Precipice

PRECIPICE cover 2015Hardcover: Little, Brown and Co., 1994  ISBN: 0-316-77160-0
Paperback: Onyx Books, 1995  ISBN: 0-451-18333-9
eBook: Cliffhanger Press, 2013  eISBN 978-0-9891491-2-9
Available from Amazon

LOVE, MADNESS, AND MURDER IN AMERICA’S PARADISE

The house is named Cliffhanger, a bit of heaven perched high on a hill in a Caribbean paradise. It is the home of the perfect family: Kay, a lovely rich widow; Adam, her handsome second husband; and Lisa, her teenage daughter. They have all that love can give and money can buy.

Then bright and beautiful Diana arrives, a charming young woman who appears to be the perfect secretary/au pair. But she isn’t. Her suitcase contains old photographs and faded newspaper clippings. And a knife.

Now, everyone in Cliffhanger is hanging on the edge of a hell where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they pretend to be. And it’s a long way to fall…

With its lush island setting, vivid characters, and steadily mounting tension, Precipice introduces a masterful new voice into the world of suspense fiction. Tom Savage has created a memorable story of deception and manipulation, of dark passions and darker deeds, of madness and murder in the most beautiful place on earth.

REVIEWS

Paperback Cover

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Tom Savage to the mystery writing ranks. Precipice is an impressive debut.” — LAWRENCE BLOCK

“A subtle, well-crafted tale of deceit and madness among the rich.” — CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“The most intricately plotted thriller I have read in years! Just when you think you’ve mastered the puzzle, you find that you have been fooled–again.” — ANN RULE

“Murder among the beautiful people…a fast-paced and very suspenseful page-turner.” — LIBRARY JOURNAL

“A stunning first novel that presages a brilliant career.” — ROBERT B. PARKER

Original Dust Jacket by Paul Bacon

Original Dust Jacket by
Paul Bacon

“Likable characters romp through a seemingly simple but eventually complex plot, one that Savage has mined with unexpected twists. Readers’ expectations will be blown to bits by the clifftop denouement.” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“A stylish and accomplished novel with a terrific sense of place and a wonderfully complex plot. If Hitchcock and Noël Coward had gotten together–and if they’d had a talent for crime fiction–they might have come up with something like this.” — JONATHAN KELLERMAN

“Tom Savage brings to the genre a flair for language reminiscent of the elegant style of John O’Hara. His characters are well-crafted, believable, and three-dimensional. Precipice is a rapid read, and difficult to put down.” — DENVER POST

“An extremely clever and gripping novel, marvelously plotted and thoroughly spellbinding. Tom Savage is a very gifted writer who creates living, breathing characters, wonderful dialogue, and mesmerizing tension. The ending is as good and surprising as anything I’ve read in years. Do not peek at the last page!” — NELSON DeMILLE