Five: A Novel

Five 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.

“Five is a gripping, chilling story that asks difficult questions about judgement, forgiveness, and the notion of cause and effect.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark

Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister’s Five 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.

None 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.

These 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.

An incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, Five 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.

About the Author :
Ilona Bannister, born and raised in New York, lives in the UK with her husband and sons. Her first book, When I Ran Away, was longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize.

Review :
“Ridiculously good!! Razor-sharp, wickedly funny, and darkly thrilling. Five is a gripping, chilling story that asks difficult questions about judgement, forgiveness, and the notion of cause and effect. Unforgettable.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark

“Propulsive, sharp, and ferociously addictive, Five 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.”—Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Note and The Better Sister

“Ilona Bannister has written a riveting, ticking time bomb of a novel. Five is brilliant: a gripping tour de force about destiny and choice—and, yes, an oncoming train. I devoured it. You will, too.”—Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Viscerally insightful, emotionally punchy, wryly observed, and with scalpel-precision writing, Five is a tour de force of a novel. I read it in one sitting. Bravo!”—Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes and We Live Here Now

“Original. Urgent. Disturbing. Brilliant. Quite unlike anything I’ve ever read. Don’t miss this one—Ilona Bannister is a major talent.”—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and She Didn’t See It Coming

“Five is twisty, inventive, and dark as a subway tunnel. Bannister dissects the thriller trope with a meta-edged scalpel, divulging to the reader the dubious morality inside each of her characters and asking us to weigh the scales of our empathy as we discover who lives, who dies, and—to our horror—how we might have chosen differently.”—Philip Fracassi, author of The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre

“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.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“[A] sharply observed suspense novel from Bannister . . . [her] compassion and gift for nerve-shredding tension make this a ride worth taking.”—Publishers Weekly

“Bannister writes a morbidly entertaining story about deeply unlikable characters and the familial trauma that brings them all together. Her choice to break the fourth wall is a clever way to tell a story that only takes place over the span of about five minutes . . . for fans of intense psychological thrillers.”—Booklist