Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2021
304 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
Mary Dixie Carter's The Photographer is a slyly observed, suspenseful story of envy and obsession, told in the mesmerizing, irresistible voice of a character who will make you doubt that seeing is ever believing.
WHEN PERFECT IMAGES
As a photographer, Delta Dawn observes the seemingly perfect lives of New York City's elite: snapping photos of their children's birthday parties, transforming images of stiff hugs and tearstained faces into visions of pure joy, and creating moments these parents long for.
ARE MADE OF BEAUTIFUL LIES
But when Delta is hired for Natalie Straub's eleventh birthday, she finds herself wishing she wasn't behind the lens but a part of the scene―in the Straub family's gorgeous home and elegant life.
THE TRUTH WILL BE EXPOSED
That's when Delta puts her plan in place, by babysitting for Natalie; befriending her mother, Amelia; finding chances to listen to her father, Fritz. Soon she's bathing in the master bathtub, drinking their expensive wine, and eyeing the beautifully finished garden apartment in their townhouse. It seems she can never get close enough, until she discovers that photos aren't all she can manipulate.
"[O]utstanding...Brace for hold-your-breath suspense from this dazzlingly devious newcomer." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"As sharply focused and mesmerizing as a magic trick and a good deal creepier than most." - Kirkus Reviews
"The sense of impending disaster is palpable, as the suspense and tension grow, and what happens at the end is unexpected and odd. Creepy, dark, and suspenseful...A gripping read." - Booklist
"[An] explosive debut." - Library Journal
"A twisted, dark, psychological thriller, The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter is a riveting and unsettling read. I couldn't put it down." - Lisa Lutz, New York Times bestselling author of The Passenger
"Why create the perfect life when you can just insert yourself into someone else's? Mary Dixie Carter's The Photographer is You meets Parasite, and I inhaled every dark, twisted moment of this brilliant thriller. Sharply observant, tense, and totally hypnotic, The Photographer is the most addictive suspense novel I've read in years." - Jennifer Hillier, award-winning author of Jar of Hearts and Little Secrets
"The tension simmers brilliantly in this addictive and intricately constructed story of beauty, longing and the shadow side of desire. By holding up a mirror to our modern-day obsessions, Mary Dixie Carter shows us the futility of chasing greener grass and the madness that begins with picture-perfection. After reading The Photographer, the phrase 'living the dream' takes on a whole new and chilling meaning." - Anna Downes, international bestselling author of The Safe Place
This information about The Photographer was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Mary Dixie Carter's writing has appeared in TIME, the Economist, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Sun, the New York Observer and other print and online publications. She worked at the Observer for five years, where she served as the publishing director. In addition to writing, she also has a background as a professional actor. Mary Dixie graduated from Harvard College with an honors degree in English Literature and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two young children. The Photographer is her first novel.
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