Paper Ghosts

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What to expect

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin, read by Antonia Campbell-Hughes.

Carl Louis Feldman is an old man who was once a celebrated photographer.

That was before he was tried for the murder of a young woman and acquitted.

Before his admission to a care home for dementia.

Now his daughter has come to see him, to take him on a trip.

Only she's not his daughter and, if she has her way, he's not coming back . . .

Because Carl's past has finally caught up with him. The young woman driving the car is convinced her passenger is guilty, and that he's killed other young women. Including her sister Rachel.

Now they're following the trail of his photographs, his clues, his alleged crimes. To see if he remembers any of it. Confesses to any of it. To discover what really happened to Rachel.

Has Carl truly forgotten what he did or is he just pretending? Perhaps he's guilty of nothing and she's the liar.

Either way in driving him into the Texan wilderness she's taking a terrible risk.

For if Carl really is a serial killer, she's alone in the most dangerous place of all . . .

Critics Review

  • Heaberlin’s latest thriller is at once a zany, dialogue-propelled two-hander, a murder mystery, a road trip, a pair of psychological case studies and a meditation on photography

    The Sunday Times
  • Every journey reaches its end, and the one in Paper Ghosts comes on fast and furious. Signposts along the way warn of angst, secrets and deadly plot twists, but you’ll never see what’s coming . . .

    Washington Post
  • A tale of murderous obsession . . . Heaberlin, author of the impressive Black-Eyed Susans, plays her cards close to her chest, careful to give away little about the motivations of either of her characters, as her heroine edges closer to the truth’

    The Guardian
  • Wonderful . . . creepy . . . it elevates the often tawdry genre of the serial killer novel to a work of art

    Sunday Express
  • Heaberlin’s works beautifully evoke the texture and landscape of the state of Texas . . . Their road trip across Texas results in profound revelations, strange occurrences, and a surprisingly heartwarming ending

    Crimereads
  • Gripping . . . dementia suits crime fiction. Is the suspect lying or has a medical reason for his amnesia?

    The Times

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