Her Last Affair

by John Searles

Overview

"A winner: tense and terrifying with a twist you’ll never see coming. You won’t soon forget these characters and the shocking ways their lives intersect." — Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

Every marriage has its secrets….

Skyla lives alone in the shadow of the defunct drive-in movie theater that she and her husband ran for nearly fifty years. Ever since Hollis’s death in a freak accident the year before, Skyla spends her nights ruminating about the regrets and deceptions in her long marriage. That is, until she rents a cottage on the property to a charming British man, Teddy Cornwell….

A thousand miles away, Linelle is about to turn fifty. Bored by her spouse and fired from her job when a questionable photo from her youth surfaces on social media, her only source of joy is an on-line affair with her very first love, a man she’s not seen in nearly thirty years, Teddy Cornwell…

While in New York City, Jeremy, a failed and bitter writer, accepts an assignment to review a new restaurant in Providence. Years ago, Providence was the site of his first great love and first great heartbreak—and maybe, just maybe, he’ll look her up when he’s back in town…

Part page-turning thriller, part homage to film noir, and dazzling in its insight into the often desperate desires of the human heart, Her Last Affair is a tense and atmospheric novel of love lost and found again. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060779672
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/28/2023
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

John Searles is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of four novels. His books have been published in over a dozen languages and have been voted “Best of the Year” or top picks by Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, Salon and the American Library Association. A frequent contributor to The New York Times and The Washington Post, John was a top editor at Cosmopolitan for two decades, first hired by Helen Gurley Brown.

Editorial Reviews

"In this circuitous mystery, the lives of a widow with a shadowy past, her charming male tenant, a woman desperate to escape her loveless marriage and a travel writer with anger issues intersect and explode into more than one shocking ending. Delightfully creepy." — People

"John Searles’ latest thriller is a winner: tense and terrifying with a twist you’ll never see coming. You won’t soon forget these characters and the shocking ways their lives intersect." — Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

"Love and revenge commingle until it's almost impossible to tell one from the other in the fascinating, character-driven Her Last Affair. As in his previous three novels, John Searles's low-boil plot hinges on slowly but forcefully building suspense, while subtly dropping clues to the characters' psychological makeup. ... Insightful." — Shelf Awareness

“A tense, intricately woven tale of heartbreak, retribution, and redemption. Lisa Jewell fans will be well satisfied.” — Publishers Weekly

"In this inventive, deftly woven novel, John Searles conjures a world populated by eccentrics and dreamers who are desperate for a second chance and willing to do almost anything to get it. Genre-bending, cinematic, and darkly funny, Her Last Affair ends with a series of shocking twists that will leave you breathless."
— Christina Baker Kline

“John Searles brings the misfits among us to life with the clarity of Carson McCullers—and then scares us with the brilliance of Stephen King. Her Last Affair is a perfect, page-turning example of the heart and horror that makes me love his work so very, very much." — Chris Bohjalian, #1 bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch

“Her Last Affair is filled with wry humor and compassion even as the novel sweeps the reader from charm and romance to the depths of dark suspense. I was captivated from the first page and watched with awe as Searles wove the three storylines into a single, heart-pounding climax. Devastating, and yet at the same time, utterly romantic.” — Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation

"Satisfying...A twisted thriller that explores despair and loneliness with cinematic flair." — Kirkus Reviews

"Searles is the master of slow burn and intricate plot building." — Library Journal

“How Searles weaves the stories of these fascinating, lovelorn characters together is nothing short of brilliant. . . . Her Last Affair is a book that builds the suspense with each turn of the page. The twist that Searles throws in will have you gasping.” — Auburn Citizen

“This story had so many twists and turns, it kept me guessing until the very last page.” — First for Women

“Eerie and captivating." — Woman's World

"An intensely compelling book of suspense. ... Treat yourself, read this novel! It has odd, fascinating characters, many surprises and enough chills to keep one on edge. Searles is a master of suspense and delivers a bombshell with Her Last Affair. Mystery and psychological thriller readers and book discussion groups will find plenty to talk about." — BookTrib

"All of these characters will meet in the final third of the novel, and it will be explosive. There is also a completely unexpected twist that is absolutely brilliant. The finale takes a sharp turn into a much darker place, and the ending is a satisfying one. I was not familiar with John Searles' work before, but he has won me over and found himself a faithful new reader." — Bookreporter.com

From the Publisher