by Graham Joyce
First published 1998
James brings his French wife Sabine and their daughters Beth and Jessie to a remote cottage in the Dordogne for two weeks with friends Matt, Chrissie, and Rachel. Rachel carries the weight of her past affair with James. Young Jessie grows increasingly troubled as someone in their group secretly instructs her in ways that disturb the family dynamic. The instructor's identity remains hidden while flashbacks reveal a twisted relationship built entirely on lies between this person and their lover. As meteorological forces build toward a massive storm, the adults circle each other with mounting tension. Some grow aggressive, others withdraw. Manipulation and submission shift between them like weather patterns. Jessie becomes more intense and confused while the adults struggle with their protective instincts and their own desires. The approaching tempest mirrors the primal sensuality that the French countryside and their tangled relationships unleash. Joyce weaves the storm's progress through brief chapters that explain its scientific behavior, creating a parallel between natural forces and human psychology. The cottage becomes a pressure cooker where old attractions, parental fears, and hidden agendas collide.
Genres: contemporary, psychological-thriller, mystery-thriller, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, hidden-identity, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Dordogne, France
Period: Contemporary
Paperback · Penguin Books Ltd
Content warnings: emotional-abuse, gaslighting