The Divorcees

'I LOVED it. Tightly-plotted elegance, 50s glamour and suspense. Put it on your lists' Jessie Burton

A dark and dazzling debut from a beguiling new voice - for fans of Beautiful Ruins and Lessons in Chemistry.

Lois Saunders thought that marrying the right man would finally cure her loneliness. But as picture-perfect as her husband is, she is suffocating in their loveless marriage. In 1951, though, unhappiness is hardly grounds for divorce - except in Reno, Nevada.

At the Golden Yarrow, the most respectable of Reno's 'divorce ranches' Lois finds herself living with half a dozen other would-be divorcees, all in Reno for the six weeks' residency that is the state's only divorce requirement. They spend their days riding horses and their nights flirting with cowboys, and it's as wild and fun as Lake Forest, Illinois, was prim and stifling. But it isn't until Greer Lange arrives that Lois's world truly cracks open .

. . Gorgeous, beguiling, and completely indifferent to societal convention, Greer is unlike anyone Lois has ever met - and she sees something in Lois that no one else ever has.

Under her influence, Lois begins to push against the limits that have always restrained her. But how much can she really trust her mysterious new friend? And how far will she go to forge her independence, on her own terms?

Set in the glamourous, dizzying world of 1950s Reno, THE DIVORCEES is a dark, riveting page-turner and a dazzling exploration of female friendship, desire, and freedom.

'An excellent, deeply compelling read' Lauren Groff, bestselling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies

'A delicious literary page-turner from a fierce new voice' Rebecca Makkai, bestselling author of I Have Some Questions for You and The Great Believers