Price range: £4.99 through £9.99
A compelling literary crime that follows the son of a serial murderer who changes his identity in a bid to escape his past.
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Sixteen-year-old Lyle Edison recognizes the face of a murder victim on the nightly news – the waitress at his local diner. A place he often frequented with his dad. The following day his father is arrested and charged with her murder. And then eight further bodies are discovered.
Following the revelation that his dad is in fact a serial killer, Lyle is outcast and shunned. Forced to abandon his family, illegally obtaining a new identity, he moves away to start all over again.
Some years later, Lyle thinks he has finally moved on. But after several brushes with the law, Lyle’s past eventually catches up to him when a mysterious stranger known only as Icarus shows up and seems to know Lyle’s secret…
“Right from the opening chapter, where the narrator wakes up with no memory of who she is, The Glass Woman instantly hooks you with a timely take on the rise of AI, and burrows under your skin. It manages to be both a deliciously creepy and mysterious thriller and also a thought-provoking meditation on identity and memory. Hugely entertaining and relentlessly readable.”
– Alex Michaelides, bestselling author of The Silent Patient
“Stepford Wives meets 2001 Space Odyssey, The Glass Woman is a twisty, thought-provoking read with characters full of heart engaging with the debate around AI in a truly inventive and original way.”
– Chris MacDonald, author of Happily Ever After and The Actor
“More than simply a psychological thriller, The Glass Woman is a chilling invitation to witness what might be our future. The science is well-researched and completely believable. A novel that stayed in my mind long after I read the final page. The definition of a thought-provoking read.”
– Julie Corbin, author of Whispers of a Scandal
“McIlroy packs a lot into this slim novel, calling into question the permanence of memory, the infallibility of technology, and the trustworthiness of those we love. Taking central themes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Severance, and Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island to new dramatic heights, McIlroy’s well-paced novel will keep readers guessing until the final pages.”
– Booklist
“Completely absorbing, I haven’t been able to put it down.”
– Sarah Ward, author of The Birthday Girl and The Sixth Lie
“Raises fascinating questions about consciousness and its relation to objective and subjective reality.”
“A twisty psychological thriller that plays on our current fears about AI as well as ideas about memory, trauma and the self.”
– The Guardian
“A successful example of the genre with a chilling modern feel.”
– The Critic
“The Glass Woman is that too-rare a beast – an urgent thriller with solid intellectual underpinning.”
– Shots Magazine
“McIlroy’s sharp sci-fi thriller debut is one part Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and two parts Black Mirror… raising salient questions about the ethics of AI. This will keep readers up late.”
– Publishers Weekly
