Lie of the Land

Synopsis

Lie of the Land is a dark, domestic literary thriller set in the Black Country in the Midlands, UK. When Rory and Jemma meet, Rory already has a girlfriend, but that doesn’t stop them getting together and, much sooner than Jemma would like, they’re buying their first house together in the heart of the grimy Midlands.

‘The Rocks’ is a run-down, ‘doer-upper’ and right from the off, Jemma is reluctant and unhappy, far from ready for commitment. But there is something about the house that is both compelling and sinister, and the situation takes a darker turn when a terrible accident happens involving their new next door neighbours, forcing both Jemma and Rory to tackle their inner demons.

Themes of toxic relationships, secrets and deceit are intensified by a judgmental narrative voice which propels the plot to its even darker resolution.

Praise for this Book

‘There is never any resisting the devastating spell of Kerry Hadley-Pryce’s prose. I’ve loved every novel she’s written, and with her latest, she has outdone herself. Suffused with dark beauty and populated by people who are even more haunted than their dank secretive home might be, Lie of the Land is an enthralling read that’s as mesmerising as it’s menacing. Although you might find yourself unravelling alongside its characters, you won’t be able to put it down.’ —Megan Taylor

Praise for Previous Work

‘God’s Country, by Kerry Hadley-Pryce, is a disturbingly atmospheric story set in The Black Country, a place without borders marked on maps, yet has shaped generations of people raised within its haunting environs. The narrator – a fabulously unsettling voice – is constructing a tale based on their own knowledge of the characters and place, and from what they have been told by the protagonist, Alison.’ —Jackie Law, neverimitate

‘★★★★★ God’s Country is Kerry Hadley Pryce’s most densely written novel yet. The key occurrences of the novel are told to Alison by her partner Guy, whose involvement in them has left him deeply disturbed. So: can Alison trust Guy? Can the narrator trust Alison? Can we trust the narrator? In each case, not necessarily. I’ve not come across a narrative so keen to draw attention to its own unreliability since The Name of the Rose. And I’ve not come across so distinct a use of tense since Emma Tennant’s Wild Nights.’ —Richard Clay, Goodreads

‘Landscape is a cauldron for Kerry Hadley-Pryce’s intensely creepy and evocative writing.’ —Georgina Bruce, Black Static

‘The Black Country is a macabre triumph, whether you read it as a horror fable about love or a meditation on the controlling character of the artist. Either way, this ambitious and memorable first novel loiters like a rotting fish left behind the fridge.’ —James Kidd, Independent on Sunday

‘Kerry Hadley-Pryce creates the stifling atmosphere of a contemporary England.’ —Bookmunch

‘Hadley-Pryce has a unique and impressive way of not only getting into the minds of the characters but also the readers.’ —For the Literature