The Girls

A Story of Village Life

By: John Bowen

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Paperback | 21 February 2024

At a Glance

Paperback
240 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.5 x 13 x 2

Paperback

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A wry, macape tale of simple country living, putal murder, and a reasonably happy couple, from our “most startlingly offbeat suspense novelist” (Gore Vidal).

In their lovely old Cotswolds village, Janet and Susan are known to all the other villagers as “the girls”—a fixture. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop specializing in the work of local artisans and farmers, they lead an enviable, enviably settled life.

So it’s no catastrophe when Sue, the younger of the two, feels the need to take a month to travel on her own, leaving Jan alone to run their stall at the Inland Waterways Rally Craft Fair. Nor is it any real threat when a kindly gay man named Alan lends Jan a hand in Sue’s absence, or when the two wind up sharing some wine and even a bunk for the night.

If Jan turns out to be pregnant some weeks after Sue’s return to the nest, what’s that but cause for joy? And when Alan happens to come visiting, by and by, finding the delighted girls raising a beautiful baby boy, who can blame him for wanting to share in a small part of their bliss?

Yes, theirs is an enviable, enviably settled life. And the girls will defend it with every tool at their disposal.

Industry Reviews

"This is a charming little novel about two women who share a home, a garden, and later, a baby. What happens when the accidental father returns? Fans of Patricia Highsmith and Edward Gorey (whose delightful designs adorn the cover) should like The Girls."-- "--San Francisco Bay Times"
"An unqualified delight . . . Bowen rates superlatives for his alternately moving, frightening, hilarious novel and--above all--for the unsuspected, ultimate surprise."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Absolutely wicked."
--Armistead Maupin
"The trappings of this sly little novel are like the crumbs leading Hansel and Gretel to gingerbread danger . . . [For] people who like Myra Breckinridge as well as Miss Marple; fans of Beryl Bainbridge, Russell Greenan and Patricia Highsmith; those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others." --Michele Slung "Washington Post"

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