Under the Harrow

NAMED ONE OF THE SUMMER’S BEST BOOKS BY ELLE · COSMOPOLITAN · GOOD HOUSEKEEPING · REAL SIMPLE · THE HUFFINGTON POST · REFINERY29 · PUREWOW · MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE · MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL · PHOENIX NEW TIMES

"A meticulously wrought new thriller [that] envelops you in its suspenseful plot from the first page." —The Huffington Post

"I couldn’t stop. It’s like Broadchurch written by Elena Ferrante." —Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs

When Nora takes the train from London to visit her sister in the countryside, she expects to find her waiting at the station, or at home cooking dinner. But when she walks into Rachel’s familiar house, what she finds is entirely different: her sister has been the victim of a brutal murder.

Stunned and adrift, Nora finds she can’t return to her former life. An unsolved assault in the past has shaken her faith in the police, and she can’t trust them to find her sister’s killer. Haunted by the murder and the secrets that surround it, Nora is under the harrow: distressed and in danger. As Nora’s fear turns to obsession, she becomes as unrecognizable as the sister her investigation uncovers.

A riveting psychological thriller and a haunting exploration of the fierce love between two sisters, the distortions of grief, and the terrifying power of the past, Under the Harrow marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.

"What grabbed me by the bones and hurled me through this read-in-one-sitting novel wasn’t the plot, as compelling and tenacious and suspenseful as it is. Rather, it was Flynn Berry’s perfect, unrelenting prose. This is flawless storytelling." Jill Alexander Essbaum, author of Hausfrau

"[Under the Harrow] envelops you in its suspenseful plot from the first page....It’s not solely a plot-fueled thriller, though: Berry’s sentences are spare and biting." The Huffington Post, "22 Summer 2016 Books You Won’t Want To Miss"

"[A] keenly wrought debut . . . Berry accomplishes the rare feat of making the victim come alive on the page without ever sacrificing the deep, all-encompassing loss felt by those left behind." Kirkus Reviews

"Surprise-filled...[Flynn Berry] has written a psychological-suspense work fit to hold its own with many recent best-sellers. And she’s done it with a narrator whose possible unreliability is not arbitrary but consistent with this well-wrought book’s conception, thereby heightening the considerable suspense." The Wall Street Journal

"Readers will enjoy trying to ferret out the clues along with Nora, but those who think they have the mystery figured out may be caught off guard....[A] tight debut." Publishers Weekly

Flynn Berry is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers and has been awarded a Yaddo residency. Under the Harrow is her first novel.