A dangerous woman : a novel
(Book)

Originally published: New York : Viking, 1991.

The "compelling, suspenseful" novel of a vulnerable misfit in a small town by the New York Times-bestselling author of Light from a Distant Star (Publishers Weekly). Named one of the five best novels of the year by Time magazine, A Dangerous Woman is the story of the damaged and emotionally unstable Martha Horgan, an outcast in her small Vermont town. She stares; she has violent crushes on people; and, perhaps most unsettling of all, she cannot stop telling the truth. After a traumatic experience during her teenage years, the thirty-two-year-old now craves love and companionship, but her relentless honesty makes her painfully vulnerable to those around her: Frances, her wealthy aunt and begrudging guardian; Birdy Dusser, who befriends her and then cruelly rejects her; and Colin Mackey, the seductive man who preys on her desires. Confused and bitter, distrusting even those with her best interests at heart, Martha is slowly propelled into a desperate attempt to gain control over her own life. The National Book Award-nominated author of Songs in Ordinary Time tells a tale of unnerving suspense and terrifying psychological insight that is "at once thrilling and deeply affecting" (The New York Times).