The Promised World: A Novel

In acclaimed bestselling author Lisa Tucker’s mesmerizing and suspenseful tale of intimacy, betrayal, and lost innocence, a literature professor’s carefully constructed life shatters after her twin brother’s death.

On a March afternoon, while Lila Cole is working in her quiet office, her twin brother, Billy, points an unloaded rifle out a hotel window, closing down a city block. The aftermath of his death brings shock after shock for Lila when she discovers that her brilliant but troubled twin was not only estranged from his wife, but also charged with endangering the life of his middle child and namesake, eight-year-old William.

As Lila struggles to figure out what was truth and what was fiction in her brother’s complicated past, she will put her job, her marriage, and even her sanity at risk. And when the hidden meaning behind Billy’s stories comes to light, she will have to act before Billy’s children are destroyed by the same heartbreaking reality that shattered her protector and twin more than twenty years ago.

Lisa Tucker is the bestselling author of The Promised World, The Cure for Modern Life, Once Upon a Day, Shout Down the Moon and The Song Reader. Her short work has appeared in Seventeen, Pages and The Oxford American. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

ISBN: 9781416575399
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: August 03, 2010

"Tucker is a riveting storyteller whose book brims with a cathartic intelligence about the dark side of families and how we survive." -- People "Engrossing and suspenseful, Tucker's remarkable fourth novel unveils the motives behind the curious behavior and superfluous lies of unusually close-knit fraternal twins...[a] satisfying, imminently readable novel." -- Publishers Weekly "A compulsively readable story...nothing is as it appears in this suspenseful, well-crafted look at truth and betrayal...a haunting, harrowing story." -- Library Journal "A masterfully told story that delves deep into the human psyche and examines the frailty of the human mind after a tragedy and the powerful, lifelong impact of childhood memories." -- Booklist "Tucker excels at telling unexpected stories. In The Promised World, she hands the reader a solid marriage that is torn by tragedy...when the story's underlying turns are revealed, and everything comes together, it makes terrific sense." -- The Denver Post "A compelling must-read novel that is part mystery, part family drama, and wholly satisfying." -- Deseret News "The Promised World is a book that will appeal both to readers of literary fiction and those who enjoy psychological suspense. It's one of the standout novels of the year." -- The Chicago Sun-Times