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Black-Eyed Susans: A Novel of Suspense by…
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Black-Eyed Susans: A Novel of Suspense (original 2015; edition 2015)

by Julia Heaberlin (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
8509625,322 (3.67)30
Fiction. Literature. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:TOP 5 SUNDAY TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER â?˘ For fans of Laura Lippman and Gillian Flynn comes an electrifying novel of stunning psychological suspense.

â??My book of the year so far . . . breathtakingly, heart-stoppingly brilliant.â?ťâ??Sophie Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Monogram Murders

I am the star of screaming headlines and campfire ghost stories. I am one of the four Black-Eyed Susans. The lucky one.

As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving â??Black-Eyed Susan,â?ť the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessaâ??s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.

Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susansâ??a summertime bloomâ??just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implicationsâ??that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at largeâ??Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memoriesâ??and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.

What they donâ??t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a  fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.

Shocking, intense, and utterly original, Black-Eyed Susans is a dazzling psychological thriller, seamlessly weaving past and present in a searing tale of a young woman whose harrowing memories remain in a field of flowersâ??as a killer makes a chilling return to his garden.

This ebook edition contains a special preview of Julia Heaberlinâ??s Paper Ghosts.

Praise for Black-Eyed Susans

â??A masterful thriller that shouldnâ??t be missed . . . brilliantly conceived, beautifully executed . . . [Julia] Heaberlinâ??s work calls to mind that of Gillian Flynn. Both writers published impressive early novels that were largely overlooked, and then one that couldnâ??t be: Flynnâ??s Gone Girl and now Heaberlinâ??s Black-Eyed Susans. Donâ??t miss it.â?ťâ??The Washington Post

â??[A] gem of a novel . . . richly textured, beautifully written . . . Tension builds, and the plot twists feel earned as well as genuinely surprising.â?ťâ??The Boston Globe

â??A tense, slow-burning, beautifully written novel of survival and hope. Highly recommended.â?ťâ??William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob

â??Deliciously twisty and ee
… (more)
Member:Coyote99
Title:Black-Eyed Susans: A Novel of Suspense
Authors:Julia Heaberlin (Author)
Info:Ballantine Books (2015), 368 pages
Collections:Kindle
Rating:****
Tags:2015/11

Work Information

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin (2015)

  1. 00
    End of Story by Peter Abrahams (BookshelfMonstrosity)
    BookshelfMonstrosity: These menacing psychological suspense stories star intelligent young women seeking the truth about convicted murderers. Although their investigations place them in mortal danger, the desire to see justice served trumps personal safety. Both tales are fast-paced and intricately plotted.… (more)
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» See also 30 mentions

English (96)  Italian (3)  All languages (98)
Showing 1-5 of 95 (next | show all)
This was fantastic - Heaberlin has a beautiful turn of phrase, and while parts initially seemed meandering, everything ultimately had a point and purpose. Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a thriller so much. Highly recommended. ( )
  Helen.Callaghan | Aug 28, 2023 |
I genuinely didn't see the ending coming, which is always a plus with a thriller.

For a book about a serial killer of young women, it's wonderfully lacking in gore or the sort of voyeuristic zeal with which the bodies of mutilated girls are described in books like these.

Tessa was a great main character, both as a seventeen year old in 1995 and as an adult. Smart, compelling, and very human. ( )
  xaverie | Apr 3, 2023 |
A well-written thriller, that sadly never divulges the major questions the reader has about what actually took place—e.g., how long was Tessa held hostage? what happened to her? how intimate did she become with the other Susans?

As the reader hopes to get closer to these answers—as the older Tessa herself hopes to, with an innocent man on Death Row for the crime, and the clock ticking down—the narrative shifts and takes a "quaint" turn.

Plot-wise, this is as predictable as they come in this genre; but the writing was compelling, and the structure as it shifts between past and present, between a countdown and a count-up, was really well done. I'd definitely be interested to read Heaberlin's new book, [b:We Are All the Same in the Dark|49189494|We Are All the Same in the Dark|Julia Heaberlin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592880650l/49189494._SY75_.jpg|74637326], when it drops next month, to see if she's built on these strong points of hers and is able to concoct a more satisfying, edge-of-your-seat sort of thriller. ( )
  proustitute | Apr 2, 2023 |
This is one of those books, that now it's over, I'm just going to have to sit with for a while. I am still confused, but good confused. I think... An excellent mystery, it had me going back and forth several times about who did it and who couldn't have and did it even really happen. For a while I was convinced it was all totally in her mind!! Excellent story telling. Julia Haeberlin js now in my radar and I'll be looking for other titles by her. ( )
  Jen-Lynn | Aug 1, 2022 |
This was a good mystery, I liked going back and forth in time as the story revealed itself. It was a fun who-dun-it that actually had me a bit twisted up on the bad guy, was fun to figure things out along with the main character instead of waiting for her to catch up. ( )
  fellanta13 | Feb 14, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 95 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Heaberlin, Juliaprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Dove, Eric G.Narratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dykhouse, WhitneyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Peakes, KarenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ricci, AngelaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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For Sam, my game changer
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Thirty-two hours of my life are missing.
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Fiction. Literature. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:TOP 5 SUNDAY TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER â?˘ For fans of Laura Lippman and Gillian Flynn comes an electrifying novel of stunning psychological suspense.

â??My book of the year so far . . . breathtakingly, heart-stoppingly brilliant.â?ťâ??Sophie Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Monogram Murders

I am the star of screaming headlines and campfire ghost stories. I am one of the four Black-Eyed Susans. The lucky one.

As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving â??Black-Eyed Susan,â?ť the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessaâ??s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.

Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susansâ??a summertime bloomâ??just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implicationsâ??that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at largeâ??Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memoriesâ??and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.

What they donâ??t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a  fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.

Shocking, intense, and utterly original, Black-Eyed Susans is a dazzling psychological thriller, seamlessly weaving past and present in a searing tale of a young woman whose harrowing memories remain in a field of flowersâ??as a killer makes a chilling return to his garden.

This ebook edition contains a special preview of Julia Heaberlinâ??s Paper Ghosts.

Praise for Black-Eyed Susans

â??A masterful thriller that shouldnâ??t be missed . . . brilliantly conceived, beautifully executed . . . [Julia] Heaberlinâ??s work calls to mind that of Gillian Flynn. Both writers published impressive early novels that were largely overlooked, and then one that couldnâ??t be: Flynnâ??s Gone Girl and now Heaberlinâ??s Black-Eyed Susans. Donâ??t miss it.â?ťâ??The Washington Post

â??[A] gem of a novel . . . richly textured, beautifully written . . . Tension builds, and the plot twists feel earned as well as genuinely surprising.â?ťâ??The Boston Globe

â??A tense, slow-burning, beautifully written novel of survival and hope. Highly recommended.â?ťâ??William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob

â??Deliciously twisty and ee

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As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving “Black-Eyed Susan,” the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessa’s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.
 
Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans—a summertime bloom—just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implications—that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at large—Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memories—and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.
 
What they don’t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a  fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.
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