Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Annelie Geissler
Categories
Thriller / suspense fiction

LAY YOUR BODY DOWN

Amy Suiter Clarke

A young woman returns to her rural Minnesota hometown, where a radical evangelical pastor has poisoned everyone's minds - and may be covering up a murder.

After Del Walker fled her small hometown and its cult-like church, she vowed to never return. The man she loved, Lars, left her to marry the local golden girl Eve, and their romance is now the focus of Eve's viral blog espousing the pastor's conservative philosophy about women and marriage. But six years later, Lars is suddenly killed, and she's convinced it couldn't have been an accident. When Del returns to her hometown for the funeral, she discovers the now mega-church - and the insidious, patriarchal teachings of Pastor Rick Franklin - has grown not only in size but in influence. Eve was clearly discontent in her marriage, despite the carefully constructed "Noble Wife" positivity of her blog posts, and Del knows better than anyone just how far she will go to get what she wants. Del is determined to cut through the church's lies and corruption to find out who killed Lars - even if it means confronting the religious trauma she's spent years trying to bury. Amy Suiter Clarke is the author of Girl, 11 and is a writer and communications specialist. Originally from a small town in Minnesota, she completed an undergraduate degree in theater in the Twin Cities. She then moved to London and earned an MFA in creative writing with publishing at Kingston University. She currently works for a university library in Melbourne, Australia.

Available products
Book Published 2023-06-27 by William Morrow/ HarperCollins

Comments

Suiter Clarke paints a devastating portrait of a cultlike institution and a town in its thrall.

In LAY YOUR BODY DOWN, Amy Suiter Clarke perfectly captures the stifling air of small towns and insular churches. More than a murder mystery, this is an excavation of betrayal, revealing the ugly truth that has propped up so many life-destroying lies.

Powerful and intricately nuanced, Lay Your Body Down is the kind of reading experience that stays with you long after the final page. Amy Suiter Clarke has created a novel as thought-provoking as it is propulsive. With a carefully winding plot and incisive commentary on religion, community, autonomy, and the long reach of the past, this story is perfect for book clubs, because it inspires so many conversations. A truly stunning sophomore novel.

LAY YOUR BODY DOWN has everything I love in a good thriller - family drama, a determined main character, and an unflinching look at a timely issue.

This story is haunting and will stick with you long after the last page has been turned.

LAY YOUR BODY DOWN is one part #tradwife sendup, one part megachurch murder mystery, and one part cathartic revenge by a woman scorned, peppered as expertly as a hotdish with Minnesotan flavor. Amy Suiter Clarke has written a fresh and irresistible mystery that pits a flawed underdog against the might of 'respectable' institutions and religious dogma. A brilliant, twisted, electrifying story about taking back control.

LAY YOUR BODY DOWN is an emotionally charged and unnerving thriller. Dangerous secrets, complex characters, and more than one 'oh my God' moment. You won't see the twists coming.

[An] enthralling psychological thriller.