The Barter

THE BARTER is a debut novel that masterfully fuses the stories of two women who must measure the true cost of a proposed sacrifice not only against their own lives, but the lives of their children. "Eerie and atmospheric, this psychological thriller will twist its way into readers' psyches." -Booklist In today's "lean in" era, debut novelist Siobhan Adcock casts the issue of whether women can ever "have it all" into a superbly written novel that will have readers everywhere talking. Bridget has given up her career to raise her daughter, but now a terrifying presence has entered their Texas home-and only Bridget can feel it. In 1902, motherhood spurs Rebecca to turn her back on her husband, despite her own misgivings. As Adcock crosscuts these two women's stories with mounting tension, each arrives at a terrible ordeal of her own making.

About the Author :
SIOBHAN ADCOCK has an MFA from Cornell University. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Review :
"A thoughtful and surprisingly witty novel. It weighs its horrors precisely...What you're afraid of is part of who you are."—The New York Times Book Review 

"Eerie and atmospheric, this psychological thriller will twist its way into readers' psyches."—Booklist 

"Motherhood is the destabilizing bod that nearly undoes two women linked across a century in Adcock’s suspenseful debut."—Publishers Weekly

“The Barter is a delightful and utterly unique portrait of parenthood across the ages. Siobhan Adcock manages to express what is inexpressible about motherhood and marriage, deftly capturing the banal and the divine, the give and the take. As funny, profound, otherworldly, and terrifying as love itself, this is a debut novel not to be missed.”—Amy Shearn, author of The Mermaid of Brooklyn and How Far is the Ocean From Here 

“Absolutely outstanding. The Barter is a ghost story haunted by love, a love story haunted by ghosts, and a literary mystery propelled by the unsaid secrets of marriage and motherhood. In Adcock's world, you won't know whether it's fear, love, or outright beauty making your heart beat like a drum. You won't know, and you won't care at all. You'll just have to keep reading.”—Patrick Somerville, author of This Bright River and The Cradle

“Reading The Barter is like standing at the edge of an abyss: deep, dark, and terrifying, it is also a gripping and exhilarating story about fear, courage, and the demands and sacrifices of love. An enthralling page-turner of a novel that had me on the edge of my seat from the first page and continued to haunt me after the last.”—Catherine Chung, author of Forgotten Country 

“Siobhan Adcock takes a very contemporary question – can women ever really “have it all” or are trade-offs invariably exacted? – and examines it through the startling prism of a ghost story. Part comedy of manners, part historical fiction, and part genuinely creepy page-turner, The Barter casts a lively eye on the sacrifices, willing and involuntary, women make as they endeavor to weave together the heart’s various desires.”—Leah Hager Cohen, author of No Book But the World 

“Siobhan Adcock’s impressive debut is a spellbinding blend of historical fiction and ghost story, made all the more believable—and harrowing—by its realistic depiction of the tenuous balance between fulfillment and sacrifice within a marriage.”—Jennifer Chiaverini, author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival