Things Don't Break on Their Own: A Novel

by Sarah Easter Collins

Overview

“So, so, so good. An elegant, twisting story of loss and longing, of the ache of the unknown and the drowning weight of past trauma.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark

EDGAR AWARD FINALIST • A BOOKPAGE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A WASHINGTON POST AND BLOOMBERG BEST BOOK OF THE SEASON

A heart-wrenching mystery about sisters, lovers, and a dinner party gone wrong.

Twenty-five years ago, a young girl left home to walk to school. Her younger sister soon followed. But one of them arrived, and one of them didn’t.

Her sister’s disappearance has defined Willa’s life. Everyone thinks her sister is dead, but Willa knows she isn’t. Because there are some things that only sisters know about each other—and some bonds only sisters can break.

Willa sees fragments of her sister everywhere—the way that woman on the train turns her head, the gait of that woman in Paris. If there’s the slightest resemblance, Willa drops everything, and everyone, and tries to see if it is her.

When Willa is invited to a dinner party thrown by her first love, she has no reason to expect it will be anything other than an ordinary evening. Both of them have moved on, ancient history. But nothing about Willa’s life has been ordinary since the day her sister disappeared, and that’s not about to change tonight.

Sarah Easter Collins has written an extraordinary novel about memory, lost love, and long-buried secrets that sometimes see the light of day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593798331
Publisher:	Crown Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/16/2024
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Sarah Easter Collins is a writer and artist. A mother to a wonderful son, she has worked extensively in the field of education, teaching art in the UK, Botswana, Thai­land, and Malawi. Sarah now lives on Exmoor with her husband and dogs, where she loves running and wild swimming. She is a graduate of the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course.

Read an Excerpt

1

Supper with Friends

ROBYN

The match flares in the half-dark of our kitchen. As I lean toward the candles, light slips along the silver lines of the bowl that forms the centerpiece of the table. I stand back, making one final check of the linen, the glasses, the place settings, the eight mismatched chairs. Cat walks in.

“Okay,” she says, “the twins are asleep. Sophie’s in bed and reading. I’ve told her it’s fine to come down so long as she takes herself back up. What’s still to do?”

“We’re pretty much there. Make yourself a drink.”

“I’m saving myself for when Jamie gets here.”

“Don’t.”

“Last time he delivered us forty-five minutes on the engineering works between here and the coast. Remember? Forty-five sodding minutes. If he does that again, I’m feigning death.” My wife rummages in a drawer and pulls out a bottle opener. “I honestly don’t know what Willa sees in him.”

“He wants kids.”

“She’s well aware there’re other ways. Anyway, she’s got to want more than that—”

“It’s all she wants.”

“Basic compatibility for a start. I mean, why Jamie?”

“She’s thirty-eight. You know it’s a tricky subject.”

“Everything’s tricky—”

“Cat—”

“This was meant to be a family get-together. Sibs. It’s almost impossible to get Michael and Nate in London at the exact same time.”

“Willa’s practically family.”

“Uh-huh.”

“She’s been through so much.”

“Sure.” Cat gives me daggers, then just as quickly lets it go. “I know.”

I look at the table, running a hand through my hair. “D’you reckon everyone will get on?”

Cat pulls me to her. “Course they will. It’s nearly Christmas, plus we’ve been cooking all afternoon. They’re duty-bound. By the way,” she says, turning me so my silver top glitters in the candlelight, “you look truly lovely.”

“Thought I might dress up a little.”

“You always dress up for Willa,” she says, narrowing her eyes, “your first love.”

“I should never have told you that.”

“Doorbell,” she says. “I’ll go.”

I hear voices in the hallway: Cat first, then Jamie’s deep-toned reply. I lean against the table, face turned toward the kitchen door.

And then there she is, Willa.

Editorial Reviews

04/29/2024

A stray comment at a dinner party proves seismic in Easter Collins’s devastating debut. After Willa Martenwood’s younger sister, Laika, goes missing near their wealthy family’s London home, a teenage Willa escapes the ensuing media circus by transferring to a boarding school. There, she becomes friends and secret lovers with her roommate, Robyn Bee. Twenty-two years later, Robyn is a happily married mother of three, while Willa is engaged to boorish cad Jamie and remains obsessed with finding Laika, whom she believes is still alive. When Robyn invites Willa to a dinner party she and her wife, Cat, are hosting, Cat bristles; she’s jealous of Willa and fears Jamie will ruin the night. Still, the evening goes smoothly enough­—until one guest makes an offhand remark regarding the thesis they’re working on about the corruptibility of memory, which sends Willa down a rabbit hole and eventually convinces her that Laika might be closer than she thought. In kaleidoscopic first-person narration that alternates between Robyn and Willa’s perspectives, Easter Collins skips back and forth in time, imparting details about each woman’s past and fleshing out their characters at a steady clip. Though the plot goes to some far-fetched places, evocative prose holds the whole thing together, and Easter Collins enriches the mystery with some thoughtful reflections on the rippling effects of domestic violence. It’s an auspicious start. Agent: Felicity Blunt, Curtis Brown U.K. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Edge-of-your-seat new thrillers . . . terrific. . . . There’s a murder here, and it happens when you least expect it.”—Sarah Lyall, The New York Times

“A captivating, haunting, and twisty story that explores the nature of loss and trauma, and the tricks that our memories play on us. A terrific debut from a promising talent.”—Karin Slaughter, the New York Times and #1 international bestselling author

“This is the One: the next must-read, must-recommend, must-discuss, must-re-read novel. A miraculous literary thriller, shocking, daring, moving, haunting, infinitely rewarding—as though Kate Atkinson and Ruth Rendell had joined forces. This, I hope, is the future of suspense writing.”—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window and End of Story

“Cleverly crafted and deeply moving, this beautiful book is a genuine page-turner. It was original, it was gripping, it was shocking, and I loved it.”—Alice Feeney, New York Times bestselling author of Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker

“So, so, so good. An elegant, twisting story of loss and longing, of the ache of the unknown and the drowning weight of past trauma. A very special debut.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End

“I couldn’t stop reading until it was finished. An enthralling mystery about the enduring love between sisters and the power of female friendship . . . Unmissable. Brava Sarah Easter Collins.”—Emilia Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Weyward

“I will be thinking about Things Don’t Break on Their Own for years. I loved it. I thought there were such echoes of Meg Mason in it. It’s a beautiful debut, thoughtful, quirky, rich in character. A clever thriller told through the lens of memory, and within that multiple recollections of a dinner party gone wrong. Collins asks the reader what we choose to hold in our minds, and what we might forget, too. It deserves to be huge.”—Gillian McAllister, New York Times bestselling author of Wrong Place Wrong Time

“A poignant, engrossing novel filled with characters I can't stop thinking about. Not just an absorbing mystery, but a heartfelt exploration of memory and family. I enjoyed it so much I didn't want it to end!”—Amy Tintera, author of the forthcoming Listen for the Lie

“Family secrets, female friendships, and a finely crafted plot . . . A compelling read.”—Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground

“A gripping book about families, loyalty, lies, and love that is at once heartwarming and horrifying.”—Booklist, starred review

“A stray comment at a dinner party proves seismic in Easter Collins’s devastating debut. . . . It’s an auspicious start.”—Publishers Weekly

“Sarah Easter Collins goes straight for the gut and the heart. . . . Things Don’t Break on Their Own is a rare treasure, bursting with emotion and built to last.”—BookPage, starred review

From the Publisher