The Undoing of Violet Claybourne - by Emily Critchley (Paperback)

About the Book

Includes an author Q&A and discussion questions.

Book Synopsis

"Artful, gothic-tinged...an immersive, chilling treat for suspense fans." --Publishers Weekly

For fans of Sarah Penner and The Foundling comes a slow-burn gothic mystery following Gillian, a young girl enthralled by the enigmatic Claybourne sisters, their house at Thornleigh Hall, and the tragedy that binds them together for good.

To become a Claybourne girl, she'll have to betray one first.

1938. Gillian Larking, lonely and away at boarding school, is used to going unnoticed. But then she meets Violet Claybourne, her vibrant roommate who takes Gilly under her wing. Violet is unlike anyone Gilly has ever met, and she regales Gilly with tales of her grand family estate and her two elegant sisters. Gilly is soon entranced by stories of the Claybournes, so when Violet invites Gilly to meet her family at Thornleigh Hall, she can't believe her luck.

But Gilly soon finds that behind the grand façade of Thornleigh Hall, darkness lurks.

Dazzled by the crumbling manor and Violet's enigmatic sisters, Gilly settles into the estate. But when a horrible accident strikes on the grounds, she is ensnared in a web of the sisters' making, forced to make a choice that will change the course of her life forever. Because the Claybournes girls know how to keep secrets, even at the cost of one of their own.

With ensnaring prose and layers of friendship, privilege, mental health, and more, The Undoing of Violet Claybourne is a poignant book club read with characters you won't soon forget.

Review Quotes

"A gripping read. The prologue sets the tone nicely, and the reader feels the suspense climb. The Claybourne family harbors many secrets, all of which produce a neatly constructed conclusion when the story moves back to the modern day. With echoes of the novel Atonement, Critchley does an excellent job of portraying an upper-class English family's decaying grandeur. This is a solid page-turner. I flew through the pages." -- Historical Novel Society

"A powerful, thought-provoking, heart-wrenching message about belonging, choices, lies, guilt, and family secrets. A riveting must-read." -- Booklist, STARRED review

"An expertly written, engaging narrative, a journey into that place and time in the 20th century and the psychology of social pressure that is well worth taking, a tale that will resonate long after the final page has been turned." -- The New York Journal of Books

"Enthralling...a sweeping gothic saga...combines elements of literary fiction, gothic thriller, and historical fiction with unexpected chilling thrills and betrayals along the way. It's an imaginative, singular story." -- Library Journal, STARRED review

"An artful, gothic-tinged mystery...an intoxicating air of melancholy and foreboding throughout...It's an immersive, chilling treat for suspense fans." -- Publishers Weekly

"A fabulously unsettling tale, The Undoing of Violet Claybourne is a Gothic saga sweeping across themes of class, privilege, intergenerational trauma, and the post-war friction of high society facing a different world. Satisfying, harrowing, ending with a delicious sting in the tale, this is the perfect companion as the nights draw in." -- Kate Collins, author of A Good House for Children

"Emily Critchley has written a gripping gothic mystery that evokes the elegance of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." -- Sulari Gentill, USA Today bestselling author of The Woman in the Library

"Emily Critchley is a master of the unexpected. The gasp out loud moments, the twists and turns in The Undoing of Violet Claybourne captivated me to the very end." -- Jill Johnson, author of The Woman in the Garden

"A moving tale of class, duplicity and the irreversible consequences of betraying a friendship. I devoured this wonderful book." -- Jo Leevers, author of Tell Me How This Ends

"In a story reminiscent of Atonement, Emily Critchley's The Undoing of Violet Claybourne is as moving as it is gripping. It's a tale of agency, regret, and heart-deep betrayal. It absolutely wrecked me. I loved it!" -- Chelsea Iversen, author of The Witches at the End of the World

"This sprawling atmospheric mystery follows Gillian Larking and the enigmatic Claybourne sisters at their prestigious estate where on the surface everything is prim and proper but underneath simmers long-standing secrets and the darkest of undertones--part gothic mystery, part psychological suspense, The Undoing of Violet Claybourne will settle deep into your bones and stay there long after the last page." -- Ashley Tate, bestselling author of Twenty-Seven Minutes

"The Undoing of Violet Claybourne is gothic fiction at its darkest and finest. 'Beware!' The reader wants to shout the warning to the girl of modest means who becomes enthralled with the wealthy and privileged sisters that will turn her world upside down, who take until there's nothing left, and who inhabit a world where both injustice and justice are brutal and swift. Fans of Shirley Jackson will find this novel mesmerizing." -- Erika Robuck, National bestselling author of The Last Twelve Miles and The Invisible Woman

"From the moment I picked up The Undoing of Violet Claybourne and sank into its deliciously horrible atmosphere of decadent dread, I couldn't put it down. Dark, chilling and tightly plotted, this is the perfect read for a winter's night." -- Sarah Clegg, author of Woman's Lore

"With shades of Sarah Waters and The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, this is a riveting story about sisters, secrets and the lengths people will go to fit in with others. I raced through it because I struggled to put it down!" -- Caroline Bishop, author of The Lost Chapter and The Other Daughter