Furious Violet: A Novel

“Pure, unadulterated adrenaline . . . sardonic and self aware . . . outrageously entertaining”—The New York Times

“An impeccably plotted, Hitchcock-by-way-of-Plath novel that barrels toward its thrilling conclusion with equal parts suspense and intellect." —Teddy Wayne, author of The Au Pair and The Winner

From the author of the bestselling phenomenon Dietland comes a razor-sharp, subversive thriller about motherhood, obsession, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

Violet “West” Shelley has unwillingly spent her life in the spotlight, as the only daughter of a legendary poet and feminist icon who died tragically young. Now, as the self-described “lowbrow” crime journalist approaches fifty—burned out, creatively blocked, and far older than her mother ever was—she retreats to her hometown in the Colorado mountains to finish a long-overdue book about the “Crying Killer,” a notorious serial killer who sobs for his mother after committing his crimes.

But what begins as a bid for solitude quickly spirals into something far more sinister. A mysterious stalker emerges insisting that West is their long-lost mother, though West has never had children. As threats escalate and her carefully defended privacy starts to shatter, West is drawn into a chilling psychological web where the boundaries between fiction and reality collapse. Is she being watched? Hunted? Or is her own mind turning against her?

Once again, Sarai Walker has delivered a subversively brilliant heroine unlike any other: damaged, defiant, and utterly unforgettable.