The Girl on the Stairs: A Masterful Psychological Thriller

Jane Logan is six months pregnant and has moved to Berlin to live with her long-term lover, rich banker, Petra. The women’s chic new apartment is in a trendy part of the city but Jane finds herself increasingly uneasy there. She conceives a dread of the derelict backhouse across the courtyard and begins to suspect something sinister is happening in the flat next door, where gynaecologist Alban Mann lives with his teenage daughter Anna. Petra believes her lover’s pregnancy is affecting her judgement, but Jane is increasingly convinced that all is not well. Her decision to turn detective has devastating results when her own past collides with the past of the building and its inhabitants. A haunting, atmospheric novel from the acclaimed author of The Cutting Room.

Reviews of The Girl on the Stairs: A Masterful Psychological Thriller

Louise Welsh's taut new novel at times feels like a potent cross between The Yellow Wallpaper and Rear Window … Welsh expertly conveys the escalation of Jane's suspicions to something approaching obsession Observer 'An impressive psychological chiller' Sunday Telegraph 'Sharply rendered … The reader's anxiety is heightened by a myriad of small tensions … Welsh keeps the reader turning to pursue the multiple stories threading through the pages … The writing of crime fiction is, after all, a sort of conjuring trick played on the reader, a welcome deception. Welsh has developed flashing fingers with cards, rabbits and hats' Independent Builds up atmosphere admirably Sunday Times Brilliantly atmospheric, the tension builds until you are chilled to the core Good Housekeeping A taut narrative that plays with our sense of what's real. Brilliant Red 'A stylish and violent Berlin-set thriller' Guardian 'The Girl on the Stairs feels like a ghost story. Taking place in a haunted city, the book's knowing evocation of Don't Look Now, Du Maurier's Venice-set story, is sharpened by the fact that this mother is not grieving the loss of a child but anticipating a birth. Yet what Welsh knows, and brings to a bloody conclusion, is that no supernatural manifestation of our darkest hours is any match for what real human beings can do to each other' Guardian 'An outstanding work of psychological suspense that will thrill Welsh's existing fans and earn her many more' Daily Record 'A portrait of a city haunted by its past, with nods to Don't Look Now and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, it's a profoundly creepy read' Guardian Books of the Year 2012 Welsh skilfully exposes Jane's growing obsession in a tale that becomes more compelling with every shocking twist Psychologies A highly effective mystery, told by the kind of unreliable narrator able to rival the very best at keeping you guessing Scotsman 'We've come to expect two things from Welsh: a brilliant sense of location and knuckle-whitening suspense … Superbly entertaining' Saga 'Wonderfully atmospheric' List 'Both chilling and disturbing insights into the female psyche' Scotsman A masterclass in sustained tension and hold-your-breath suspense Bookseller 'The uncertainties and ambiguities kept me guessing to the end … The Girl on the Stairs is a dark, psychological thriller, full of atmosphere and claustrophobic tension. I really enjoyed it' booksplease.org 'Edgy, tense and a real page-turner' Woman 'A clever Rear Window type thriller … You won't be able to put this book down until the very end when there is a surprising twist. I was left with an uncomfortable feeling at the end and am still thinking about this book days after I finished it' novelfriends.com 'A dark haunting novel. The story builds and as the tension incrases I enjoyed it more and more, and felt it got better and better until I was gripped … It's a fairly short novel, written in spare prose with evocative descriptive passages and effective dialogue that always adds to the plot progression' thelittlereaderlibrary.blogspot.co.uk 'This was everything I could have ever hoped for in a thriller/fiction-type book' edelwaugh.blogspot.co.uk 'Crime fiction may have its prize-winner at last' Independent on THE CUTTING ROOM 'A fast-paced read…this is definately a must read novel for fans of mystery or psychology' Ialwaysbelievedinfutures.blogspot 'The Girl on the Stairs is a gritty, psychological thriller with plenty of suspense, tension and mystery. The twists and turns will have you believing Jane one minute and thinking she's mad the next. A definite page-turner and an excellent read' NotesofLife.co.uk 'Fewer contemporary novelists write as well as Welsh, and fewer British writers stand equal to her narrative ease' Irish Times on NAMING THE BONES Welsh heaps on the tension, chapter by chapter, in this enthralling read Vogue on Naming the Bones Gripping story, shrewd characterisation, humour, eroticism, the macabre … a spattering of gore Scottish Review of Books on Naming the Bones Plenty of thrilling tricks and turns The Observer on The Bullet Trick The action never flags for a minute Sunday Telegraph on The Bullet Trick Keeps its secrets and tricks and, above all, its reader, hectically on the run Irish Times on The Bullet Trick A fast-paced and sparkling story The Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die Utterly engrossing. I read it in a sitting, unable to put it down The Sunday Telegraph on Tamburlaine Must Die A rocket-propelled novella The List on Tamburlaine Must Die A page-turner to the very end The Sunday Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die The sort of narrative you can smell on your hands after turning the pages Literary Review on Tamburlaine Must Die Intriguing, assured and unputdownable The Sunday Times on The Cutting Room It twists to the sort of climax Rilke would recognise; brief but fulfilling The Times on The Cutting Room I was hooked from page one The Guardian on The Cutting Room