Sarah Pinborough
Author of Behind Her Eyes
About the Author
Series
Works by Sarah Pinborough
A Little Magenta Book of Malevolence 8 copies
Our Man in the Sudan 3 copies
The Nowhere Man 3 copies
La stanza nascosta 2 copies
Магія 1 copy
وراء عينيها 1 copy
Краса 1 copy
Proroctwo wygnanych magów 1 copy
Grandmother's Slippers 1 copy
Snow Angels [short story] 1 copy
Отрута 1 copy
Associated Works
The Mammoth Book of Zombie Apocalypse! Fightback (Mammoth Books) (2012) — Contributor — 65 copies, 1 review
Mister October: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala (Volume 2) (2013) — Contributor — 62 copies, 18 reviews
Mister October: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala (Volumes 1 and 2) (2013) — Contributor — 17 copies, 15 reviews
The Future of Horror: The Collected Solaris Horror Anthologies, featuring House of Fear, Magic and End of the Road (2015) — Contributor — 8 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Pinboro, Sarah
Пинбъра, Сара
Пинборо Сара
שרה פינבורו
핀보로, 사라
平博拉夫, 莎拉 - Birthdate
- 1972
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- teacher
author - Organizations
- British Fantasy Society
Horror Writers Association - Agent
- Veronique Baxter (David Higham Associates)
- Short biography
- Sarah Pinborough is the NYT bestselling and Sunday Times #1 Bestselling author of 'Behind Her Eyes' which has sold in over 25 territories thus far and will be shown as a six part drama on Netflix in 2020 and the Sunday Times Bestseller, 'Cross Her Heart'. She has also written books across a variety of genres including the YA thriller 13 Minutes (in development with Netflix). Her next novel 'Dead To Her' comes out from William Morrow in the US in feb 2020 and HarperFiction in the UK in August 2020. It is already in development for US television.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Stoney Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England
- Map Location
- UK
Members
Discussions
Any thoughts on Sarah Pinborough in Thing(amabrarian)s That Go Bump in the Night (September 2008)
Reviews
This book is described as a psychological thriller but this is misleading; it should be described as a paranormal thriller.
The story is narrated from the perspective of two women, Adele and Louise. Louise, a single mother, meets David in a bar and flirts with him only to discover the next day that he is her new boss. She literally bumps into Adele, David’s wife, and the two become friends though Adele wants their friendship kept a secret because her husband “’can be a bit funny about show more mixing work life and home life.’” Things become even more complicated when Louise starts an affair with David, an affair which, of course, she wants to keep a secret from Adele.
It is obvious from the beginning that much is not as it seems. The relationship between David and Adele is strained; the reason for the tension is not revealed because David and Adele don’t really talk and David refuses to discuss his marriage with Louise. Gradually, however, the reader glimpses the truth behind the marriage, and as Adele’s past is exposed, it is clear that she is not Louise’s friend. Adele teaches Louise about lucid dreaming to help with her night terrors and the technique works but has unexpected effects.
Neither of the women is a sympathetic character. Adele is duplicitous and manipulative so she is unlikeable. Louise constantly makes illogical choices and behaves in morally reprehensible ways. Despite having been hurt when her ex-husband cheated on her, she puts another woman, a friend, in the same position to be hurt by a philandering husband? Her decisions could even potentially put her son in harm’s way, yet she seems incapable of stopping her foolish behaviour. She knows what she should do but doesn’t. I wanted to scream the Nike slogan at her!
Adele has a plan, but it is amazing how well her plan falls into place. Though her plan requires people to behave a certain way and for interactions between people to proceed in a specific way, not once does she suffer any setbacks? David is the psychiatrist but Adele is the one who understands people so well that she knows exactly how they will behave? Given the ending, Adele’s astuteness is even less plausible. And let’s ignore the fact that there is no scientific evidence of astral projection.
Yes, that ending. Many readers have praised the ending because it is one that no one would ever guess – as if that were a good thing. I enjoy plot twists but the ending is ludicrous and outlandish. Too much information is withheld so the author cheats. One could argue that the title and statements like “We can never see who someone really is underneath the skin” are clues but these are so ambiguous as to be laughable.
At first, I enjoyed the book but as it increasingly required more and more suspension of disbelief, I became impatient with its outrageousness. If the book had been properly described as containing paranormal elements, I would not have chosen to read it. So the entire book is a cheat; because descriptions of the book omit reference to a key element, the reader is manipulated as much as Adele manipulates Louise.
Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). show less
The story is narrated from the perspective of two women, Adele and Louise. Louise, a single mother, meets David in a bar and flirts with him only to discover the next day that he is her new boss. She literally bumps into Adele, David’s wife, and the two become friends though Adele wants their friendship kept a secret because her husband “’can be a bit funny about show more mixing work life and home life.’” Things become even more complicated when Louise starts an affair with David, an affair which, of course, she wants to keep a secret from Adele.
It is obvious from the beginning that much is not as it seems. The relationship between David and Adele is strained; the reason for the tension is not revealed because David and Adele don’t really talk and David refuses to discuss his marriage with Louise. Gradually, however, the reader glimpses the truth behind the marriage, and as Adele’s past is exposed, it is clear that she is not Louise’s friend. Adele teaches Louise about lucid dreaming to help with her night terrors and the technique works but has unexpected effects.
Neither of the women is a sympathetic character. Adele is duplicitous and manipulative so she is unlikeable. Louise constantly makes illogical choices and behaves in morally reprehensible ways. Despite having been hurt when her ex-husband cheated on her, she puts another woman, a friend, in the same position to be hurt by a philandering husband? Her decisions could even potentially put her son in harm’s way, yet she seems incapable of stopping her foolish behaviour. She knows what she should do but doesn’t. I wanted to scream the Nike slogan at her!
Adele has a plan, but it is amazing how well her plan falls into place. Though her plan requires people to behave a certain way and for interactions between people to proceed in a specific way, not once does she suffer any setbacks? David is the psychiatrist but Adele is the one who understands people so well that she knows exactly how they will behave? Given the ending, Adele’s astuteness is even less plausible. And let’s ignore the fact that there is no scientific evidence of astral projection.
Yes, that ending. Many readers have praised the ending because it is one that no one would ever guess – as if that were a good thing. I enjoy plot twists but the ending is ludicrous and outlandish. Too much information is withheld so the author cheats. One could argue that the title and statements like “We can never see who someone really is underneath the skin” are clues but these are so ambiguous as to be laughable.
At first, I enjoyed the book but as it increasingly required more and more suspension of disbelief, I became impatient with its outrageousness. If the book had been properly described as containing paranormal elements, I would not have chosen to read it. So the entire book is a cheat; because descriptions of the book omit reference to a key element, the reader is manipulated as much as Adele manipulates Louise.
Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). show less
"A Matter Of Blood" is a well written serial-killer book with a supernatural twist. The characters are deftly drawn. The scenes are delivered with cinematic clarity. The dialogue works and the plot unfolds at a confidently slow pace that increases the tension.
I stopped reading about halfway through. I just couldn't take the world Sarah Pinborough was describing.
The main character is a broken man who seems to have betrayed himself, his wife, and his brother and who continues his work as show more Detective in the MET as a form of atonement. He sees himself as beyond redemption and, after being in his head for half the book, I tend to agree with him.
The shadowy, potentially supernatural, killer is a well-conceived, life-denying entity that truly believes nothing is sacred.
The violence is graphic, extensive and ultimately pointless. The sex is tortured by guilt and failure. Even the strongest relationships are tainted by doubt. The economy is failing, creating the kind of grinding poverty that destroys hope.
I didn't find any of this incredible. It seemed very real and very plausible to me. I just didn't want it in my head.
There was a time when I had to finish every book I started. It was an unexamined rule that I'd had since childhood. Stopping would be a failure to finish. Failure was bad. So I would read on.
Perhaps I've just become more accustomed to the inevitability of failing from time to time, or perhaps I'm more aware that I will never have enough time to read all the books out there that will delight me, or scare ,me or teach me something, or make me laugh, or love, or cry, but I now understand that stopping reading a book before I've finished it is a valid choice. It's just not one I make lightly.
Right now, I want reading that gives me hope, not reading that strips it away by fueling the plot with violent, pointless death and pitting people so deeply flawed they could shatter at any moment, against a powerful evil that sees life as worthless and love as self-delusion.
Perhaps I'll go back to Sarah Pinborough when I'm in a more positive frame of mind, but "A Matter Of Blood" will be staying in my "Did Not Finish" pile. show less
I stopped reading about halfway through. I just couldn't take the world Sarah Pinborough was describing.
The main character is a broken man who seems to have betrayed himself, his wife, and his brother and who continues his work as show more Detective in the MET as a form of atonement. He sees himself as beyond redemption and, after being in his head for half the book, I tend to agree with him.
The shadowy, potentially supernatural, killer is a well-conceived, life-denying entity that truly believes nothing is sacred.
The violence is graphic, extensive and ultimately pointless. The sex is tortured by guilt and failure. Even the strongest relationships are tainted by doubt. The economy is failing, creating the kind of grinding poverty that destroys hope.
I didn't find any of this incredible. It seemed very real and very plausible to me. I just didn't want it in my head.
There was a time when I had to finish every book I started. It was an unexamined rule that I'd had since childhood. Stopping would be a failure to finish. Failure was bad. So I would read on.
Perhaps I've just become more accustomed to the inevitability of failing from time to time, or perhaps I'm more aware that I will never have enough time to read all the books out there that will delight me, or scare ,me or teach me something, or make me laugh, or love, or cry, but I now understand that stopping reading a book before I've finished it is a valid choice. It's just not one I make lightly.
Right now, I want reading that gives me hope, not reading that strips it away by fueling the plot with violent, pointless death and pitting people so deeply flawed they could shatter at any moment, against a powerful evil that sees life as worthless and love as self-delusion.
Perhaps I'll go back to Sarah Pinborough when I'm in a more positive frame of mind, but "A Matter Of Blood" will be staying in my "Did Not Finish" pile. show less
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
Natasha doesn't remember how she ended up in the icy water that night, but she does know this--it wasn't an accident, and she wasn't suicidal. Her two closest friends are acting strangely, and Natasha turns to Becca, the best friend she dumped years before when she got popular, to help her figure out what happened.
Natasha's sure that her friends love her. But does that mean they didn't try to kill her?
It was impossible to read 13 Minutes and not show more connect one of the many complex characters to someone I know in real life. The mean girls, the frazzled mothers, the harried detectives, the unfortunate individuals in the wrong place at the wrong time; we all know someone(s) who fit the descriptions. Told from several perspectives and in various forms, Sarah Pinborough's 13 Minutes sucks you in with its engaging writing and study of human nature. Readers are treated to texts, therapist's opinions, the viewpoint of the rescuer, and a refreshingly realistic first hand account of what really happened the night that Tasha died for 13 minutes. Or is it really the truth?
"I have missed them, in my own way. They've been my best friends. maybe things will be different now."
Much of the novel is told from the perspective of either Becca or Tasha, ex-best friends turned allies when Tasha fears that her current best friends, The Barbies, are not as friendly as they seem. It reads like a young adult novel, the girls feel true to 16, but with college level suspense and mystery. The adult themes would normally pull me from a YA aged book, but in this case it truly carried the story into the right setting. 13 Minutes reveals the darker, more incestuous nature of the high school experience that we want to believe can't be true. The drinking, the drugs, the prevalence of sex, is completely spot on, especially when you consider the parties, a symbol of status to the youth fighting for either popularity or to remain in the shadows. Sarah Pinborough's novel can read as a very realistic warning, the events are of topical interest and her stunning ability to make everything seem so real only highlights the fact that any of this could truly happen.
"Forever. That word haunted her. Best friends forever. I'll love you forever."
13 Minutes is a Young Adult Thriller that is sure to interest readers of all ages with its mystery and psychological twists. Released in 2016, the new 2017 cover, and quiet rumors about a Netflix series, has this successful thriller back in the spotlight. It's a twisted novel, crafted in such a way that even your hunches of whodunit have little to back them up.
"They stared at each other, the winner and the loser, the way it had always been." show less
Natasha doesn't remember how she ended up in the icy water that night, but she does know this--it wasn't an accident, and she wasn't suicidal. Her two closest friends are acting strangely, and Natasha turns to Becca, the best friend she dumped years before when she got popular, to help her figure out what happened.
Natasha's sure that her friends love her. But does that mean they didn't try to kill her?
It was impossible to read 13 Minutes and not show more connect one of the many complex characters to someone I know in real life. The mean girls, the frazzled mothers, the harried detectives, the unfortunate individuals in the wrong place at the wrong time; we all know someone(s) who fit the descriptions. Told from several perspectives and in various forms, Sarah Pinborough's 13 Minutes sucks you in with its engaging writing and study of human nature. Readers are treated to texts, therapist's opinions, the viewpoint of the rescuer, and a refreshingly realistic first hand account of what really happened the night that Tasha died for 13 minutes. Or is it really the truth?
"I have missed them, in my own way. They've been my best friends. maybe things will be different now."
Much of the novel is told from the perspective of either Becca or Tasha, ex-best friends turned allies when Tasha fears that her current best friends, The Barbies, are not as friendly as they seem. It reads like a young adult novel, the girls feel true to 16, but with college level suspense and mystery. The adult themes would normally pull me from a YA aged book, but in this case it truly carried the story into the right setting. 13 Minutes reveals the darker, more incestuous nature of the high school experience that we want to believe can't be true. The drinking, the drugs, the prevalence of sex, is completely spot on, especially when you consider the parties, a symbol of status to the youth fighting for either popularity or to remain in the shadows. Sarah Pinborough's novel can read as a very realistic warning, the events are of topical interest and her stunning ability to make everything seem so real only highlights the fact that any of this could truly happen.
"Forever. That word haunted her. Best friends forever. I'll love you forever."
13 Minutes is a Young Adult Thriller that is sure to interest readers of all ages with its mystery and psychological twists. Released in 2016, the new 2017 cover, and quiet rumors about a Netflix series, has this successful thriller back in the spotlight. It's a twisted novel, crafted in such a way that even your hunches of whodunit have little to back them up.
"They stared at each other, the winner and the loser, the way it had always been." show less
Somebody I follow said they loved [a:Sarah Pinborough|457300|Sarah Pinborough|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1226190981p2/457300.jpg]. I can't even remember where. I knew she was a horror writer. I found this awhile back at a used bookstore. I periodically find stuff that is on top of one of my piles and the cover will intrigue me so I pick it up. Sometimes I read it.
I started this and about 20 pages in I thought it was too romancy for me and I also thought I had figured out show more the end. I was so wrong on both counts. I had put the book down but decided to go look at some of the reviews on badreads anyway, which I almost never do before I read something. Actually the one star reviews were more helpful than any others: "This book is just like my nightmares. Why would anyone ever want to read it?" Hmmm, well, other than proving that you really can learn something even from an idiot, I decided to give it another go. 50 pages in I was hooked.
Great characters, multiple plot lines, and a situation so weird you can't imagine anyone ever figuring out what is going on or how it can possibly resolve (including me). As the weird body count rises (you never know how the next guest is going to expire) the suspense builds. Is this going to be happily ever after, or everyone's doomed? On top of a rollicking good read you have a very profound question about the nature of guilt or innocence and whether we deserve what we get in life.
I'm not going to even hint at the ending other than to say you won't know it until Pinborough shows it.
Who are the damned and who are the saved?
The only criticism I had is this Leisure mmpb was riddled with typos. show less
I started this and about 20 pages in I thought it was too romancy for me and I also thought I had figured out show more the end. I was so wrong on both counts. I had put the book down but decided to go look at some of the reviews on badreads anyway, which I almost never do before I read something. Actually the one star reviews were more helpful than any others: "This book is just like my nightmares. Why would anyone ever want to read it?" Hmmm, well, other than proving that you really can learn something even from an idiot, I decided to give it another go. 50 pages in I was hooked.
Great characters, multiple plot lines, and a situation so weird you can't imagine anyone ever figuring out what is going on or how it can possibly resolve (including me). As the weird body count rises (you never know how the next guest is going to expire) the suspense builds. Is this going to be happily ever after, or everyone's doomed? On top of a rollicking good read you have a very profound question about the nature of guilt or innocence and whether we deserve what we get in life.
I'm not going to even hint at the ending other than to say you won't know it until Pinborough shows it.
Who are the damned and who are the saved?
The only criticism I had is this Leisure mmpb was riddled with typos. show less
Lists
At the Library (1)
Gaslamp Fantasy (2)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 55
- Also by
- 28
- Members
- 8,763
- Popularity
- #2,729
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 450
- ISBNs
- 348
- Languages
- 15
- Favorited
- 6