The Long, Long Afternoon

The sunniest places hold the darkest secrets . . .  A stunning 1950s set debut mystery brimming with atmosphere and perfect for fans of Tangerine, Small Pleasures and Mad Men.

Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time . . .

It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.

While the Haney's neighbours get busy organising search parties, it is Ruby Wright, the family's 'help', who may hold the key to this unsettling mystery. Ruby knows more about the secrets behind Sunnylakes' starched curtains than anyone, and it isn't long before the detective in charge of the case wants her help. But what might it cost her to get involved? In these long hot summer afternoons, simmering with lies, mistrust and prejudice, it could only take one spark for this whole 'perfect' world to set alight . . .

A beguiling, deeply atmospheric debut novel from the cracked heart of the American Dream, The Long, Long Afternoon is at once a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced and ultimately under-estimated.

Everyone is talking about The Long, Long Afternoon: 'Beguiling and evocative. This vivid and atmospheric pageturner will keep readers guessing all the way to its satisfying finale' - Sunday Express * 'A clever and absorbing debut by Inga Vesper, who bricks Joyce up in her perfect house, then smashes it to pieces with aplomb' - The Times * 'Beautifully crafted, claustrophobic and compelling' - Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars and The Foundling * 'Such a vivid atmosphere of stifling LA heat and stifling 50s domesticity' - Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures * 'Breathtakingly stylish, hypnotic and masterfully gripping' - Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End, Waterstones Thriller of the Month * 'A perfect read' - Mary Paulson Ellis * 'Loved this taut slice of classic noir' - C.J. Tudor * 'Beautifully written and brilliantly observed' - Simon Lelic * 'Atmospheric, beguiling' - Araminta Hall * 'A tasty, tense, page-turning combo of James Ellroy and Kate Atkinson with a bit of Mad Men thrown in' - Liz Hyder * 'Completely gripping and kept me guessing right to the end' - Amanda Mason, author of The Wayward Girls * 'This wonderful, beautifully written novel held me to the very last word' - Stephanie Butland, author of Lost for Words * 'Stunning' - Amanda Reynolds, author of Close To Me * 'Evocative, stylish and gripping' - Deborah O'Connor