An Accident in August
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“The August 31, 1997, car crash that claimed the life of Princess Diana propels Cossé’s gripping psychological thriller.” —Publishers Weekly
Fourteen years after the accident that cost the lives of Lady Diana, Dodi al Fayed, and Henri Paul, one person involved in the tragedy remains unidentified: the driver of a white Fiat Uno that was in the Alma tunnel at the time of the accident. In Cossé’s spellbinding novel, the driver of this car, a young French woman on her way home from work that fatal night, sees her life thrown into turmoil when, scared and alone, she flees the scene. While there are no immediate repercussions resulting from her flight, as news of the event spreads and TV stations, papers and radio talk of nothing else for weeks, she is assailed by a growing sense of guilt. Terrified of being found out, questioned, arrested, and thrown headfirst into a media whirlwind, she finds herself paralyzed by fear, paranoia, and a growing sense of remorse. When finally it seems she has evaded both the police and the media spotlights, a mysterious man appears who will force her into a decision that will dramatically change her life.
Wonderfully paced, suspenseful and dramatic, An Accident in August is the story of an ordinary person radically altered by her chance involvement in an extraordinary event.
“The psychological issues [Cossé] raises are telling and true.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Cossé springs a nice ironic twist as a final flourish. Readers who enjoy the woman-in-peril genre may find themselves biting a few nails in delicious anguish.” —MostlyFiction Book Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The August 31, 1997, car crash that claimed the life of Princess Diana propels Coss 's gripping psychological thriller. Louise Origan, one of three female managers of a Corsican restaurant, is driving home through a Paris traffic tunnel one night when a speeding black Mercedes scrapes her Fiat before crashing into a pillar. The startled Louise keeps driving, though she feels remorseful for failing to stop and help or even to report the accident. The morning after, Louise hears the news on the radio that the princess of Wales, her companion, and her chauffeur died in the incident, and that the driver's attempts to pass Louise's slow-moving vehicle apparently led to the tragedy. The guilt-ridden Louise's efforts to conceal her identity have fatal consequences. Coss (A Novel Bookstore) does a fine job of presenting the inner torment of a woman whose momentary lapse of judgment threatens to consume her life.