Uncle Paul by Celia Fremlin

"Beautifully played out to a startling and valid ending... Fremlin is here to stay as a major mistress of insight and suspense." — The New York Times

"Fremlin puts a keen edge on the reader's curiosity and keeps it there... the writing is so good throughout." — TheTimes (London) Literary Supplement

"An original entertainment, with unexpected turns and fine touches." — Kirkus


Meg and Isabel were just girls when "Uncle Paul" married their older half-sister, Mildred, and he soon vanished from their lives upon his exposure as a bigamist and a murderer. Fifteen years later, Uncle Paul is about to be released from prison, and all three sisters are seized with dread at the prospect of his return. Their family holiday at the seaside village where Mildred and Uncle Paul once honeymooned becomes the setting for a tense drama of suspicion, betrayal, and revenge.

Author Celia Fremlin received an Edgar Award for her suspenseful debut novel, The Hours Before Dawn. Her second thriller, Uncle Paul, evokes a similar atmosphere of menace as the paranoia of her characters — and readers — combine to form a mood of increasing tension. Rich in psychological insight and dark humor, the elegant, razor-sharp quality of Fremlin's writing provides page-turning excitement.