Meeting her future in-laws draws a young woman into a dark labyrinth in a novel of mounting psychological suspense by the author of My Favorite Terrible Thing.
Devon Ferrell and Richard Belmont are engaged, in love, and from two different worlds. Devon is as eager to please Richard’s elite parents as she is to leave the traumas of her childhood behind. After all, the Belmonts are her family now.
But being brought into the fold is unbalancing her. There are the piercing stares from Richard’s brother, the confounding whispers about Devon’s moods and health. It’s as if the Belmonts are looking for reasons to reject her, to fill her with self-doubt and put her on edge. It’s working. And no one seems to be on Devon’s side. Not even Richard.
Are the Belmonts right to be concerned about Devon? Or are they waging a psychological battle against her? The truth is getting darker. Because the mind games have just begun.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Name Not Taken is a mind-bending tale of obsession that brings new meaning to the phrase ‘mother-in-law from hell.’ If you’re looking for a compelling new voice in crime fiction, look no further than Madeleine Henry. I absolutely devoured this book.” —Alison Gaylin, internationally bestselling author of The Collective
“I could not stop reading Madeleine Henry’s riveting psychological thriller, a complex and captivating story of couples, class, and the war between two powerful women for control of their family and themselves.” —Pamela Redmond, author of Younger, now a TV series by Darren Star
“Madeleine Henry makes a fine art out of gaslighting in Name Not Taken, a novel that exposes meeting the in-laws as its own form of hell. A struggling artist is pitted against her fiancé’s family in this gripping, unnerving thriller that explores the blurred lines between art and life, madness and genius, and love and control. Readers won’t be able to stop flipping pages—or keep a steady grip on reality—as they follow the narrator down an art-filled rabbit hole. This is a devilish and dizzying accomplishment that rivets from beginning to end.” —Ashley Winstead, author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour
From the Publisher
In this stylish and twisty story, genius painter Devon Ferrell is newly engaged. But as she gets to know her fiancé’s family, she realizes that her mother-in-law is out to get her, and she doesn’t know why. I found myself tearing through the pages of this dark and suspenseful novel as I tried to guess what was really happening, all the way through this novel’s smart—and unexpected—ending.
—Carmen Johnson, Editor
About the Author
Madeleine Henry is the author of four novels, including My Favorite Terrible Thing. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New York Post, and Entertainment Weekly. Previously she worked at Goldman Sachs after graduating from Yale. She lives with her husband in New York, where she is at work on her next book. For more information, visit www.itsmadeleinehenry.com.
