The Body Lies: A novel

Part literary fiction and part thriller, Jo Baker’s novel, The Body Lies, creates a wonderful, creepy, and suspenseful world that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

When a young writer and mother accepts a teaching position in a remote area of England, she never guesses that the assault she’s trying to forget will follow her. While the perpetrator has changed, again, the situation rapidly moves out of her control. As one of her students begins to turn in writing that features her as a character, she will be pushed to the limit to escape the brutal fate he’s written.

This is the type of reading that makes the hair on your neck stand up and keeps your eyes glued to the page. Even better, it’s not all suspense and brutality, with the relationship between the narrator and her three-year-old son rendered absolutely beautifully. Baker has a way of getting the reader so invested in her characters, practically putting them inside her skin, so they feel just as violated as she does. Literary and compellingly readable, I read this book in one go in one afternoon. (I seriously could not have slept without knowing what happened to Nicholas.) All the stars for this incredible book.