________________________________FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FATES AND FURIES'Lauren Groff's debut novel is everything a reader might have expected from this gifted writer, and more ... There are monsters, murders, bastards, and ne'er-do-wells almost without number. I was sorry to see this rich and wonderful novel come to an end, and there is no higher success than that.' STEPHEN KING'A bold and beautiful hybrid of a book' LORRIE MOORE________________________________Willie Cooper arrives on the doorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York in the wake of a disastrous affair with her much older, married archaeology professor. That same day, the discovery of a prehistoric monster in the lake brings a media frenzy to the quiet, picture-perfect town her ancestors founded. Smarting from a broken heart, Willie then learns that the story her mother had always told her about her father has all been a lie. He wasn't the one-night stand Vi had led her to imagine, but someone else entirely. As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging for the truth about her lineage, a chorus of voices from the town's past rise up around her to tell their sides of the story. Dark secrets come to light, past and present blur, old mysteries are finally put to rest, and the surprising truth about more than one monster is revealed.________________________________'Groff's delightful debut is a glorious hybrid of history and humour, with just a sprinkling of magic.' EASY LIVING 'Lauren Groff's remarkable debut ... blossoms into a crossbreed of intimate confession, eccentric social history, origin myth and literary biography... the true 'monsters' of Templeton are its secrets.' METRO'This has an opening to die for ... a riveting read' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
