She turns onto Route 66, breathing through the pain. The desert sprawls around her, unseen. She plunges into it, floors the pedal and drives west. Because that’s what you do in this country. You gather yourself together and head west, hoping against hope that you’ll find something better.

This Wild, Wild Country, chapter 4

Three women. A small, isolated town. A decades old mystery.

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Vesper is immensely readable on the three women’s different lives, and the constraints put upon them by society.

Sunday Times

1933. Cornelia Stover is not the kind of woman the menfolk of Boldville, New Mexico, expect her to be. A widow, she ought to be taking care of her house and her daughter. Instead, she’s meddling with things that should not concern her.

1970. Joanna Riley, a former cop, packs up her car in the middle of the night and drives west, fleeing an abusive marriage and a life she can no longer bear. Eventually, her car runs out of gas and she finds herself in Boldville, a sleepy desert town in the foothills of the Gila Mountains.

Meanwhile a young hippie, Glitter, is struggling to realise her plan for a commune. She thought a life of free love, away from the perils of consumerism, would bring her happiness. But things haven’t quite turned out the way she had expected.

Soon, Joanna and Glitter encounter a shocking modern-day crime and find themselves caught up in a decades-old mystery – the unexplained disappearance of Glitter’s grandmother Cornelia . . .

A thrilling, haunting and darkly beautiful story. This Wild, Wild Country enchants as mysteries deepen and secrets echo over the harsh realities of the American Dream.

Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End

Just as compelling and beautifully written as The Long, Long Afternoon. I simply could not put it down!

Alex Gray

A captivating novel.

Woman’s Weekly

A captivating, atmospheric new novel from the lauded author of The Long, Long Afternoon, This Wild Wild Country simmers with secrets, lies and terrible betrayal, unravelling the lives of three women at the mercy of their times.