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AuthorsLive is excited to welcome local mystery writer Carol Goodman virtually to Greenwich Library for a special book club edition of Date With an Author, to discuss her newest book, The Stranger Behind You. She will be joining the Cos Cob Cloak and Dagger book club as their special guest for their November meeting to talk about the book.

In The Stranger Behind You, journalist Joan Lurie has written a seething article exposing a notorious newspaper tycoon, Caspar Osgood, as a sexual predator. But the night it goes live, she is brutally attacked outside of her apartment. Traumatized and suffering the effects of a concussion, Joan moves into a highly secure apartment in Manhattan called the Refuge, which was at one time a Magdalen Laundry.

With the 24-hour doorman and secure locks, Joan should be safe here, so how can she explain the cryptic incidents that are happening?

Lillian Day is Joan’s new 96-year-old neighbor at the Refuge. In 1941, Lillian witnessed a mysterious murder that sent her into hiding at the Magdalen Laundry, and she hasn’t come out since. As she relates to Joan her harrowing story, Joan sees striking similarities to her own past.

Melissa Osgood, newly widowed and revengeful, has burning questions about her husband’s recent death. When she discovers a suspicious paper trail that he left behind, she realizes how little she knew about her marriage. As she uncovers alarming secrets from his past, she realizes Joan Lurie might be the one who can give her the answers.

As these three women’s lives intersect, each must stay one step ahead of those who are desperate to make sure the truth is never uncovered. Combining an alluring Manhattan setting with a 1940s mobster storyline, The Stranger Behind You is an addicting page-turner you won’t be able to put down.

“The plot takes many terrifying twists and turns en route to the surprising climax. Those with a taste for the gothic will be richly rewarded.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review. CLICK HERE to read the full Publisher's Weekly review.

“The Stranger Behind You is a captivating exploration of sexual harassment, friendship, ambition, and how women join together to overcome trauma. It is as classic as it is timely, as heartbreaking as it is suspenseful. Stunning. I couldn’t put it down.” — Danielle Trussoni, New York Times bestselling author of Angelology and The Ancestor

"Carol Goodman’s The Stranger Behind You is at once a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, a powerful meditation on the deep bonds and power of female friendship, and a colorful glimpse of New York City old and new. In a twisting, mesmerizing story that is as beautifully written as it is utterly propulsive, Goodman weaves a dream that blends the past and the present, takes us deep into the hearts and souls of her characters, and keeps us breathlessly turning the pages right to the shocking and poignant end. I absolutely loved this layered and moving novel!” — Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Confessions on the 7:45

Carol Goodman is the author of twenty-two novels, including The Lake of Dead Languages and The Seduction of Water, which won the 2003 Hammett Prize, and The Widow’s House and The Night Visitor, which won the 2018 and 2020 Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her books have been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her family and teaches literature and writing at The New School and SUNY New Paltz.

Date with an Author and AuthorsLive is made possible through the support of the Greenwich Library Board of Trustees and contributions by generous donors. For more information, please visit greenwichlibrary.org/authorslive.

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