The book
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE
A suspenseful new psychological thriller from the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlisted and Dublin Literary Award shortlisted author of Remote Sympathy, Catherine Chidgey.
Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine’s sense that something isn’t quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story of deception and the corrosive power of guilt takes a yet darker turn. Justine must decide where her loyalties lie.
Set in New Zealand in the 1980s and probing themes of racism, misogyny and the oppressive reaches of Catholicism, Pet will take a rightful place next to other classic portraits of childhood betrayal and psychological suspense: Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping among them.
“Refreshing, compelling and surprising.”—Ann Morgan, author of Beside Myself and Reading the World
The author
Catherine Chidgey
Catherine Chidgey is an award-winning and bestselling New Zealand novelist and short-story writer. Her first novel, In a Fishbone Church, won the Betty Trask Award, and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Golden Deed was Time Out’s book of the year, a Best Book in the LA Times Book Review and a Notable Book in the New York Times Book Review. Her fourth novel, The Wish Child, was published in 2016 and won the 2017 Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize, the country's richest literary prize.
Press
- Aug 23 2023
“Delicious.”
— Chicago Review of Books - Aug 7 2023
“A lingering, haunting book.”
— The New York Times - Jul 10 2023
“Satisfying.”
— The Guardian - Jun 28 2023
“Satisfies and horrifies in equal measure.”
— Publishers Weekly - Jun 16 2023
“Brilliant.”
— CrimeReads - Jun 16 2023
“Completely gripping.”
— New Zealand Herald