Jane Logan is six months pregnant and has moved to Berlin to live with her long-term lover, rich banker, Petra. The women's chic new apartment is in a trendy part of the city but Jane finds herself increasingly uneasy there. She conceives a dread of the derelict backhouse across the courtyard and begins to suspect something sinister is happening in the flat next door, where gynaecologist Alban Mann lives with his teenage daughter Anna. Petra believes her lover's pregnancy is affecting her judgement, but Jane is increasingly convinced that all is not well. Her decision to turn detective has devastating results when her own past collides with the past of the building and its inhabitants. A haunting, atmospheric novel from the acclaimed author of The Cutting Room.

By:   Louise Welsh
Imprint:   Hodder & Stoughton
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 23mm,  Width: 220mm,  Spine: 157mm
Weight:   380g
ISBN:  

9781848546608

ISBN 10:   1848546602
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   August 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
Our supplier is currently out of stock. You can order it and we will ship it to you upon arrival.

After a history degree from the University of Glasgow, Louise Welsh opened a second hand bookshop, which she ran for several years before becoming a full-time author. She has written four novels and has been the recipient of several awards including The John Creasey Memorial Dagger, the Saltire First Book Award, the Glenfiddich/Scotland on Sunday Spirit of Scotland Writing Award and City of Glasgow Lord Provost's Award for Literature. In 2007 she was named one of the twenty-five authors of the future by Waterstone's. She is currently writer in residence for The University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art.

'Louise Welsh's taut new novel at times feels like a potent cross between The Yellow Wallpaper and Rear Window ... Welsh expertly conveys the escalation of Jane's suspicions to something approaching obsession' -- Observer 'An impressive psychological chiller' -- Sunday Telegraph 'Sharply rendered ... The reader's anxiety is heightened by a myriad of small tensions ... Welsh keeps the reader turning to pursue the multiple stories threading through the pages ... The writing of crime fiction is, after all, a sort of conjuring trick played on the reader, a welcome deception. Welsh has developed flashing fingers with cards, rabbits and hats' -- Independent 'Builds up atmosphere admirably' -- Sunday Times 'Brilliantly atmospheric, the tension builds until you are chilled to the core' -- Good Housekeeping 'A taut narrative that plays with our sense of what's real. Brilliant' -- Red 'A stylish and violent Berlin-set thriller' -- The Guardian 20120831 'The Girl on the Stairs feels like a ghost story. Taking place in a haunted city, the book's knowing evocation of Don't Look Now, Du Maurier's Venice-set story, is sharpened by the fact that this mother is not grieving the loss of a child but anticipating a birth. Yet what Welsh knows, and brings to a bloody conclusion, is that no supernatural manifestation of our darkest hours is any match for what real human beings can do to each other' -- The Guardian 20120831 'Welsh skilfully exposes Jane's growing obsession in a tale that becomes more compelling with every shocking twist' -- Psychologies 20120831 'A highly effective mystery, told by the kind of unreliable narrator able to rival the very best at keeping you guessing' -- The Scotsman 20120831 'We've come to expect two things from Welsh: a brilliant sense of location and knuckle-whitening suspense ... Superbly entertaining' -- Saga 20120831 'Wonderfully atmospheric' -- The List 20120831 'A masterclass in sustained tension and hold-your-breath suspense' -- The Bookseller 20120831 'The uncertainties and ambiguities kept me guessing to the end ... The Girl on the Stairs is a dark, psychological thriller, full of atmosphere and claustrophobic tension. I really enjoyed it' -- booksplease.org 20120831 'A clever Rear Window type thriller ... You won't be able to put this book down until the very end when there is a surprising twist. I was left with an uncomfortable feeling at the end and am still thinking about this book days after I finished it' -- novelfriends.com 20120831 'A dark haunting novel. The story builds and as the tension incrases I enjoyed it more and more, and felt it got better and better until I was gripped ... It's a fairly short novel, written in spare prose with evocative descriptive passages and effective dialogue that always adds to the plot progression' -- thelittlereaderlibrary.blogspot.co.uk 20120831 'This was everything I could have ever hoped for in a thriller/fiction-type book' -- edelwaugh.blogspot.co.uk 20120831 'Crime fiction may have its prize-winner at last' -- Independent on THE CUTTING ROOM 20120831 'Fewer contemporary novelists write as well as Welsh, and fewer British writers stand equal to her narrative ease' -- Irish Times on NAMING THE BONES 20120831 'Welsh heaps on the tension, chapter by chapter, in this enthralling read' -- Vogue on Naming the Bones 20120831 'Gripping story, shrewd characterisation, humour, eroticism, the macabre ... a spattering of gore' -- Scottish Review of Books on Naming the Bones 20120831 'Plenty of thrilling tricks and turns' -- The Observer on The Bullet Trick 20120831 'The action never flags for a minute' -- Sunday Telegraph on The Bullet Trick 20120831 'Keeps its secrets and tricks and, above all, its reader, hectically on the run' -- Irish Times on The Bullet Trick 20120831 'A fast-paced and sparkling story' -- The Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die 20120831 'Utterly engrossing. I read it in a sitting, unable to put it down' -- The Sunday Telegraph on Tamburlaine Must Die 20120831 'A rocket-propelled novella' -- The List on Tamburlaine Must Die 20120831 'A page-turner to the very end' -- The Sunday Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die 20120831 'The sort of narrative you can smell on your hands after turning the pages' -- Literary Review on Tamburlaine Must Die 20120831 'Intriguing, assured and unputdownable' -- The Sunday Times on The Cutting Room 20120831 'It twists to the sort of climax Rilke would recognise; brief but fulfilling' -- The Times on The Cutting Room 20120831 'I was hooked from page one' -- The Guardian on The Cutting Room 20120831

'Crime fiction may have its prize-winner at last' -- Independent on THE CUTTING ROOM 'Fewer contemporary novelists write as well as Welsh, and fewer British writers stand equal to her narrative ease' -- Irish Times on NAMING THE BONES 'Crime fiction may have its prize-winner at last' -- Independent on THE CUTTING ROOM 'Fewer contemporary novelists write as well as Welsh, and fewer British writers stand equal to her narrative ease' -- Irish Times on NAMING THE BONES 'Welsh heaps on the tension, chapter by chapter, in this enthralling read' -- Vogue on Naming the Bones 'Gripping story, shrewd characterisation, humour, eroticism, the macabre ... a spattering of gore' -- Scottish Review of Books on Naming the Bones 'Plenty of thrilling tricks and turns' -- The Observer on The Bullet Trick 'The action never flags for a minute' -- Sunday Telegraph on The Bullet Trick 'Keeps its secrets and tricks and, above all, its reader, hectically on the run' -- Irish Times on The Bullet Trick 'A fast-paced and sparkling story' -- The Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die 'Utterly engrossing. I read it in a sitting, unable to put it down' -- The Sunday Telegraph on Tamburlaine Must Die 'A rocket-propelled novella' -- The List on Tamburlaine Must Die 'A page-turner to the very end' -- The Sunday Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die 'The sort of narrative you can smell on your hands after turning the pages' -- Literary Review on Tamburlaine Must Die 'Intriguing, assured and unputdownable' -- The Sunday Times on The Cutting Room 'It twists to the sort of climax Rilke would recognise; brief but fulfilling' -- The Times on The Cutting Room 'I was hooked from page one' -- The Guardian on The Cutting Room

'Louise Welsh's taut new novel at times feels like a potent cross between The Yellow Wallpaper and Rear Window...Welsh expertly conveys the escalation of Jane's suspicions to something approaching obsession' -- Observer 'Builds up atmosphere admirably' -- Sunday Times 'Brilliantly atmospheric, the tension builds until you are chilled to the core' -- Good Housekeeping 'A taut narrative that plays with our sense of what's real. Brilliant' -- Red 'Welsh skilfully exposes Jane's growing obsession in a tale that becomes more compelling with every shocking twist' -- Psychologies 'A highly effective mystery, told by the kind of unreliable narrator able to rival the very best at keeping you guessing' -- The Scotsman 'Wonderfully atmospheric' -- The List 'A masterclass in sustained tension and hold-your-breath suspense' -- The Bookseller 'Crime fiction may have its prize-winner at last' -- Independent on THE CUTTING ROOM 'Fewer contemporary novelists write as well as Welsh, and fewer British writers stand equal to her narrative ease' -- Irish Times on NAMING THE BONES 'Welsh heaps on the tension, chapter by chapter, in this enthralling read' -- Vogue on Naming the Bones 'Gripping story, shrewd characterisation, humour, eroticism, the macabre ... a spattering of gore' -- Scottish Review of Books on Naming the Bones 'Plenty of thrilling tricks and turns' -- The Observer on The Bullet Trick 'The action never flags for a minute' -- Sunday Telegraph on The Bullet Trick 'Keeps its secrets and tricks and, above all, its reader, hectically on the run' -- Irish Times on The Bullet Trick 'A fast-paced and sparkling story' -- The Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die 'Utterly engrossing. I read it in a sitting, unable to put it down' -- The Sunday Telegraph on Tamburlaine Must Die 'A rocket-propelled novella' -- The List on Tamburlaine Must Die 'A page-turner to the very end' -- The Sunday Herald on Tamburlaine Must Die 'The sort of narrative you can smell on your hands after turning the pages' -- Literary Review on Tamburlaine Must Die 'Intriguing, assured and unputdownable' -- The Sunday Times on The Cutting Room 'It twists to the sort of climax Rilke would recognise; brief but fulfilling' -- The Times on The Cutting Room 'I was hooked from page one' -- The Guardian on The Cutting Room