When the Stars Go Dark

Review ‘A superior psychological thriller... Paula McLain focuses on the victims rather than the abductors in a gripping serial-killer story that is also a sensitive study of grief.’ -- Times Crime Club ‘A powerhouse of a novel that is guaranteed to keep the reader up all night. When the Stars Go Dark is a beautifully written, sharply observed literary thriller with an extraordinary, unforgettable heroine and a twisty plot with a surprise ending... A gripping story drenched in the exquisite allure of the natural world.’ -- Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale ‘McLain puts her heroine in mortal peril to deliver the kind of heartpounding conclusion that thriller fans crave. As a bonus, avid readers of the genre will be pleased to find they’ve picked up several kernels of intellectual nourishment along the way. In the end, a book full of darkness lands with a message of hope.’ -- New York Times Book Review ‘A lyrical and quietly devastating novel.’ -- Mirror ‘With this breathtaking novel, Paula McLain proves she can do anything. Exquisitely written, immersive, and atmospheric, When the Stars Go Dark is a tour de force of literary suspense. It pulled me under and left me gasping.’ -- Christina Baker Kline, author of The Exiles ‘Fuelled by pure high anxiety. . . When the Stars Go Dark is an atmospheric and intricately plotted suspense novel.’ -- Washington Post ‘When the Stars Go Dark is a fantastically propulsive and deeply atmospheric novel that grabs you from the very first page. It’s visceral and hauntingly suspenseful. Paula McLain has proven to be a masterful storyteller no matter the genre.’ -- Aimee Molloy, author of The Perfect Mother ‘Paula McLain, already established as the master of the historical novel, now explodes into crime fiction with a richly satisfying, tremendously moving mystery – haunting, poignant, lyrical, urgent, unique, unforgettable.’ -- Chris Pavone, author of The Paris Diversion ‘I loved Paula McLain’s When the Stars Go Dark, which is the beautifully written and positively profound story of Detective Anna Hart... The twisty plot keeps the pages flying, and McLain’s lyrical and poetic prose reveals insight after insight about the human heart, making this riveting read not only an engrossing psychological thriller, but crime fiction of the highest order.’ -- Lisa Scottoline, author of Someone Knows ‘Lyrical and beautiful, When the Stars go Dark is a riveting deep dive into trauma, survival and obsession. With her deeply flawed and utterly compelling heroine, elegant prose and layered, twisting story, Paula McLain has penned an extraordinary novel of literary suspense, as gripping as it is unique and unforgettable.’ -- Lisa Unger, author of Confessions On The 7:45 'Stunning... McLain matches poetic prose with deep characterisations as she shines a light on the kindness in her characters’ souls. Fans of literary suspense won’t be able to put this one down.' -- Publishers Weekly ‘A total departure for the author of The Paris Wife, McLain’s emotionally intense and exceptionally well-written thriller entwines its fictional crime with real cases – including Polly Klaas’s 1993 kidnapping – and is enriched by her own experiences as a survivor of trauma.’ -- PEOPLE, Book of the Week ‘[McLain’s] newest novel weaves together actual missing persons cases and trauma theory to explore the meaning of fate, redemption and human connection. This mystery will keep you guessing, and stay with you long after you finish. Dive in.’ -- TheSKIMM ‘Paula McLain . . . focuses her gimlet eye on the not-so-sunny underbelly of California in this gripping new novel about a San Francisco detective who can't seem to outrun her past.’ -- Town & Country ‘A psychological thriller that deftly evokes both the entrancing landscape of the Mendocino hills and the rough terrain of shattered lives . . . Most memorable of all are the girls, past and present, who emerge here not as convenient victims b