{"product_id":"the-girls-by-john-bowen-9781529970982","title":"The Girls","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMacabre comedy, crime thriller, cosy romance: \u003cem\u003eThe Girls\u003c\/em\u003e is a weird and wonderful tale of two women murderously desperate to stay together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn summer, and particularly when the wind blows south-west across the lawn, the sceptic tank gives out a strong stench... \"Oh, it is a body,\" the girls say. \"We have a body in there. No one you know. It decomposes, of course, but so slowly one quite despairs.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn their lovely, quiet Cotswolds village, Janet and Susan are known to the villagers simply as 'the girls'. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop, they lead an enviable, enviably settled life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut when a moment of small, surprising passion intrudes into the equilibrium of their world, the girls' lives take a deeply unsettling turn. First comes motherhood. Then comes murder.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePart-macabre comedy, part-crime thriller, part-cosy romance, John Bowen's \u003cem\u003eThe Girls\u003c\/em\u003e is a novel like none other. Told with warmth, affection and fun, yet laced with darkness and unease, 'the girls' will ensure you never look on Middle England quite so quaintly again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Absolutely wicked'\u003c\/em\u003e - Armistead Maupin\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Startlingly offbeat'\u003c\/em\u003e - Gore Vidal\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor people who like \u003cem\u003eMyra Breckinridge\u003c\/em\u003e as well as Miss Marple; fans of Beryl Bainbridge, Russell Greenan and Patricia Highsmith; those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others... \u003cem\u003eThe Girls\u003c\/em\u003e charms us as only certain tales 'of village life' can. - \u003cem\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47976777089260,"sku":"9781529970982","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529970982-the-girls.jpg?v=1784699245","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-girls-by-john-bowen-9781529970982","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}