartreads on Instagram. All opinions are my own. ????Exquisite by Sarah Stovell is a thriller based on obsession, guilt and love gone terribly wrong. Alice is a young starving author who wants nothing more from life than to write a book. Her current boyfriend, Jake is a loser artist who can't stop partying long enough to create, so in an effort to make her life better she applies to a writing course and gets accepted. Alice builds a friendship with the teacher, a thriving, already established author, Bo Luxton, and after the course their relationship continues and becomes quickly fascinating then awkward. Tables turn and turn again providing excellent twists and in the end........there is a book, but not the one you expect to see coming. Review also posted on Instagram @jasonnstacie, Goodreads/StacieBoren, and my blog at readsbystacie.com