{"product_id":"the-amateur-9781529996555","title":"The Amateur","description":"\u003cp\u003eTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A masterfully executed ace'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Sophisticated . . . scrutinises the peeling paint of picket-fence America'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Sharply funny, beautifully told and so moving on the way life can upend itself in a single moment. I adored it’\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCLARE LESLIE HALL, author of BROKEN COUNTRY\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Effortless, emotional, gripping. The most propulsive novel I've read in ages'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJENNY JACKSON, author of PINEAPPLE STREET, Stylist\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Impossible to put down'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGILLIAN McALLISTER, author of WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1978. In the sleepy New York suburb of Tallmadge, eighteen-year-old Mira Winston is beguiling, talented, and full of youthful recklessness. She spends her summer perfecting her swing at her parents’ country club – and continuing her long-running affair with her father’s golf buddy, a married man twice her age.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen, one August afternoon, a freak accident occurs, and Mira’s classmate Kenny is killed. In the days and years that follow, the events of that day become inextricably tied to the choices she has made – with devastating, unpredictable consequences for her family, her neighbours and friends, and Mira herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe is forced to ask: what happens when one small moment – the swing of a golf club, a stolen kiss, a hastily written note – changes the course of an entire life?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMesmerizing and darkly funny, The Amateur unravels against a backdrop of white-picket-fenced streets, university dorm rooms, smoke-filled restaurants, and elegant country clubs. Turning a sharp eye to the American middle class, it is a hypnotic tale of power, morality, and the weight of blame.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePRAISE FOR CHRIS BOHJALIAN\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A terrific writer . . . I love all his books’ HARLAN COBEN\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Impossible to put down. Bohjalian just gets better and better’ JODI PICOULT\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A real page-turner’ DIANA GABALDON\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Everything Bohjalian writes is addictive’ NEW YORK POST\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘One of our finest storytellers’ BOSTON GLOBE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Twists the tension tight and keeps the surprises startling’ WALL STREET JOURNAL\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: Chris Bohjalian\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eModern \u0026amp; contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Historical fiction, Fiction: special features\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 20 Aug 2026 by Cornerstone.\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chris Bohjalian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57320482799994,"sku":"9781529996555","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0373\/4125\/files\/9781529996555.jpg?v=1790654573","url":"https:\/\/belfastbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-amateur-9781529996555","provider":"Belfast Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}