Room 706 - by Ellie Levenson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Trapped in a London hotel room with her lover, a woman must contend with her life and her marriage in this exhilarating debut.

"Room 706 is as tender as it is surprising, a gripping interrogation of womanhood--before and after marriage and children change our identities. I'm sure I won't be the only one nodding my head throughout. I adored this brilliant novel." --Sarah Jessica Parker, SJP Lit 

When asked what matters to her the most, Kate would, of course, say her children and her husband. Because she loves her life. Even when it involves making a costume late into the night, scouring the supermarket for the only bread rolls her children will eat, and working during any spare moment in between. And she has found the way to hang onto her sanity in the process: Hours stolen away, once every few months, to have sex with another man.

Until one such rendezvous when Kate turns on the television to discover that the very London hotel they're in has been taken under siege. And with that, she knows that nothing will ever be the same.

In the confines of a room with everything at stake, Kate is left to contemplate what has led her here, in hiding with a man who is not her husband while her beloved family waits at home. An exploration of marriage, identity, and desire, Room 706 traces the complicated story of one woman's life as she faces what her future might hold--if she even makes it through the day.

Review Quotes

"Room 706 is an accomplished debut about choices and their often complex consequences. Unexpected, unflinching and entirely unputdownable, this is a gripping exploration of the murky grey areas of marriage, relationships and womanhood. You may not like Kate, but I guarantee you'll relate to her." --Hazel Hayes, author of Out of Love

"A tense, riveting read about the unpredictable ripple effects luck and choices can have, and an absorbing examination of a woman's attempts to understand herself and her place in the world." --Tracy Sierra, author of Nightwatching

"Ellie Levenson's debut novel, Room 706, is both intensely suspenseful and sublimely nuanced, a thriller that becomes, by the end, as moving and complete a portrait of a marriage as I have ever read. Levenson is a masterful chronicler of the contradictions of the human heart, how unconditional love can exist alongside dissatisfaction, resentment, longing, and regret. Kate, the novel's protagonist, is much more than 'sympathetic' or 'relatable'--she is fully, imperfectly human, uniquely herself but familiar to anyone who has aged into the compromises of adulthood. It's also a very sexy book--and, as its conclusion draws near, terrifying. I couldn't put it down." --Chip Cheek, author of Cape May

"A suspenseful real-time page-turner with an ending that demands to be talked about." --Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said

"A tense exploration of desire and womanhood, Ellie Levenson's Room 706 interrogates what it means to follow your own needs when you're so often indebted to the needs of others. At once suspenseful and insightful, Levenson peels back the layers of modern domestic life to reveal the ways it both fulfills and cages us. Gripping, layered, and thrilling." -Alina Grabowski, author of Women and Children First

"Room 706 is an utterly brilliant read. A woman's memories, actions, and impulses are laid bare against a sense of dread that builds with every page. I could not stop reading." --Sarah Easter Collins, Edgar Award-nominated author of Things Don't Break on Their Own

"Ellie Levenson's explosive debut is dangerously brilliant." -Loretta Rothschild, author of Finding Grace

"Ellie Levenson writes with sensitivity about marriage, motherhood, and the transgressive pursuit of desire. Room 706 is nuanced and compassionate in the questions it asks and the easy answers it refuses to give." -Heidi Reimer, author of The Mother Act

"Unputdownable is over-used in my opinion, but this book really is. I devoured it. Brilliant premise, gorgeously drawn characters, thoughtful yet tense, I had goosebumps at the end, and I haven't stopped thinking about it. Out next year it's going to be huge, trust me on this." --Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

About the Author

Ellie Levenson is a writer whose work has appeared across international publications including The Guardian, The Times, and Cosmopolitan UK, as well as the author of four nonfiction books. She lives in London with her husband and three children. Room 706 is her debut novel.