Celia Fremlin

Spine-chilling tales for dark nights from Celia Fremlin, 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' (Sunday Times) who is 'Irresistible' (Val McDermid), 'brilliant' (Elly Griffiths), 'a master of suspense' (Janice Hallett), 'packs a punch' (Ian Rankin) and 'got me hooked' (Ruth Rendell) And then, suddenly, like a great yellow sea-monster rising from the deep, her mother's face lurched upwards, grimacing, contorted . . . Welcome to Celia Fremlin's nightmare world: from idyllic cottages to cruise ship holidays, seaside weekends to school sports days, nothing is as it seems. Whether a trip to Dead Man's Rock or a reports of flying saucers in suburban gardens, Fremlin reveals the uncanny lurking beneath our everyday lives - revenge, family feuds, murder and ghosts are never far away .

A second serving of spine-chilling Halloween tales from Celia Fremlin, 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' (Sunday Times)'Her Number On It' is a compelling portrait of kleptomania; the 'Unsuspected Talent' of a dissatisfied wife has dangerous consequences; and 'Don't Tell Cissie' upends our expectations of a ghost story. This latest collection of Cecila Fremlin's Gothic miniatures is a showcase of macabre domesticity: controlling husbands rub shoulders with manipulative wives, parasitic visitors meet fatal accidents, there are nervous breakdowns, toxic relationships, sinister villagers and mob justice. With an unerring nail, Fremlin picks the scabs concealing domestic fault lines.

Spine-chillingly creepy Halloween tales of horror from author of Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Uncle Paul: the 'grandmother of psycho-domestic noir' (Sunday Times) for fans of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith and Stranger Things.'Few people can chill the blood like Celia Fremlin.' Telegraph'Grips like grim death.' SpectatorI tried to open my mouth to call out again; but it was not my mouth that opened; it was a great beak, jutting out of my face, cruel and curved like a bird of prey ...In the high flats, up near the clouds, Hilda and her baby twins reach a fateful end ...An aunt feels foreboding about her niece's new fiance - but the darkness comes from within ...A haunted babysitter experiences a little girl's terror of The Hen With The Great Big Eyes ...One teenage girl's evening home alone is ruined by a mysterious unexpected visitor ...A little boy's obsession with angels leads to a dramatic metamorphosis ...Celia Fremlin's classic Gothic story collection is a masterpiece of psychological horror, mining the darkest elements of marriage, childhood, and ageing; probing paranoia, grief and toxic relationships; inviting the ghosts of the past into our present; and exploring the nightmarish secret impulses and supernatural forces lurking beneath suburban Britain.

A classic seaside psychological thriller from author of Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Uncle Paul: 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' and the 'grandmother of psycho-domestic noir' (Sunday Times)'Brilliant ... So witty and clever.' Elly Griffiths'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin'Splendid ... Got me hooked.' Ruth Rendell'A master of suspense.' Janice HallettFOUND IN FLAT was all she could see of the headline, but it was enough: enough to freeze her hovering hand ...Milly Barnes has just arrived in the seaside town of Seacliffe. Between windswept walks on the beach, she settles into lodgings and finds work as a Daily Help. Except this isn't her real name - 'Milly' is on the run from her past life, escaping a nightmare marriage. Abandoned by her first husband for another woman, she took revenge by marrying Gilbert: but this proved a terrible mistake. Trapped in a London basement flat, she became a victim of his increasingly paranoid delusions. But what really happened in that underground dungeon? And is somebody on her trail, the hunter in a game of cat-and-mouse ...?

WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTHBBC RADIO 4'S OPEN BOOKOne family's skeletons emerge on a 1950s seaside summer holiday in this classic mystery from 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' and 'grandmother of psycho-domestic noir' (Sunday Times)'Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up .. Take it on holiday with you.' Times'Brilliant ... Such clever, witty writing.' Elly Griffiths'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin'Splendid ... Got me hooked.' Ruth Rendell'A slow-burning chill of a read by a master of suspense.' Janice Hallett'A dark delight. Witty, unsettling domestic noir. Imagine Barbara Pym with arsenic.' Clare ChambersThe holidays have begun. In a seaside caravan resort, Isabel and her sister Meg build sandcastles with the children, navigate deckchair politics, explore the pier's delights, gorge ice cream in the sun. But their half-sister Mildred has returned to a nearby coastal cottage where her husband - the mysterious Uncle Paul - was arrested for his first wife's attempted murder: and family skeletons emerge. Now, on his release from prison, is he returning for revenge, seeking who betrayed him? Or are all three women letting their nerves get the better of them? Though who really is Meg's new lover? And whose are those footsteps ...?'Sinister, witty and utterly compelling. A genius.' Nicola Upson

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles. 'Be sure you don't answer the door to anyone you don't know.'A little Patricia Highsmith, a touch of Shirley Jackson: the long-neglected Celia Fremlin wrote short, sharp stories that threw women's lives into shiver-inducing relief.In each of these twinned tales, a mother and daughter meet again, and an ordinary home becomes the setting for a return of the repressed.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

Times Book of the Month: a spine-chilling classic festive Christmas crime mystery from beloved author of Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Uncle Paul.'Brilliant ... Such clever, witty writing.' Elly Griffiths'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin'A master of suspense.' Janice Hallett'Glorious ... Got me hooked.' Ruth RendellJolted from sleep by the ringing of the telephone, Imogen stumbles through the dark, empty house to answer it. At first, she can't quite understand the man on the other end of the line. Surely he can't honestly be accusing her of killing her husband, Ivor, who died in a car crash barely two months ago.As the nights draw in, Imogen finds her home filling up with unexpected guests, who may be looking for more than simple festive cheer. Has someone been rifling through Ivor's papers? Who left the half-drunk whiskey bottle beside his favourite chair? And why won't that man stop phoning, insisting he can prove Imogen's guilt ..?'Beautifully written . . . Fremlin's sly, subtly feminist take on the ghost story is a gem.' Sunday Times'Reads as if it were written yesterday ... Makes you laugh, smile or wince in recognition on virtually every page ... This clever, clear-eyed mystery is the perfect antidote to the often fake bonhomie of the festive season.' Times Book of the Month'Barbara Pym with arsenic.' Clare Chambers'A genius.' Nicola Upson

WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH AUTHOR: 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' (Sunday Times)Discover the original psychological thriller as a sleep-deprived young mother struggles to stay sane.'A lost masterpiece.' Peter Swanson'Brilliant ... Such clever, witty writing.' Elly Griffiths'Fremlin packs a punch.' Ian Rankin'Splendid ... Got me hooked.' Ruth Rendell'A slow-burning chill of a read by a master of suspense.' Janice Hallett'The grandmother of psycho-domestic noir; Britain's Patricia Highsmith.' Sunday TimesLouise would give anything - anything - for a good night's sleep. Forget the girls running errant in the garden and bothering the neighbours. Forget her husband who seems oblivious to it all. If the baby would just stop crying, everything would be fine.Or would it? What if Louise's growing fears about the family's new lodger, who seems to share all of her husband's interests, are real? What could she do, and would anyone even believe her? Maybe, if she could get just get some rest, she'd be able to think straight . . . WINNER OF THE 1960 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST MYSTERY NOVEL'Barbara Pym with arsenic.' Clare Chambers'Sinister, witty and utterly compelling. A genius.' Nicola Upson

'A truly funny, sharp comedy that is packaged inside a psychological thriller.' Spectator 'A delightful and masterly achievement.' Financial Times Celia Fremlin's twelfth novel, originally published in 1982, tells the tale of Martin Lockwood, a man stuck between a wife and a mistress and frustrated by his faltering doctoral thesis on depression. Then he encounters Ruth Ledbetter, a smart, unbalanced, potentially dangerous young woman who soon insinuates herself into Martin's life, his home - and his PhD. 'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew Taylor 'Celia Fremlin is an astonishing writer, who explores that nightmare country where brain, mind and self battle to establish the truth. She illuminates her dark world with acute perception and great wit.' Natasha Cooper

'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew Taylor Celia Fremlin's third collection of stories, first published in 1984, is a baker's dozen of gripping tales by the mistress of suspense. Within these covers are stories of family frustrations and fury - a young wife who wants rid of her husband, an elderly daughter who cannot endure her mother. Fremlin deals in the uncanny, too, constantly confounding our expectations, and those of her characters. 'Wonderfully written, subtle and disturbing.' Times 'Written with such perception and elegance that they repay many readings.' Glasgow Herald 'Celia Fremlin is an astonishing writer, who explores that nightmare country where brain, mind and self battle to establish the truth. She illuminates her dark world with acute perception and great wit.' Natasha Cooper

'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew Taylor Listening in the Dusk (1990), Celia Fremlin's thirteenth novel, concerns Alice Saunders, a woman striking out on her own following a traumatic marital breakup. But when she rents a drafty attic room in a ramshackle London boarding house she meets the mysterious Mary - a young woman clearly terrified of something, or someone. 'Tart and chilling piece of superior Fremlin Gothic, with some wonderful characterization and great comic passages.' Sunday Times 'Suspense and mystery at its elegant best.' Birmingham Post 'Celia Fremlin is an astonishing writer, who explores that nightmare country where brain, mind and self battle to establish the truth. She illuminates her dark world with acute perception and great wit.' Natasha Cooper

'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew Taylor The Echoing Stones (1993) was Celia Fremlin's fifteenth novel. Arnold Walker's decision to take early retirement and become caretaker and tourist guide at a Tudor mansion changes his life dramatically. His wife Mildred leaves him, and his wayward daughter Flora arrives unexpectedly and agrees to help out. Together, they must reckon with Emmerton Hall's former curator, Sir Humphrey Penrose, a sufferer from senile dementia given to spontaneous acting out of bizarre historical events, whose antics will lead to sheer bloody murder. 'Celia Fremlin is an astonishing writer, who explores that nightmare country where brain, mind and self battle to establish the truth. She illuminates her dark world with acute perception and great wit.' Natasha Cooper

'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew TaylorKing of the World (1994), Celia Fremlin's sixteenth and final novel, is the story of flat-mates Bridget and Diane. Despite ten years in age between them they get on well - aside from the constant presence of Alistair, Diane's self-impressed boyfriend, in the flat. The women decide to look for a third tenant, and find Norah, who claims to be a battered wife seeking refuge. But Norah is telling lies that will put all of them in mortal danger.'Celia Fremlin is an astonishing writer, who explores that nightmare country where brain, mind and self battle to establish the truth. She illuminates her dark world with acute perception and great wit.' Natasha Cooper

'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew Taylor With No Crying (1980), Celia Fremlin's eleventh novel, tells of Miranda, a daydreaming fifteen-year-old schoolgirl who has encouraged a boy to seduce her and is glad to find herself pregnant, but then bitterly resentful when her parents talk her into an abortion. She pads up her stomach, runs away from home, and finds refuge in a squat where her new housemates await the newborn keenly. How, though, can Miranda save face? 'An acute piece of social observation, psychological insight, and intuitive sympathy that makes for a very satisfying read... Quite brilliant, nicely understated, and tantalisingly real.' Hampstead & Highgate Express

'Britain's equivalent to Patricia Highsmith, Celia Fremlin wrote psychological thrillers that changed the landscape of crime fiction for ever: her novels are domestic, subtle, penetrating - and quite horribly chilling.' Andrew Taylor Possession was Celia Fremlin's seventh novel, first published in 1969. Middle-class mother Clare Erskine initially thinks it a great stroke of luck when her 19 year-old daughter Sarah becomes engaged to a young man with a steady job. However Clare's betrothed, Mervyn Redmayne, has a notable black mark against him: a widowed mother with a petulant, inescapable grip on her son. Brilliant... yet another of Miss Fremlin's triumphs.' Times 'Fremlin, masterly delineator of suburban sin and distiller of eerie tensions from commonplace events, achieves a formidable triumph in this new thriller... a must for addicts of the genre.' Scotsman

By Horror Haunted (1974) was Celia Fremlin's second collection of stories, and it runs the gamut of her many talents. The nightmarish plots, wit, elegance, and domestic details with an undertow of unease have lost none of their edge. 'Her Number On It' is a compelling portrait of kleptomania; the 'Unsuspected Talent' of a dissatisfied wife has dangerous consequences; while 'Don't Tell Cissie' is a superbly original ghost story. 'The reader is lulled in to a false knowledge of events... At the last moment the events are turned inside out and the actions are re-interpreted nastily, chillingly or with penetrating realism.' Catholic Herald 'A really delightful collection of short stories...the suspense, in some of them, is almost painful... [Fremlin] is the complete mistress of an extremely difficult art form.' Huddersfield Day Examiner