Siobhán MacDonald's new psychological thriller Twisted River revolves around house swaps by an American family and an Irish one.
"She would never have fit as neatly into the trunk of his own car."
Kate and Mannix O’Brien live in a lovely house in Limerick that they can barely afford. When their son is bullied at school, Kate decides the family needs a holiday, and spots an elegant Manhattan apartment on a home-exchange website.
Meanwhile the Harvey family in Manhattan seem successful and happy, though Hazel has mysterious bruises, and Oscar is hiding things about his dental practice. They, too, need a change of pace, and Hazel has always wanted her children to see her native Limerick.
The house swap is anything but perfect, when Oscar opens the trunk of his hosts' car in the O'Briens' driveway and finds the body of a woman, beaten and bloody.
Siobhán MacDonald grew up in Bishopstown, Cork and her family later moved to Limerick. She studied electronic engineering in Galway and has worked as a technical writer in Scotland and France. She lives with her family in Limerick and has written three novels.
Her other standalone psychological thriller, Blue Pool, is about four students who spend a weekend in the Burren when one of them disappears mysteriously. It was published in German as Zeit der Lügen (2015).
- The author's official website: siobhanmacdonald.com
- Siobhan MacDonald on Twitter: @SiobhanMMacD
