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Deep Water

The compulsive classic thriller from the author of THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY
3.65 goodreads logo

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( 10,370 ratings, 1,256 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith, the story unfolds in a seemingly idyllic small town where Vic and Melinda Van Allen maintain a faΓ§ade of a perfect marriage. Beneath the surface, tensions simmer as Melinda flaunts her affairs, while Vic subtly plots to reclaim control of his life. This psychological thriller explores themes of jealousy, deception, and the dark intricacies of human relationships.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with complex characters and a tension-filled atmosphere, you might be drawn to this story. Patricia Highsmith's talent for exploring the dark corners of the human psyche brings to life a tale of intrigue, jealousy, and twisted relationships in a seemingly ordinary suburban setting.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

To everyone around them, Melinda and Vic Van Allen are the perfect couple - young, wealthy and attractive. But when their love sours, their mind games reach a twisted, dangerous climax. Published as part of a beautifully designed series to mark the 40th anniversary of the Virago Modern Classics.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

If I really don't like somebody, I kill him . . . You remember Malcolm McRae, don't you?

Melinda Van Allen is beautiful, headstrong and sexy. Unfortunately for Vic Van Allen, she is his wife. Their love has soured, and Melinda takes pleasure in flaunting her many affairs to her husband. When one of her lovers is murdered, Vic hints to her latest conquest that he was responsible. As rumours spread about Vic's vicious streak, fiction and reality start to converge. It's only a matter of time before Vic really does have blood on his hands.

Books included in the VMC 40th anniversary series include:

Frost in May by Antonia White; The Collected Stories of Grace Paley; Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault; The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter; The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann; Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith; The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; Heartburn by Nora Ephron; The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy; Memento Mori by Muriel Spark; A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor; and Faces in the Water by Janet Frame.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Patricia Highsmith's Deep Water is praised for its skilful portrayal of a psychopath, meticulously developing the character from subtle beginnings to a chilling climax, making it a compelling read for crime enthusiasts and general readers alike. The book's atmosphere is described as permeated by a profound sense of dread and foreboding, providing a unique reading experience. It is also suggested that Highsmith is a significant figure in 20th-century American literature, comparable to Dostoevsky in the Russian literary tradition, and her writing has been influential and revelatory.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780349010328

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 May 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Virago Press Ltd

Contributors:

  • Foreword by Gillian Flynn
  • Afterword by Gillian Flynn

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 199.0mm

Weight: 248g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and moved to New York when she was six. In her senior year, she edited the college magazine, having decided at the age of sixteen to become a writer. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train (1950), was made into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. The Talented Mr Ripley (1955), introduced the fascinating anti-hero Tom Ripley, and was made into an Oscar-winning film in 1999 by Anthony Minghella. Highsmith died in Locarno, Switzerland, in February 1995. Her last novel, Small g: A Summer Idyll, was published posthumously, the same year.

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