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

‘This is a cracking novel. Written in prose that suggests the existence of a literary terroir, it flits with expertly sinister intent between the shadows of the psychological thriller, the murder mystery and the ghost story. An excellent addition to Hadley-Pryce's ongoing and lovingly uncompromising challenge to the Black Country Tourist Board.’ —Charlie Hill

‘No one else writes like Kerry Hadley-Pryce, with her unique and unsettling way of dragging you into her stories and making you complicit in their outcomes. Her latest novel, Lie of the Land, is a compulsive read that grips the reader and doesn't stop playing with you, twisting your perceptions, your sympathies and your judgements. Is it a haunted house story, a crime novel, a domestic noir? It's all of this and more: a modern gothic horror that I could not look away from, a page turner that left me with the uncanny feeling that something was haunting the book itself. If Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith got together and made a creepy baby, Kerry Hadley-Pryce would be the result. She's a magician, and this book will drag you under her spell.’ —Georgina Bruce

Reviews of this Book

‘This decidedly bleak 4th novel by a British writer occupies the liminal space between the currently fashionable domestic thriller genre and a sharp sense of gothic horror at times reminiscent of Shirley Jackson … Intense, carried by an oblique and literary narrative voice, this is the stuff of nightmares and a striking portrait of a couple whose sins just won’t let go of them, unable to detach themselves from a living nightmare with inexorable consequences. Oppressive, at times awkward to follow but nonetheless compelling, this is a hybrid thriller cum ghost story that packs a dark punch and will divide readers while deserving attention for its ambition and powerful voice.’ —Maxim Jakubowski, Crime Time

‘Lie of the Land is a dark and unsettling account of how a young woman loses the sense she has of herself after becoming involved with a man. It is mostly written in what I believe is present perfect tense, a choice that somehow adds a sense of foreboding. It is clear from the start that bad things have happened but what and to whom constitutes the story.’ —Jackie Law, Bookmunch

‘This book had me on edge from start to finish. The writing is raw, gripping, and layered with complexity. It’s not just about the thrill of the plot but the emotions it evokes the unease, the tension, and the chilling sense of inevitability. If you love stories that blur the line between psychological drama and literary fiction, this one is a must-read.’ —Book Tales Official

‘Hauntingly beautiful, mesmerizing, harrowing and poetic. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite reads this year!’ —The Story Graph

‘The Black Country. Dark, foreboding gloom-ridden. Lie of the Land is exactly the same: dark, foreboding with an aura of gloom and added tension as our main protagonist, Jemma, is faced with ever-increasing anxiety as she makes major life changes that have unforeseen consequences for herself and those around her. She had what seemed the perfect life but after what she thought would be a one night stand she is sucked into a relationship which has tragic consequences and tilts her balanced lifestyle.’ —Jonathan Wilkins, Everybody’s Reviewing

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