In their lovely Cotswolds village, Janet and Susan are known simply as 'the girls'. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop, they lead an enviably peaceful life. But when a moment of surprising passion disrupts the equilibrium of their world, the girls' lives take a deeply unsettling turn. First comes motherhood. Then comes murder. Part-dark comedy, part-crime thriller, part-cosy love story, John Bowen's The Girls is a novel like none other. Told with warmth and affection, yet laced with dark unease, 'the girls' will ensure you never look on Middle England quite so quaintly again. 'Startlingly offbeat' Gore Vidal 'Absolutely wicked' Armistead Maupin '[For] those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others . . . The Girls charms us as only certain tales 'of village life' can' Washington Post