Orient - Hardcover

'Orient is not as pleasant as it seems, and Christopher Bollen will hold you spellbound as he reveals its secrets. A truly well-crafted murder mystery that recalls the worlds of both PD James and Twin Peaks' Nelson DeMille

'Secrets, parochial gossiping, casual xenophobia, proximity to a large water and a decent body count: what more could you need from a thriller. Bollen's rich novel has all the right ingredients and he serves them up suspensefully as he tears down his version of the American dream.' --Fiona Wilson, The Times

'Christopher Bollen writes expansive, psychologically probing novels in the manner of Updike, Eugenides and Franzen, but he is also an avowed disciple of Agatha Christie... Bollen's melodramatic twist on reality follows the pattern laid down by a score of Christie novels: the tensions between a community's long-standing residents and its incomers end up exploding in murder... The generic and literary pleasures of this novel sit well together and are of the highest order Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph

'Bollen's blend of killer thriller and social satire is certainly classy... the elegant portrayal of adultery and envy on America's East Coast can't fail to recall John Updike' John Dugdale, Sunday Times

'Deeply seductive... Orient is like Donna Tartt novelising Twin Peaks while F. Scott Fitzgerald fixes cocktails. Bollen's characterisation is pin-sharp and his treatment of his themes mature and multi-layered' John O Connell, Guardian

'Almost mesmerically gripping. Yet Bollen also achieves something richer and more thoughtful than one would usually expect from a literary thriller.' --Matthew Adams, Independent

'the generic and literary pleasures of this novel sit well together and are of the highest order' --Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph

Suspenseful and haunting, Bollen's thrilling novel Orientis a provocative take on the troubled American dream, in the vein of Lionel Shriver or AM Homes. At the eastern edge of Long Island, far from the hustle of New York City, stands Orient, a village that has been home to a few families for hundreds of years and is now - reluctantly - opening up to wealthy weekenders and artists from the city. On the last day of summer, a young man with a hazy past appears, and not long after comes a series of events that shatters the peace in this isolated community. A strange, twisted creature washes ashore on the Sound and then a human corpse is found floating in the water. A woman dies in bizarre circumstances and a house fire erupts out of nowhere. Fear and suspicion mount until everyone's secrets threaten to be exposed. But who is Mills Chevern? What is his real name and why is he here? As all eyes shift towards the orphan drifter, Mills elicits the support of Beth Shepherd, an Orient native who is hiding a secret of her own.