The Damage Done

From the Publisher

“Grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go till the end.”
—Linda Fairstein, New York Times bestselling author

“[A] razor sharp mystery debut… Davidson offers a great portrait of sisterly love, despite a dysfunctional past, as well as a highly satisfying mystery.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A tale of nonstop action with a nice final twist.”
—Booklist

“An intriguing psychological mystery with a fully drawn protagonist who is surrounded by real characters who either care for her or who want her to fit their idea of who she should be. Readers will eagerly await Davidson’s next book.”
—Library Journal

“A sharp debut. Smart, dark, and complex, this mystery will keep you turning pages deep into the night. Ms. Davidson’s talent is toe-to-toe with the great Laura Lippman. My favorite new voice in crime fiction.”
—Allison Glasgow Robinson, Thuglit

“Sinking us into the noir New York of Sara Gran and Charlie Huston, The Damage Done delivers on all counts, offering both slow-burn suspense and creeping pathos. A rich, haunting debut.”
—Megan Abbott, Edgar Award–winning author of Bury Me Deep

"Likeable characters, a good puzzle and an excellent sense of place. Hilary Davidson is one to watch.”
—Margaret Cannon, The Globe & Mail

“Think Hitchcock writing for the hip Manhattan set. If Tess Gerritsen and Laura Lippman collaborated, you’d get a novel as fine as this. Startling and original.”
—Ken Bruen, award-winning author of London Boulevard

"One of the best debuts I’ve read in years"
—Jon Jordan, Crimespree Magazine

“A polished, nuanced thriller driven by sharply drawn characters and haunted by betrayal and loss. Hilary Davidson’s smart, worldly heroine confronts her own past as well as smooth villains and untrustworthy friends in an accomplished work that brilliantly balances the demands of tightly plotted noir with a compassionate exploration of family secrets and survivor’s guilt. A superb debut.”
—Dennis Tafoya, author of Dope Thief

“One doesn’t have to be a crime-fiction enthusiast to appreciate the rapidly paced plot or well-developed characters. Davidson weaves together a murder mystery so complex, it’ll have you asking ‘whodunit?’ right up until the last page.”
—Suzanna Chang, University of Toronto Magazine

“A twisty, unsettling mystery that explores the nature of identity theft and identity itself. A provocative debut.”
—Jane Stanton Hitchcock, New York Times bestselling author of Social Crimes

“Oh, what a deliciously tangled web of circumstances does author Hilary Davidson weave in her masterful debut, The Damage Done...it almost defies belief that this is Davidson’s first novel.”
—Elizabeth A. White, Savannah Morning News

“A sleek, savvy mystery that kept me turning pages and trying to figure out the beautifully constructed plot. Hilary Davidson’s debut is a memorable one.”
—Ed Gorman, award-winning author of The Poker Club

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. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Successful writer Lily Moore returns to New York from Spain when her heroin-addicted sister is found dead in her bathtub on the anniversary of their mother's suicide. Lily is shocked to find that the dead woman is not her sister but has been living as Claudia Moore for six months. Where is the real Claudia? At this very vulnerable time, Lily's ex-fiancé reappears, causing further emotional turmoil, and then her life begins to disintegrate as everything that Lily believes is turned upside down. VERDICT Making a notable fiction debut, travel journalist Davidson has written an intriguing psychological mystery with a fully drawn protagonist who is surrounded by real characters who either care for her or who want her to fit their idea of who she should be. Readers will eagerly await Davidson's next book.

Kirkus Reviews

Even death doesn't stop the family's black sheep from causing more problems.

Claudia, who ingested drugs the way most of us breathe air, apparently took her last fix, then toppled into her bathtub, where she died. Eerily, the date of her demise coincides with the anniversary of her mother's suicide. Lily, who spent years tidying up the messes left by their father's abandonment, their mother's temperament and Claudia's escapades, returns from a year doing travel writing in Spain to handle her sister's final misdeed. She's stunned to learn that the body in the tub isn't Claudia; the woman who phoned in the death has gone missing; and the new tenant in the neighboring apartment seems to know every aspect of the family's sad history. Hoping that Claudia is alive somewhere, Lily goes looking for her with the help of her chum Tiger. Her search leads to some unsettling developments. Claudia may have seduced Lily's ex-fiancé Martin; Claudia's lover Tariq gets shot at; several people from the rehab center Claudia stayed at, including the corpse in the tub, are now dead. There will be one last revelation before all facts are known and Lily's days of mothering her sister come at last to an end.

Davidson's first mystery follows 18 nonfiction books. The story is zealously overplotted, but Lily's emotional center is true, and her career as a travel writer might make her a decent candidate for more temperate adventures.