Price range: £4.99 through £9.99
NOMINATED FOR THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
A brilliant, riveting, and harrowing debut novel about a young woman who is brutally assaulted, and who must then piece her life back together while her attacker faces a justice system that seems stacked against the victim.
Vivian is a cosmopolitan Taiwanese-American tourist who often escapes her busy life in London through adventure and travel. Johnny is a 15-year-old Irish teenager, living a neglected life on the margins of society. He has grown up in a family where crime is customary, violence is a necessity, and everything – and anyone – can be yours for the taking.
As Vivian looks to find her calling professionally, she delights in exploring foreign countries, rolling hillsides, and new cultures. And as a young, single woman, she has grown used to experiencing life on her own. But all of that changes when, on one bright spring afternoon in West Belfast, Vivian’s path collides with Johnny and culminates in a horrifying act of violence.
In the aftermath of the incident, both Johnny and Vivian are forced to confront the chain of events that led to the attack. Vivian must struggle to recapture the woman that she was and the woman she aspired to be, while dealing with a culture and judicial system that treats assault victims as less than human. Johnny, meanwhile, flees to the sanctity of his transitory Irish clan. But when he is finally brought to reckon for his crimes, Vivian learns that justice is not always as swift or as fair as she would hope.
Inspired by true events, Dark Chapter is both a literary masterpiece and a riveting novel of suspense about of the dark chapters and chance encounters that can irrevocably determine the shape of our lives.
“One of the best books of the year. This cracking debut is packed with quirky characters that I adored. Ellett’s dialogue sparks off the page and the rural Texas setting where the county dump is a landmark is hypnotic and unceasing.”
— Carole Barrowman, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“Funny, heartfelt, and suspenseful, Ain’t Nobody Nobody is terrific from the first page to the last. Grab it.”
— Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award-winning author of the Unsub series
“(An) auspicious debut…Ellett balances the goofiness of the crimes and setting with some effective storytelling, never letting the real emotional stakes for the characters get obscured. Carl Hiassen fans will find a lot to like.”
— Publishers Weekly
“This debut novel is most notable for Ellett’s supremely witty prose and the oddball but deeply relatable characters. Readers looking for a fresh, offbeat voice in the mystery genre will find it here.”
— Library Journal
“Good plot material, and the author handles it with skill. And humor. Harper Ellett is also after a poetic affect, and she displays considerable talent.”
— Booklist
“The dark poetry of East Texas has found a new, lyrical voice in Heather Harper Ellett’s debut book, Ain’t Nobody Nobody, where the landscape is as feral and potentially deadly as the predators that inhabit it; and where love and loyalty can prove as dangerous as greed and betrayal.”
― Kathleen Kent, Edgar-nominated author of The Dime
“A gritty, well-written story with so much heart. Ellett is an exciting new voice on the mystery scene, and Ain’t Nobody Nobody is a fantastic read for those who like a straightforward mystery with flesh-and-blood characters and a strong sense of place.”
— Criminal Element
