All You Ever Wanted

Product Information

The contract between Anna and Emily is very interesting and introduces some moral questions for the reader to consider. Anna's life has been one of struggle, rejection and loneliness whereas Emily seems to have a dream life and it does encourage you to question whether you should feel sympathy for her or whether she is ungrateful. I personally felt quite a lot of sympathy for Emily as a character considering the difficulties she faces as a young mum and overworked teacher coupled with the relationship with her husband, who I felt was quite unlikeable. Now, as a novelist, I’m doing my dream job, but if I wasn’t an author, I’d be a chef. There’s a wonderful camaraderie in a commercial kitchen, and cooking with other people can be great fun, but professional cooking is hugely physically demanding and sadly, I no longer have the stamina. I loved cooking professionally, and I still miss it, though I remain passionate about cooking at home. On first meeting Emily senses they may have met before, Anna smiles in the Hope something twigs but gets nothing. They form easy chatter and the next thing they are meeting up and having lunch.

Anna arrives on Emily's doorstep to return their missing cat, she's seen the posters and phoned to arrange to bring Oscar home. There's an immediate bond between the two women, especially as Emily's old friends have drifted off since Bonnie was born, and it's not long before they are meeting for coffee and lunch, and Anna becomes something of a confidante to Emily. However, Anna may not be all that she appears to be and as the story progresses, the reader certainly becomes aware of darker motives on Anna's part. Whilst Emily happily embraces a new female friendship and help with Bonnie. A gripping blend of creepy psychological suspense and powerful domestic drama. Elliot Wright uses her insight into human nature and her storytelling skills to thrilling effect.’T J Emerson, author of The Perfect Holiday A gripping blend of creepy psychological suspense and powerful domestic drama. Elliot Wright uses her insight into human nature and her storytelling skills to thrilling effect.' T J Emerson, author of The Perfect HolidayEmily is a new mother, she's struggling with feelings of low self-worth, questioning herself. She often feels paranoid, as though someone is watching her. Whilst her marriage does appear strong and loving, she's never really forgiven herself, or her husband Simon about how their relationship began. Emily doesn't have the greatest relationship with her own mother, and determined that her daughter Bonnie will not feel the same way about her.

But there’s a reason Emily can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. Someone is keeping a life-changing secret from her. And they know hers, too… I have been a fan of this author for many. years and have read every book that she's written. It's always a joy to delve into the latest offering from her and this one really doesn't disappoint. It feels a little different from her previous novels, darker and tenser, but oh so so good. Most of the novel was told by Emily’s point of view. Her concerns over her job, made worse by her marriage to Simon, who worked in the same school. Her guilt about drinking too much whilst accepting that it helped her cope. She becomes increasingly reliant on Anna, not realising that little was as it seemed. I wasn’t that keen on her until I got to know more about Anna. With her taut writing and immaculate pacing, Susan Elliot Wright has created a dark and sinister tale of toxic family relationships, full of secrets and lies, layered with a perfect example of the smothering isolation felt by so many new mothers. I was utterly gripped from start to finish.' Lisa Hall, author of The Woman in the Woods

Advance Praise

Dark and sinister, this creepy psychological thriller has it all. Gripping throughout, it has a satisfying and jaw-dropping ending' My Weekly With her taut writing and immaculate pacing, Susan Elliot Wright has created a dark and sinister tale of toxic family relationships, full of secrets and lies, layered with a perfect example of the smothering isolation felt by so many new mothers. I was utterly gripped from start to finish." - Lisa Hall This psychological thriller is compelling, suspenseful, chilling and compulsively readable. Both Emily and Anna are complicated women who elicit feelings of sympathy, frustration and anger from the reader. Simon and Emily’s mother are also well described characters. This is a 5 star read!

With her taut writing and immaculate pacing, Susan Elliot Wright has created a dark and sinister tale of toxic family relationships, full of secrets and lies, layered with a perfect example of the smothering isolation felt by so many new mothers. I was utterly gripped from start to finish.' Lisa Hall, author of The Woman in the WoodsI really enjoyed this book by author Susan Elliot Wright. I have not read any other books by her but I really enjoyed the way this was written, using different perspectives and shifts in chronology to show how the two women are connected. A gripping blend of creepy psychological suspense and powerful domestic drama. Elliot-Wright uses her insight into human nature and her storytelling skills to thrilling effect.' T J Emerson, author of The Perfect Holiday A family argument in a car ends in tragedy. The parents are gone but someone hurts themselves to get help while the baby is trapped in the car. This story is predominantly told from two points of view. The first person is Emily we hear a lot about her how she met her husband and got married and now have a child. She knows she is adopted but her mother has always refused to discuss the subject. But now Emily has a daughter of her own Bonnie, her mother remains tight lipped.

Emily keeps getting a sense she is being watched but her husband Simon brushes her off. When her cat goes missing after a couple of weeks of displaying flyers she receives a call from Anna who insists it’s no trouble she will drop the cat off. Dark and sinister, this creepy psychological thriller has it all. Gripping throughout, it has a satisfying and jaw-dropping ending’ My Weekly I absolutely love Susan Elliot Wright's novels and so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this advance copy. All You Ever Wanted is a change of genre for the author as it's more of a psychological thriller and it took me a while to get used to the author writing in this genre. Emily is a thirty something teacher, struggling with balancing working part time. looking after her 1 year old daughter Bonnie and living with a growing sense of paranoia regarding both her husband's fidelity and a sense of being watched. She has a challenging relationship with her adoptive mother and has felt increasingly isolated from her old friends since marrying her husband Simon. When Anna comes into her life she appears to be just what Emily needs - a friend and someone to support her with childcare. As Simon seems to carry on with normal life, working late, going for drinks, meeting friends. Emily tries to cram her working life into three days, whilst also doing most of the child care.Anna is certainly a character that the reader will feel sorry for and her actions are clearly as a result of the trauma and rejection she has faced. With her taut writing and immaculate pacing, Susan Elliot Wright has created a dark and sinister tale of toxic family relationships, full of secrets and lies, layered with a perfect example of the smothering isolation felt by so many new mothers. I was utterly gripped from start to finish.’ Lisa Hall, author of The Woman in the Woods Although I’ve been living happily in the North for twelve years, I was born in South East London. I left school at 16 and married unwisely at 18. At the age of 30 I took my two children, left my unhappy life and started again, reinventing myself with an education and a new surname, which I chose by drawing up a shortlist from the telephone directory and sending off for brochures so I’d receive mail in those names. I settled on Elliot; Susan Elliot sounded like ‘me’. Soon after changing my name, I met Mr Right, or in this case, Mr Wright. Within a few weeks, we decided to marry (although it took a couple of years to get round to it). We became the Elliot-Wrights, but we’ve dropped the hyphen now.