What would you do if your closest friend tried to steal your life? 'Combining the allure of Gone Girl with the sophistication of literary fiction, Based on a True Story is a creepy but unapologetically clever psychological thriller' Independent Today I know that L. is the sole reason for my powerlessness. And that the two years that we were friends almost made me stop writing for ever. Overwhelmed by the huge success of her latest novel, exhausted and unable to begin writing her next book, Delphine meets L. L. is the kind of impeccable, sophisticated woman who fascinates Delphine; a woman with smooth hair and perfectly filed nails, and a gift for saying the right thing. Delphine finds herself irresistibly drawn to her, their friendship growing as their meetings, notes and texts increase. But as L. begins to dress like Delphine, and, in the face of Delphine's crippling inability to write, L. even offers to answer her emails, and their relationship rapidly intensifies. L. becomes more and more involved in Delphine's life until she patiently takes control and turns it upside down: slowly, surely, insidiously. Based on a True Story is a chilling novel of suspense that will leave you questioning the truth and its significance long after you have turned the final page.

What would you do if your closest friend tried to steal your life? A chilling new novel from the prize-winning author of No & Me - a Richard & Judy Bookclub selection

If Simone de Beauvoir had written Single White Female with nods to Marguerite Duras, the result might be something like this Gallic grip-lit sensation . [de Vigan] plays with the tropes of the psychological thriller, but her work is steeped in philosophical ruminations