The Hours Before Dawn

WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH AUTHOR: 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' (Sunday Times)





Discover the original psychological thriller as a sleep-deprived young mother struggles to stay sane.

'A lost masterpiece.' Peter Swanson

'Brilliant ... Such clever, witty writing.' Elly Griffiths

'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin

'Splendid ... Got me hooked.' Ruth Rendell

'A slow-burning chill of a read by a master of suspense.' Janice Hallett

'The grandmother of psycho-domestic noir; Britain's Patricia Highsmith.' Sunday Times



Louise would give anything - anything - for a good night's sleep. Forget the girls running errant in the garden and bothering the neighbours. Forget her husband who seems oblivious to it all. If the baby would just stop crying, everything would be fine.



Or would it? What if Louise's growing fears about the family's new lodger, who seems to share all of her husband's interests, are real? What could she do, and would anyone even believe her? Maybe, if she could get just get some rest, she'd be able to think straight . . .

WINNER OF THE 1960 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST MYSTERY NOVEL

'Barbara Pym with arsenic.' Clare Chambers

'Sinister, witty and utterly compelling. A genius.' Nicola Upson



CELIA FREMLIN (1914-2009) was born in Kent and spent her childhood in Hertfordshire. She then studied at the University of Oxford whilst working as a charwoman. During the Second World War, she served as an air-raid warden before becoming involved with the Mass Observation Project, collaborating on a study of women workers, War Factory. In 1942 she married Elia Goller, moved to Hampstead and had three children. In 1968, their youngest daughter, aged nineteen, took her own life; a month later, her husband did the same. In the wake of these tragedies, Fremlin briefly relocated to Geneva. In 1985, she married Leslie Minchin, with whom she lived until his death in 1999. Over four decades, Fremlin wrote sixteen celebrated novels - including the classic seaside mystery Uncle Paul and Christmas noir The Long Shadow - as well as one book of poetry and three story collections. Her debut, The Hours Before Dawn, won the Edgar Award in 1960.