Long, Long Afternoon: A stunning 1950s set mystery perfect for fans of Small Pleasures and Mad Men

Inga Vesper's debut novel "The Long, Long Afternoon" is a 1950s set mystery brimming with atmosphere and perfect for fans of Tangerine, Small Pleasures, and Mad Men. The novel follows the disappearance of Joyce Haney, wife, mother, and vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor. Ruby Wright, the family's help, may hold the key to the mystery, but it could cost her to get involved. The novel is a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced, and under-estimated.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 04 February 2021
Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre

A remarkably assured debut. A tale of inequality, broken dreams and quiet desperation behind a picture-perfect facade.

Guardian

A clever and absorbing debut by Inga Vesper, who bricks Joyce up in her perfect house, then smashes it to pieces with aplomb.

The Times

A stunning 1950s set debut mystery brimming with atmosphere and perfect for fans of Tangerine, Small Pleasures, and Mad Men.

________

Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time.

It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.

While the Haney's neighbors get busy organizing search parties, it is Ruby Wright, the family's help, who may hold the key to this unsettling mystery. Ruby knows more about the secrets behind Sunnylakes' starched curtains than anyone, and it isn't long before the detective in charge of the case wants her help. But what might it cost her to get involved? In these long hot summer afternoons, simmering with lies, mistrust, and prejudice, it could only take one spark for this whole perfect world to set alight.

A beguiling, deeply atmospheric debut novel from the cracked heart of the American Dream, The Long, Long Afternoon is at once a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced, and ultimately under-estimated.

Everyone is talking about The Long, Long Afternoon. Beguiling and evocative. This vivid and atmospheric pageturner will keep readers guessing all the way to its satisfying finale.

Sunday Express

Beautifully crafted, claustrophobic an.

Weight: 522g
Dimension: 146 x 224 x 44 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781838772260