Book Review

''A brilliant portrait of betrayal, hypocrisy, love and loss'' Chicago Tribune

''She tried to laugh, but was sobbing at the same time. She attempted to stand up and fell over, but she didn't shatter like the glass''

Alone and adrift after losing everything in a divorce, Betty finds her life sliding dangerously out of control. When an older woman, Laure, discovers her drunk in a Paris restaurant and nurses her back to health, she is given another chance. But Betty is damaged, consumed by darkness. As the truth about her past, and her nature, emerges, it threatens to consume Laure too.

Originally published in 1961, this gripping psychological thriller caused a sensation and inspired a film adaptation by Claude Chabrol.

''Dark, disturbing ... Simenon discovered something fundamental about the soul'' Guardian