"This is a gripping psychological thriller...will draw fans of the late Ruth Rendell as well as Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train." —Booklist

"With cool, compelling prose, CONCRETE ANGEL reveals the menace that lurks beneath a mother’s charming facade. An absorbing novel by an unusually fine writer.”
—Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award-winning author of THE MEMORY COLLECTOR

"(An) enthralling, dark debut novel...It’s a potent and at times poignant combination. Those who enjoy suspenseful, atmospheric family drama will find much to love here."
—Library Journal (starred review)

"The characters in Abbott’s debut novel are fully realized."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Christine's mother Eve is sharp, beautiful, charismatic... and a murderous sociopath. Their complicated and heartbreaking relationship is explored in CONCRETE ANGEL -- a riveting depiction of family ties and how they can bind, ensnare, strangle."
—Alison Gaylin, USA Today bestselling author

"CONCRETE ANGEL is debut novelist Patti Abbott’s exquisitely rendered character study of a manipulative mother over two decades. Eve is a woman obsessed – but how will our narrator, Eve’s only daughter, respond as her childhood innocence is taken away? Abbott exhibits a pitch-perfect precision with both language and setting in capturing the tragic world of a mid-century Pennsylvania family."
—Edgar Award-winning author Naomi Hirahara

"A fresh, original voice telling a story that's probably, in broad outline if not detail, more common than we know. But what detail! From the opening sentence, a grabber.”
—SJ Rozan, Edgar-winning author (as Sam Cabot) of SKIN OF THE WOLF

"The characters in Abbott’s debut novel are fully realized."
—Kirkus Reviews

"CONCRETE ANGEL is a noir novel unlike anything you've ever read. Abbott has a new voice that's both chilling and shocking."
—Sandra Scoppetone, award-winning author of the Lauren Laurano series

An atmospheric and eagerly-awaited debut novel from acclaimed crime writer Patricia Abbott, set in Philadelphia in the 1970's about a family torn apart by a mother straight out of "Mommy Dearest", and her children who are at first victims but soon learn they must fight back to survive.

Eve Moran has always wanted “things” and has proven both inventive and tenacious in getting and keeping them. Eve lies, steals, cheats, swindles, and finally commits murder, paying little heed to the cost of her actions on those who love her. Her daughter, Christine, compelled by love, dependency, and circumstance, is caught up in her mother’s deceptions, unwilling to accept the viciousness that runs in her mother's blood. Eve’s powers of seduction are hard to resist for those who come in contact with her toxic allure. It’s only when Christine’s three-year old brother, Ryan begins to prove useful to her mother, and she sees a pattern repeating itself, that Christine finds the courage and means to bring an end to Eve’s tyranny.

An unflinching novel about love, lust and greed that runs deep within our bones, Patricia Abbott cements herself as one of our very best writers of domestic suspense.

Praise for Patricia Abbott:

“Patricia Abbott proves that there are many shades of noir as she
expertly layers her stories with melancholy, loss and the frailness of the human psyche” –Dave Zeltserman

“Patti Abbott is a master when it comes to short stories.”
—Anne Frasier

“Patricia Abbott distinguishes herself as an extraordinary storyteller of the dark recesses of the human heart. Abbott’s characters hit hard, fight dirty, and seek a brand of hardscrabble justice that will leave you both wincing and wishing for more.” –Sophie Littlefield, author of A BAD DAY FOR SORRY

“Abbott’s writing is sharp, dark and heartbreaking. If
you haven’t read her yet, you’d better get going.”

--Sandra Scoppettone, Edgar Award-nominated author of the Lauren Laurano series