For readers of The Silent Patient--a taut, twisty, character-driven suspense novel about a famous novelist and a small-town striver locked in a struggle for fortune and fame.
Florence Darrow is a small-town striver who believes that she is destined to become a celebrated writer. When she tumbles into the opportunity to become the assistant to "Maud Dixon," a celebrated-but-anonymous novelist (think: Elena Ferrante), she believes that the universe is finally providing her big chance. The arrangement feels idyllic; Helen can be prickly, but she is full of pointed wisdom on both writing and living. She even invites Florence along on a research trip to Morocco, where her new novel is set.
Florence has never been out of the country before. Maybe, she imagines, she will finally have something exciting to write about herself. But when Florence wakes up in the hospital after a terrible car crash, and Helen is dead, she begins to imagine what it might be like to 'upgrade' into not only Helen's life, but also that of Helen's bestselling pseudonym, Maud Dixon.