A Flaw in the Design: 'A psychological thriller par excellence' Guardian (Hardback) - Nathan Oates

An ingenious thriller about a father having to adopt his nephew, despite having reason to believe he is a psychopath

'Great characterisation and plenty of genuine suspense in a psychological thriller par excellence' Guardian 'Absorbing and original ... The writing is pitch perfect. A very smart tale packed with jeopardy' Daily Mail 'Terrifying and amusing ... keeps you guessing till the very end' The Times A nephew. An uncle. A psychopath - but which of them is it? Gil knows his nephew Matthew is dangerous. The signs were there early - on a family holiday Gil's daughter was discovered nearly drowning at the bottom of a swimming pool, while Matthew looked on from the deck. Now seventeen, Matthew is orphaned when his parents die in a car crash. He must leave his life on the Upper East Side of Manhattan behind, to live with Gil, his wife and daughters in rural Vermont. He is insolent, bored, disconnected. At least that's Gil's take. To the women in the family he is charming, intelligent, wry. But when he disdainfully joins Gil's writing classes at the local university, Matthew's fiction shows a vivid and macabre imagination spilling onto the page. Matthew is clearly announcing his intentions to Gil, taunting him before he does something awful to his family. But why is Gil the only one who can see this? As Gil begins to follow Matthew around, his own behaviour becomes increasingly unstable. Is he losing his mind? Could it be that he is really the one his family need to fear?

About the Author

Nathan Oates's debut collection of short stories, The Empty House, won the 2012 Spokane Prize. He is an associate professor at Seton Hall University, where he teaches creative writing. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family. A Flaw in the Design is his debut novel.