Gentlemen & Players: the first in a trilogy of gripping and twisted psychological thrillers from bestselling author Joanne Harris

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The first in Joanne Harris' Malbry Cycle of twisted psychological thrillers, followed by Blueeyedboy and Different Class. TPerfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid, this is an astute and intelligent psychological thriller centring around obsession and rage from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. Fast paced with unexpected twists and turns, it will get right under the skin... ' A gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen & Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form' -- DAILY EXPRESS ' A delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life' -- DAILY MAIL 'It kept me on the edge of my seat and I was thinking about it long after I turned the last page' -- ***** Reader review 'An intricate, engrossing novel' -- ***** Reader review 'Wonderfully, horribly plausible' -- ***** Reader review 'I read it in three days which is as close as I get to "couldn't put it down"' -- ***** Reader review 'Well written and enthralling' -- ***** Reader review 'A must read....' -- ***** Reader review 'Absolutely loved this book!' -- ***** Reader review ******************************************************************************************* At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt. The trilogy continues with blueeyedboy and Different Class.

Reviews

[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen & Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form * DAILY EXPRESS *
[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life * DAILY MAIL *
With a lightness of touch, Harris illuminates just how resentment of privilege and exclusion can lead to violent resolutions... Marvellously mischievous * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *
[A] clever story of obsession and revenge... Ms Harris has scored another success * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *
A classic whodunnit with the characters carefully crafted and the tension at a knife edge * SUNDAY EXPRESS (TOP TEN FICTION 2005) *

Author Bio

Joanne Harris is one of our best-loved and most versatile novelists. She first appeared on the scene with the bestselling Chocolat (made into an Oscar-nominated film with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp), which turned into the sensuous Lansquenet trilogy (with Lollipop Shoes and Peaches for Monsieur le Cure). She has since written acclaimed novels in such diverse genres as fantasy based on Norse myth (Runemarks, Runelight, The Gospel of Loki), and the Malbry cycle of dark psychological thrillers (Gentlemen & Players, Blueeyedboy, and now Different Class). Born in Barnsley, of an English father and a French mother, she spent fifteen years as a teacher before (somewhat reluctantly) becoming a full-time writer. In 2013, she was awarded an MBE. She lives in Yorkshire, plays bass in a band first formed when she was sixteen, works in a shed in her garden, spends far too much time online and occasionally dreams of faking her own death and going to live in Hawaii.