The Damage Done [Hardcover]

Hilary Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2010

Winner of the Anthony Award for Best First Novel

Lily Moore, a successful travel writer, fled to Spain to get away from her troubled, drug-addicted younger sister, Claudia.  But when Claudia is found dead in a bathtub on the anniversary of their mother’s suicide, Lily must return to New York to deal with the aftermath.

The situation shifts from tragic to baffling when the body at the morgue turns out to be a stranger’s. The dead woman had been using Claudia’s identity for months.  The real Claudia had vanished, reappearing briefly on the day her impostor died.  As Claudia transforms from victim to suspect in the eyes of the police, Lily becomes determined to find her before they do.

Is Claudia actually missing, or is she playing an elaborate con game?  And who’s responsible for the body that was found in the bathtub?  An obsessive ex-lover?  An emotionally disturbed young man with a rich and powerful father?  Or Lily’s own former fiancé, who turns out to be more deeply involved with Claudia than he admits?

As Lily searches for answers, a shadowy figure stalks her and the danger to her grows.  Determined to learn the truth at any cost, she is unprepared for the terrible toll it will take on her and those she loves.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Davidson's razor sharp mystery debut, travel journalist Lily Moore, who's been living in Spain, rushes home to Manhattan's Lower East Side on learning that her younger sister, Claudia, a recovering heroin addict, has apparently drowned in her bathtub on the anniversary of their mother's suicide. The corpse in the morgue, however, is that of a stranger who'd been posing as Claudia for months. So where's Claudia? An increasingly frantic Lily launches her private investigation while NYPD detectives Norah Renfrew and hunky "Brux" Bruxton oversee the official one. As Lily dodges the amorous attentions of Martin Sklar, her wealthy ex-boyfriend, who she suspects might've had a secret affair with Claudia, she discovers Claudia's connection to a recently deceased "pseudopsychologist" who had a habit of getting too involved with his female patients. Davidson, herself a travel journalist (Frommer's Toronto 2010), offers a great portrait of sisterly love, despite a dysfunctional past, as well as a highly satisfying mystery.
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From Booklist

Travel writer Lily Moore is called back to New York by news of the death of her younger sister, Claudia, but on arrival, she discovers that the body found in the bathtub of her apartment isn’t Claudia’s. (Lily had taken her heroin-addict sister in to save her from life on the streets, but she fled to Spain when living with Claudia became unbearable.) So who died in the apartment that Lily still pays for? Where is Claudia? And how are Claudia’s close friend and onetime lover, wealthy Tariq Lawrence, and Lily’s ex-fiancé, real-estate magnate Martin Sklar, involved? With the help of her best friend, Jesse, and a couple of sympathetic cops, Lily traces strands of a tangled web back to a shady rehab facility. Travel-journalist Davidson does a fine job with characterizations, gradually fleshing out the Moore sisters’ backstory, and she keeps plot tangents under control to spin a tale of nonstop action with a nice final twist. An entertaining and promising crime-fiction debut, with the potential for a sequel. --Michele Leber

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (September 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765326973
• ISBN-13: 978-0765326973
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,176,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was a prolific journalist before I turned to crime... crime fiction, that is. My debut novel, THE DAMAGE DONE (Forge, 2010) won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Crimespree Award for Best First Novel (it was a finalist for the Macavity and Arthur Ellis awards). My second novel, THE NEXT ONE TO FALL, will be published by Forge in February 2012. Some of my short stories appear in anthologies, including CRIME FACTORY: THE FIRST SHIFT, BLOOD GUTS & WHISKEY and BEAT TO A PULP: ROUND ONE. Before that, my day job was travel journalist: I've written 17 guidebooks for Frommer's and hundreds of articles for magazines in the U.S. and Canada. I also run the www.GlutenFreeGuidebook.com site, for people with celiac disease/gluten intolerance. You can see more of my writing and photography at www.HilaryDavidson.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stellar debut, September 30, 2010

By 

Lauren Winters "Lauren Winters" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Damage Done (Hardcover)

Although Hilary Davidson has been writing amazing short fiction for some time now, this is her "feature-length" debut. The release of The Damage Done came burdened with oustanding previews from various authors and bloggers in the crime fiction community. I wanted to love it, but I feared the expectations. I'm not a fan of cliched phrases such as "unputdownable" and "infinitely readable" but The Damage Done proved to be both - my expectations were not only met but exceeded. I cracked the book open when it arrived at my doorstep and finished the next day, not something I generally have the time to accomplish.

Well-plotted and finely written, the book provided me with insight into each character, flaws and all, and I became invested. Whether I wanted their end to be good or bad, I cared about what happened to each character. Maybe the highest regard I can give to a book is that it has no or few false notes. The Damage Done earned my highest regard. I'm a fairly tough critic, and this book will no doubt find a place in my top 10 reads of 2010.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and delivers the goods, November 4, 2010

By 

J. Summerell (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Damage Done (Hardcover)

Like a prior reviewer I thought I had things figured out. Maybe.

I was wrong.

THE DAMAGE DONE punches you in the gut in the last pages and turns you on your ear.

Hilary Davidson's debut is a fantastic example of the genre, and given that it IS a fiction debut novel it's stellar. Having read some of Ms. Davidson's short stories I knew I wouldn't be disappointed with this, but I hadn't quite expected this novel to be as fantastic as it is. In fact, after I closed the book I had to walk off the emotional roller coaster my nerves had ridden. This book not only has a tight plot and well-conceived characters, but it also has emotional depth not often found in the genre these days.

Unexpected, fresh, and wonderful. If you haven't read it yet, do so.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Spectacular Novel, October 23, 2010

By 

CFH (Portland, ME) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Damage Done (Hardcover)

To say that THE DAMAGE DONE is a brilliant debut is both true and too faint of praise. Were this Davidson's first book or her tenth, THE DAMAGE DONE would be one hell of an accomplishment. What begins with a gripping premise deepens with every passing page, leaving you reading as fast as your eyes can manage to find out what happens next. Featuring an impressive cast of characters -- each riveting in their own right -- and anchored by a protagonist that's equal parts bright, scrappy, and vulnerable, THE DAMAGE DONE is a thriller for folks bored by standard thrillers, one which never delves into imitation or pastiche.

This is the kind of book you keep reading 'cause you need to. The kind of book you can't help but fear will fall apart come the end, because the set-up's just too damn good. But rather than falling apart, THE DAMAGE DONE ends beautifully, pummeling you with revelations of character and mystery both so quickly you can scarcely catch your breath before knocked sideways by another.

This is the kind of book that plants your at your keyboard on a Saturday night, typing away on Amazon so folks'll know just how great it is.

So what're you waiting for? Do yourself a favor and buy this baby NOW.