The Carrier - (Zailer & Waterhouse Mystery) by Sophie Hannah (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Another example of Hannah's mastery." --Booklist (starred review)

A thrilling locked room mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie

He swore he was a killer. The truth was worse.

An overnight plane delay is bad.

Having to share your hotel room with a stranger is worse.

But that is only the beginning of Gaby Struthers' problems.

Gaby has never met Lauren Cookson before. So how does Lauren know so much about her? How does she know that the love of Gaby's life has been accused of murder? Why is she telling her that he is innocent? And why is she so terrified of Gaby?

Review Quotes

Praise for The Carrier

"Hannah's psychologically dense police procedurals probe at their characters to reveal their inner lives and intentions as few others do, and this--her eighth featuring Waterhouse and his wife, Charlie Zailer--shows her proficiency by taking interior examinations to new levels. Winner of the 2013 British National Book Awards' Crime Thriller of the Year, this is another example of Hannah's mastery of psychological suspense." - Booklist (starred review)

"Hannah bores down deep into her tiny cast's secret lives, then still deeper...Fans will love the endlessly knotty complications." - Kirkus Reviews

"The genius of Hannah's domestic thrillers - along with the twistiest plots known to woman - is that she creates ordinary people whose psychological quirks make them as monstrous as any serial killer." - The Guardian

"Well executed twists and turns . . . Hannah is a gifted writer" - Scotland on Sunday

"Contemporary in its intent and setting, the novel is also a pleasingly old-fashioned 'locked room' mystery, with Hannah referencing Agatha Christie a number of times. All told, it's a very satisfying addition to Hannah's canon." - Irish Times

"This complex plot demands and rewards attention, thanks to a fantastic cast and some superior, atmospheric prose . . . Thrilling." - South China Morning Post

"The queen of the ingenious plot twist" - Good Housekeeping

"Brilliant" - The Bookseller

"[Hannah] confirms in this, her eighth novel, her fluent writing skills, taste for complicated layers and deft hand with character, not to mention a knack for producing compelling openings . . . [THE CARRIER] is the kind of puzzle Agatha Christie might have created. Delicate, with ever-increasing dread, it is a mature work - full of confidence and intrigue." - Daily Mail

"Absorbing, intricate . . . Here the rewarding bonuses are poetry's role in the plot and a playful reworking of the Agatha Christie formula . . . THE CARRIER is a vicarage whodunit as well as a psychological thriller." - The Sunday Times

"It is brilliantly constructed, and it had me, screaming, on the edge of my chair." - Reader's Digest

About the Author

Sophie Hannah is the bestselling author of nine novels and is also an award-winning poet. Her Hercule Poirot mystery, the first to be sanctioned by the Agatha Christie estate, was published in 2014. She lives in Cambridge, England, with her husband and two children, and is a Fellow Commoner at Lucy Cavendish College.