Ripley Under Water: The last novel in the iconic RIPLEY series - now a major Netflix show

Patricia Highsmith

Feb 2014 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

The last book in the iconic, propulsive RIPLEY series - now a major Netflix series starring Andrew Scott.

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'The Ripley books are marvellously, insanely readable' THE TIMES

'What whitens your knuckles as you read is the game Ripley plays, his ploys and dodges' SUNDAY TIMES

'Ripley is back, as polite and lethal as ever' TIME OUT

Tom Ripley is quietly living in luxury at his chateau at Villeperce. Tom Ripley passes his leisured days tending the dahlias, practicing the harpsichord and enjoying the company of his lovely wife, Heloise. Never mind the bloodstains on the basement floor.

He has a past, however, that would not bear too much close scrutiny. He is certain that he has covered his tracks where murder and forgery are concerned. But when a certain American couple move in next door, he soon realises his every move is being shadowed. When menacing coincidences begin to occur, a spiralling contest of sinister hints and mutual terrorism ensues, resulting in one of Patricia Highsmith's most elegantly harrowing novels to date.

Ripley fears his secrets may be discovered and he will stop at nothing to prevent that from happening . . .

'The No.1 Greatest Crime Writer' THE TIMES

Ratings and reviews

Lucid prose and mastery of the art of being unpredictable while engaging the reader. Ripley Under Water bears all the hallmarks of Highsmith's ability to write a 'why done it' rather than a 'who done it' .

In some ways so little happens. But being around Ripley is hypnotic.

About the author

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and moved to New York when she was six. In her senior year, she edited the college magazine, having decided at the age of sixteen to become a writer. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train (1950), was made into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. The Talented Mr Ripley (1955), introduced the fascinating anti-hero Tom Ripley, and was made into an Oscar-winning film in 1999 by Anthony Minghella. Highsmith died in Locarno, Switzerland, in February 1995. Her last novel, Small g: A Summer Idyll, was published posthumously, the same year.