Read of the Week

The Temp

Michelle Frances
Pac Macmillan South Africa
Review: Simonéh de Bruin
She’s got your job, and, on top of it, it looks like she wants your life…
Carrie is a successful TV producer in a high-pressure job. She is talented, liked and well-respected.
She and her husband, Adriaan, an award-winning screenwriter decided years ago that they didn’t want children.
But now, just as they’re both in the pinnacle of their careers, she discovers that she’s pregnant and even more startling – she wants to keep the baby.
But in such a competitive industry, Carrie looks on the prospect of maternity leave with trepidation. Enter Emma, the temp, who is smart, willing and charming.
Carrie starts fearing that Emma is maneuvering her way into all aspects of her life – the problem is everyone else adores her.
On the face of it, Michelle Frances’s second novel, The Temp, sounds like it was moulded in the vein of the 1992 psychological thriller, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, but don’t judge a book by its jacket.     

Fances’s book is an original with a taut plot and twists and turns that will keep you paging right until the surprise ending.
Her debut psychological thriller, The Girlfriend, has been optioned by Imaginarium Studios for film adaptation.
Her fans will also be pleased to know that her third thriller, The Daughter, a story of mothers and daughters, secrets and revelations, is now available in South Africa.