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Posts Tagged ‘The Woman in the Park’

THE WOMAN IN THE PARK News!

Thursday, July 18th, 2019

KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW

“In Sorkin and Holmqvist’s debut thriller, a married woman meets an alluring stranger and later becomes a criminal suspect.

“Manhattanite Sarah Rock is certain that her husband, Eric,has been having an affair with his co-worker, Juliette. Sarah, who has suffered from depression in the past, is experiencing “blackout periods” and having nightmares about her spouse and his suspected mistress. As a result, she’s been seeing a therapist, Helena Robin, for months. With her two children away at boarding school, Sarah feels like she’s lost her sense of purpose. Then one day in Central Park, she meets a handsome, charming man named Lawrence.Despite the brevity of their initial, platonic encounter, Sarah can’t get the stranger off her mind, and subsequent park bench rendezvous quickly lead to an affair. Weeks later, the police visit Sarah to ask her questions about a missing person case. They’re looking for a woman whom Sarah has seen at the park; it turns out that Lawrence may have a connection to her, so Sarah is reluctant to tell the cops anything. More bombshells follow, and after the cops accuse Sarah of a very serious crime, she starts to realize that her sense of reality may be distorted. The authors’ sharply written and persistently tense tale is divided into two parts: the first follows Sarah’s growing relationship with Lawrence, and the latter offers a series of shocking revelations. Throughout, Sarah is an enigmatic, continually evolving protagonist. Readers are privy to Dr. Robin’s periodic notes, for example, which make it clear that Sarah has something buried in her past. Still, Sarah remains sympathetic, as her candid perspective makes her eventual paranoia seem reasonable. Her emotional responses are raw and convincing, as when she cries alone in a parking lot or examines her body for presumed flaws. Some readers will likely foresee a major plot turn before Sarah does, but her valiant attempts to make sense of what’s happening spark unexpected twists.

“A delightfully complex mystery with a compelling protagonist.”

The review is posted here, and more info on THE WOMAN IN THE PARK can be found here.

THE WOMAN IN THE PARK News!

Tuesday, July 16th, 2019

SHELF AWARENESS BOOK TRAILER OF THE DAY

The book trailer for THE WOMAN IN THE PARK was selected as the Shelf Awareness Book Trailer of the Day!

Shelf Awareness develops and distributes e-newsletters about books and the publishing industry. To learn more about Shelf Awareness, click here.

To view the book trailer, click here.

For more on The Woman in the Park, click here.

THE WOMAN IN THE PARK News!

Tuesday, July 9th, 2019

Interview: “Romantic Desperation and Erotomania in The Woman in the Park

Rebecca Coffey of Psychology Today interviews Teresa Sorkin and Tullan Holmqvist!

Q: The Woman in the Park is full of the kind of murder mystery surprises that were everywhere in Gone Girl. And, like Gone Girl, your book is about women and madness. As you wrote, did you keep in mind great mad heroines from literary history like Medea, Anna Karenina, and Ophelia? (“Frailty, thy name is woman,” Hamlet said.) And of course the madness of The Woman in the Park hearkens to the murderous insanity of Thérèse in Thérèse Raquin, which is the nineteenth century novel that your book’s protagonist is reading. Each chapter of your novel begins with an excerpt from the nineteenth century one. Tell me whether great literature about madness and women inspired you. And if so, how did it?

A: One of the books that we two authors had in common as favorites was Thérèse Raquin. The character was so misunderstood and mad. She evoked a feeling of loneliness that we wanted to portray. Many great works of literature were about madness and women.

Teresa Sorkin: One of my favorite characters of all time, Jay Gatsby, exhibited moments of delusion. He had delusion of grandeur and some erotomania towards Daisy. She was a bit mad, as well. As Lawrence says in the novel. “Isn’t all passion mixed with madness at times?” Tullan and I feel that is true in life as well as in literature.

Tullan Holmqvist: I’ve been inspired by many “mad” characters in literature, theater and film. In particular, Shakespeare, the Greek dramatists, and Ingmar Bergman have made strong impressions on me. I grew up discussing and reading a lot about the human psyche and the nature of human beings with my mother, who was a psychotherapist. She surrounded us with interesting thinkers, artists, and writers. I’ve always been interested in why humans behave the way they do. I ask a lot of questions and am interested in both the light and dark side of life.

To read the full interview, click here.

To learn more about The Woman in the Park, click here.

THE WOMAN IN THE PARK News!

Monday, June 24th, 2019

Tar-Heeled Reader: A Review

“Oh my, what a whirlwind of a read and so tense! Sarah Rock meets a stranger in the park. She needs to get away from her life and all the overwhelming baggage she is juggling right now, and this handsome fellow may be her ticket out.  

“Then, a woman goes missing in the park, and Sarah is a suspect. Everyone turns on her including her husband and therapist, and now her lover is also missing. 

“I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was true versus lies. The Woman in the Park is a quick read, one that is perfectly paced, original, and shocking. I can’t say too much more because I don’t want to give anything away. 

“Sorkin and Holmqvist write seamlessly, and their debut novel, The Woman in the Park, is an utterly captivating read.” -Jennifer

For more information about the book, click here.

THE WOMAN IN THE PARK News!

Monday, June 3rd, 2019

Tullan Holmqvist – Book Writing Process Interview on Get Published Podcast

In episode 294 of the Get Published Podcast, Host and 14-Time Bestselling Author Paul G. Brodie interviews Tullan Holmqvist about her author journey and the book writing process with her first book.

To hear the full interview, click here.

THE WOMAN IN THE PARK Reviews

Friday, May 10th, 2019

“Obsession and loneliness intersect with explosive results in this thrilling story of a woman whose life is a total mystery—even to herself. Tense, cinematic, and relentlessly suspenseful, The Woman in the Park will have you addicted, consuming one chapter after another until you reach its chilling conclusion.” — Megan Collins, author of The Winter Sister


The Woman in the Park is a spine-tingling read that makes you question all your assumptions from one page to the next. Imagine if The Girl on the Train and The Hours had a baby, it would be The Woman in the Park. Part Thriller, part literary homage. I thoroughly enjoyed it!” —Adam Mitzner, author of A Matter of Will


The Woman in the Park is one of those novels that you can’t stop thinking about even when you aren’t reading it. Hooked me from the very first page until the shocking end! A must read!” —Marina Di Guardo, author of La Memoria Dei Corpi


The Woman in the Park is an insanely smart, dark trickster of a thriller. Go ahead. Scan the horizon for clues. Become obsessed. Have a great time. Read it twice. (I did.)” —Rebecca Coffey, author of Hysterical: Anna Freud’s Story

“Like a Rubik’s cube, The Woman in the Park twists the perception of reality and fantasy, keeping the reader hooked and curiously searching for the solution. Intriguing, intelligent and multifaceted.” —Vera Näsström, author of All Is As It Should Be


“Fast and thrilling, Sorkin and Holmqvist’s novel The Woman in the Park kept me guessing until the final page. There’s no tranquility to this Manhattan’s Upper East Side, just darkness, disquiet, and suspense.” —James Sturz, author of Sasso.


“This richly textured, beautifully written, and intricately plotted thriller, with a deeply sympathetic female protagonist, is at once a page-turner, a story of loss and redemption, and a beautiful testament to the power of the human spirit. The Woman in the Park is a remarkable achievement. I loved it.” —Caroline Nastro, author of The Bear Who Couldn’t Sleep

For more information about The Woman in the Park, click here.