{"product_id":"five-isbn-9798217088027","title":"Five","description":"\u003cb\u003eFive lives. Five stories. Four will live—one will die. Who it will be? In this slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction, the choice is all yours.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“\u003ci\u003eFive\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping, chilling story that asks difficult questions about judgement, forgiveness, and the notion of cause and effect.”—Chris Whitaker, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eAll the Colors of the Dark\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHave you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister’s \u003ci\u003eFive\u003c\/i\u003e introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNone of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese are the candidates for this morning’s misfortune. But they don’t know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, \u003ci\u003eFive\u003c\/i\u003e looks at some of the most complicated issues of contemporary life: motherhood, disability, addiction. Every stranger has a story. And in Ilona Bannister’s skillful hands, five people’s stories come together to create an unforgettable novel.“Ridiculously good!! Razor-sharp, wickedly funny, and darkly thrilling. \u003ci\u003eFive\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping, chilling story that asks difficult questions about judgement, forgiveness, and the notion of cause and effect. Unforgettable.”\u003cb\u003e—Chris Whitaker, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eAll the Colors of the Dark\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Propulsive, sharp, and ferociously addictive, \u003ci\u003eFive\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the most original novels I’ve read in years. I devoured it quickly, but I can’t stop thinking about this story. Ilona Bannister is such a talent.”\u003cb\u003e—Alafair Burke, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Note\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Better Sister\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Ilona Bannister has written a riveting, ticking time bomb of a novel. \u003ci\u003eFive\u003c\/i\u003e is brilliant: a gripping tour de force about destiny and choice—and, yes, an oncoming train. I devoured it. You will, too.”\u003cb\u003e—Chris Bohjalian, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Viscerally insightful, emotionally punchy, wryly observed, and with scalpel-precision writing, \u003ci\u003eFive\u003c\/i\u003e is tour-de-force of a novel. I read it in one sitting. Bravo!”\u003cb\u003e—Sarah Pinborough, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eBehind Her Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWe Live Here Now\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Original. Urgent. Disturbing. Brilliant. Quite unlike anything I’ve ever read. Don’t miss this one—Ilona Bannister is a major talent.”\u003cb\u003e—Shari Lapena, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Couple Next Door\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eShe Didn’t See It Coming\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eFive \u003c\/i\u003eis twisty, inventive, and dark as a subway tunnel. Bannister dissects the thriller trope with a meta-edged scalpel, divulging the dubious morality inside each of her characters to the reader and asking us to weigh the scales of our own empathy as we discover who lives, who dies, and—to our horror—how we might have chosen differently.”\u003cb\u003e—Philip Fracassi, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is not your average whodunit . . . [A] tense, deftly written page-turner filled with memorable characters, a surprisingly philosophical core, and a plot in which each minute brings a new surprise . . . [C]lever and incisive writing and the unique format make readers participants in the action and complicit in weighing the characters’ worthiness. It’s unsettling and immersive.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews, \u003c\/i\u003estarred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] sharply observed suspense novel from Bannister . . . [her] compassion and gift for nerve-shredding tension make this a ride worth taking.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eIlona Bannister\u003c\/b\u003e, born and raised in New York, lives in the UK with her husband and sons. Her first book, \u003ci\u003eWhen I Ran Away\u003c\/i\u003e, was longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize.","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233171747045,"sku":"NP9798217088027","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9798217088027.jpg?v=1767727400","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/five-isbn-9798217088027","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}