A nephew. An uncle. A psychopath - but which of them is it? 'Great characterisation and plenty of genuine suspense in a psychological thriller par excellence' Guardian Gil knows his nephew Matthew is dangerous. The signs were there early - on a family holiday Gil's daughter was discovered nearly drowning at the bottom of a swimming pool, while Matthew looked on from the deck. Now seventeen, Matthew is orphaned when his parents die in a car crash. He must leave his Upper East Side Manhattan life behind, to live with Gil, his wife and daughters in rural Vermont. He is insolent, bored, disconnected. At least that's Gil's take. To the women in the family he is charming, intelligent, wry. But when he disdainfully joins Gil's writing classes at the local university, Matthew's fiction shows a vivid and macabre imagination spilling onto the page. Matthew is clearly announcing his intentions to Gil, taunting him before he does something awful to his family. But why is Gil the only one who can see this? As Gil begins to follow Matthew around, his own behaviour becomes increasingly unstable. Is he losing his mind? Which of the two of them is likely to kill someone?
Review
Not only a deep dive into the things that can rock the cradle of a family, but also an absolute page-turner. I read it in a single sitting. - Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace
This is SO up my street. Gil is estranged from his wealthy sister, as her son once tried to drown Gil's daughter when they were kids. But when his sister dies, Gil adopts the would-be-murderer. LOVE IT - Joanna Cannon, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
Phenomenal. A highly enjoyable Russian doll of a story. Impossible to put down. A remarkable debut - Lisa Ballantyne, bestselling author of The Guilty One
A Flaw in the Design is a literary thriller of the highest order - a book that made my heart beat fast and my brain light up -- Julia May Jonas, author of Vladimir
A mesmerising literary thriller, full of atmosphere, perfectly observed characterisation and a plot that relentlessly corkscrews to a brilliant dénouement. I found myself completely immersed from start to finish, fully hooked on Nathan Oates' stunning fiction -- Philippa East, author of Little White Lies
Brutal and compelling, A Flaw in the Design ... swerves and shocks before smashing into you, a T-bone collision you can hold in your hands. -- Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth
Brilliantly constructed and psychologically astute -- Antoine Wilson, author of Mouth to Mouth
Astonishingly good. A brilliant premise, a pulse-pounding plot, gorgeous language - this book has it all - Sarah Pekkanen, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Tonight
Menace and mendacity vie with the mundane in this skillfully told tale about ambition and grief and envy...The Flaw In the Design is an impressive debut. Cue the sequel - Alice McDermott, winner of the National Book Award for Charming Billy
What happens when a (possibly murderous) sociopath takes a writing workshop? This is the premise of Nathan Oates's delicious, inexorable, fast-paced tale of obsession--a thriller that will keep you reading till the end." - Karan Mahajan, author of The Association of Small Bombs
Great characterisation and plenty of genuine suspense in a psychological thriller par excellence - Guardian
About the Author
Nathan Oates's debut collection of short stories, The Empty House, won the 2012 Spokane Prize. He is an associate professor at Seton Hall University, where he teaches creative writing. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family. A Flaw in the Design is his debut novel.