This is no ordinary psychological thriller

His Perfect Wife

'2018'S MOST GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER' Stylist 
 
ALEXANDRA IS MISSING 
 
Her husband is certain she's alive, but the police are looking for a body. 
 
He won't stop looking, but he won't like what he discovers. 
 
And he certainly won't recognise his own wife . . . 
___________ 
 
'Fresh. . . fascinating' Sunday Times 
 
'An astutely written, complex debut . . . even seasoned genre aficionados will be surprised' Guardian 
 
'So refreshing. A thriller, a page-turner, thoughtful and thought-provoking' Sabine Durrant, bestselling author of Lie With Me 
 
'Cunning . . . Will have your brain working in overdrive as you try to second guess the ingenious plot' Sunday Express 
 
Previously published as Exhibit Alexandra

Sterling work . . . an astutely written, complex debut . . . even seasoned genre aficionados will be surprised . . . an assured outing

Cunning . . . will have your brain working in overdrive as you try to second guess Natasha Bell's ingenious plot and as you reflect on her thought-provoking observations on art, love and family life

2018's most gripping psychological thriller

Gripping, intriguing and incredibly satisfying, this book confounds your expectations and keeps you guessing to the end

An intelligent, taut thriller which was beautifully written and compelling. I loved how the author played with the whole theme of life imitating art. Full of twists and turns I couldn't put it down. I thought the ending was perfect!

Claire Douglas, Sunday Times bestselling author of Last Seen Alive

I adored Exhibit Alexandra. I thought it was a smart, original page turner which really brought something different to the thriller genre. It kept me up half the night!

Gillian McAllister, Sunday Times bestselling author of Everything But The Truth

Beautifully insidious, a novel that outwits expectation at every turn

Francis Spufford, Costa Prize winning author of Golden Hill

A smart, confident thriller, Exhibit Alexandra asks searching questions about motherhood and identity, and keeps you guessing to the very last page. Natasha Bell writes thought-provokingly about home, love, belonging - and what else a woman might want from life

Beth Underdown, author of The Witchfinder’s Sister

This smart, mirror maze of a thriller bristles with sharp edges, twisting familiar Gone Girl themes into Bell's own intense creation

I had such a range of emotions from curiosity mingled with dread and horror as I realised what was happening. An incredibly accomplished debut.

Jenny Blackhurst, bestselling author of How I Lost You

A taut and spellbinding look at creative darkness and the price we pay when art bleeds into real life. I couldn't put this book down!

A moody, gut-wrenching tale of domestic ennui, feminism, and identity, recommended for literary-thriller devotees and book groups

Although her account indicates that she is being held captive, this may be just another faked element in a text fascinatingly permeated by ambiguity . . . the entire novel could be an art project

Beautifully insidious, a novel that outwits expectation at every turn

Costa prize-winning author of Golden Hill

Natasha Bell grew up in Somerset and has lived in York, Massachusetts and Chicago. She moved to London in 2015 to take an MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths, where she is now pursuing a PhD. She writes from her home in south-east London and teaches Creative Writing at City Lit. Natasha's debut His Perfect Wife was published by Michael Joseph in 2018.

'This story I have to tell is more than a collection of facts. I have no reason to paint a better or worse picture than what really happened. I've already lost everything.' 
 
Alexandra Southwood is missing. Her husband is beside himself, or at least he appears to be. She has vanished into thin air; the only traces left are her bloodied clothes by the riverside. It isn't long before the police are searching for a body. 
 
But we know that she is alive. That she is being kept somewhere far from her family. That perhaps this wife and mother wasn't quite what she seemed . . . 
 
Be warned: this isn't another missing-woman thriller. This is something far more shocking . . .

Natasha Bell

So refreshing. A thriller, a page-turner, thoughtful and thought-provoking

A smart, original page turner which really brought something different to the thriller genre. It kept me up half the night!

Mo, Cali, Jude. 
 
 Three teenagers befriend each other on the white cliffs, thinking they'll save each other. 
 
Within months, two of them are dead and the third is scarred for life. 
 
 Ten years later, documentary-maker Tarek Zayat and his film crew are in town, asking difficult questions, looking for secrets in the silence around that fateful summer. 
 
 Because in the shadow of the white cliffs it's easy for stories, histories and people to get lost. And in a small town, the truth is something that must be carefully unburied - in case it buries you.

This Nowhere Place

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

sectionTitle

isEnabled

anchor

anchorLabel

prhuk/featured-book

prhuk/praise-section

maxBooks

showViewMore

prhuk/books-section

hideAuthorAlert

formName

iterableDivision

iterableBrand

buttonText

description

heading

legalText

successHeading

successText

image

alignment

variation

prhuk/email-section

prhuk/series-section

prhuk/biography-section

prhuk/articles-section

prhuk-authors

author-hero

author-avatar

author-menu

The perfect gift? A Penguin Shop gift card

Natasha Bell

Praise for This Nowhere Place

So refreshing. A thriller, a page-turner, thoughtful and thought-provoking

Sterling work . . . an astutely written, complex debut . . . even seasoned genre aficionados will be surprised . . . an assured outing

Cunning . . . will have your brain working in overdrive as you try to second guess Natasha Bell's ingenious plot and as you reflect on her thought-provoking observations on art, love and family life

So refreshing. A thriller, a page-turner, thoughtful and thought-provoking

Sterling work . . . an astutely written, complex debut . . . even seasoned genre aficionados will be surprised . . . an assured outing

Cunning . . . will have your brain working in overdrive as you try to second guess Natasha Bell's ingenious plot and as you reflect on her thought-provoking observations on art, love and family life

So refreshing. A thriller, a page-turner, thoughtful and thought-provoking

Sterling work . . . an astutely written, complex debut . . . even seasoned genre aficionados will be surprised . . . an assured outing

Cunning . . . will have your brain working in overdrive as you try to second guess Natasha Bell's ingenious plot and as you reflect on her thought-provoking observations on art, love and family life

Books by Natasha Bell

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter