Lying Low

by Diane Johnson

First published 1980

Four people take refuge in a sprawling Victorian house, each carrying secrets they cannot reveal. Over the span of four days, their carefully maintained distances begin to collapse. The house becomes a pressure cooker where hidden truths threaten to surface. Each resident believes they are simply lying low, waiting for their troubles to pass. But proximity breeds danger when everyone has something to hide. The Victorian's many rooms cannot contain the weight of their collective secrets. As the days unfold, the fragile peace they have constructed starts to crack. What began as temporary shelter becomes a test of how long people can live alongside each other while concealing their true selves. The house holds them together and pulls them apart in equal measure.

Genres: fiction, drama, mystery, contemporary

Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family, proximity, unreliable-narrator

Period: 19th-century, 20th-century

Paperback · Triad Granada

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