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The Woman at 72 Derry Lane: A gripping, emotional page turner that will make you laugh and cry
Carmel Harrington
‘A wonderfully, life-affirming book…Carmel Harrington writes with such honesty’ New York Times bestselling author, Hazel GaynorOn a leafy suburban street in Dublin, beautiful, poised Stella Greene lives with her successful husband, Matt. The perfect couple in every way, Stella appears to have it all. Next door, at number 72 however, lives Rea Brady. Gruff, bad-tempered and rarely seen besides the twitching of her net curtains, rumour has it she’s lost it all…including her marbles if you believe the neighbourhood gossip.But appearances can be deceiving and when Stella and Rea’s worlds collide they realise they have much in common. Both are trapped in a prison of their own making.Has help been next door without them realising it?With the warmth and wit of Maeve Binchy and the secrets and twists of Liane Moriarty, this is the utterly original and compelling new novel from Irish Times bestseller Carmel Harrington.
Copyright (#uc770e937-4011-5179-86a5-9439d6747936)
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017
Copyright © Carmel Harrington 2017
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017
Cover images © Ebru Sidar/Arcangel Images (misty lane), Petr Malyshev/Shutterstock.com (figure)
Carmel Harrington asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008217907
Ebook Edition © June 2017 ISBN: 9780008150143
Version 2018-06-25
Dedication (#uc770e937-4011-5179-86a5-9439d6747936)
For my godparents, Ann and Nigel Payne.
As a child you held my hand and now,
as an adult, you hold my heart.
Table of Contents
Cover (#ucb3bb30c-c6f3-53c6-90d2-0f32daef1761)
Title Page (#ude95f5e7-577c-545b-9eff-c6d6e085ab0a)
Copyright (#u59994182-1d04-5a61-8c2a-1b5e3bbc099c)
Dedication (#ufcdee283-c26b-5451-a1e9-aeeae272e101)
Chapter 1 (#u314e2688-5962-50ba-be0b-2dc5f8951651)
Chapter 2 (#u52d244d4-57df-50b4-9997-ed6e1c2cdf00)
Chapter 3 (#uc55ac2bb-6ed3-56bf-8aba-f57b83f7ab64)
Chapter 4 (#u7503c74a-fbb8-516b-8c30-3c747e4084d1)
Chapter 5 (#u91b51673-52f4-50e9-b9b6-3eaf17b6d4b7)
Chapter 6 (#u0ad834e7-5cf5-5f03-8d1a-c9f7ab6d7302)
Chapter 7 (#u276bfa77-8723-5349-a3ee-380697309e64)
Chapter 8 (#u786dd0d4-bab3-5731-901b-187d2dcb078c)
Chapter 9 (#u83f76ae6-82f9-5d19-a398-6e27925c7214)
Chapter 10 (#u2a9a4208-ed73-558d-b691-8a2913b0c5be)
Chapter 11 (#u6cdbcec0-4197-58de-a8e6-ac3a9b27f4a2)
Chapter 12 (#u0a048e2c-f9db-56e6-85ba-e3e5781fc47d)
Chapter 13 (#ua4432e47-10ad-546f-8b0f-e5610ccfe67f)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 29 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 30 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 31 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 32 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 33 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 34 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 35 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 36 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 37 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 38 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 39 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 40 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 41 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 42 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 43 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 44 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 45 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 46 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 47 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 48 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 49 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 50 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 51 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 52 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 53 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 54 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)
Book Club Questions (#litres_trial_promo)
Keep Reading … (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)
Also by Carmel Harrington (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#uc770e937-4011-5179-86a5-9439d6747936)
STELLA
Derry Lane, Dublin, 2014
Stella held her breath as he circled her. He moved slowly, methodically, inspecting every inch of her body. His breath nipped the back of her neck with menace. He combed through her hair with long, cool fingers. She willed herself not to move, not to shudder, not to react.
‘Very nice,’ Matt whispered and, despite herself, she exhaled in relief. The air crackled and shifted with his elation at her reaction. She knew he was getting off on her fear. She would have to work harder not to give him that satisfaction.
Her reprieve was short-lived. No sooner had the word ‘nice’ been uttered, than a long, dissatisfied sigh was exhaled through his perfect white teeth. His face scrunched up in a frown and the vein on his forehead throbbed in protest. Matt stood back and shook his head slowly, disappointment tainting the air around them.
Damn it. What had she missed? In a frenzy Stella went through a quick mental checklist. Hair blow-dried pokerstraight by her hairdresser and friend, Charlie, earlier, exactly as Matt liked it. Her make-up was applied carefully, with neutral shades that accentuated her eyes and complemented her nude lips. Stella thought back to the night a few years ago when she’d paid sorely for experimenting with a new look. Matt had walked into the bedroom, watching her as she stained her lips red. She felt glamorous and sexy. Until he stood behind her, groping her left breast and squeezing it so tight that his fingernails marked her skin.
‘You’re hurting me.’ She protested, trying to wriggle free from his grip.
‘Oh, you don’t like this?’ he asked, placing another hand on her behind and smacking it hard.
‘No!’ She exclaimed. She was stunned, completely immobilised by his tone and actions.
He pulled away from her and said, ‘Well, you surprise me. Because this …’ He pointed to her face, ‘this trashy make-up will result in a similar response from every man you meet. You look like you belong in a whorehouse.’
Was he joking? No. His face was anything but jovial. She felt annoyance bubble up inside her. How dare he say such nasty things to her?
