Publishers Weekly
★ 04/08/2024
A young widow, a mysterious astronomer, and a doomsday cult collide as the arrival of a once-in-a-lifetime comet transforms tiny Jericho, New South Wales, into a global hot spot in Todd’s intoxicating debut. As grieving and guilt-stricken narrator Sylvia Knight approaches the second anniversary of the car crash that killed her husband, Christopher, and left Sylvia seriously injured, the only thing keeping her afloat is finding the hit-and-run driver who shattered their lives. But a seemingly chance encounter with Theo St. John, the charismatic American discoverer of the impending comet, at the funeral home where she works, surprises Sylvia by stirring her interest in him—and perhaps even her attraction. She has little bandwidth, however, to dwell on those feelings between planning the grand funeral mystic Joseph Evans wants for his late mother and doggedly pursuing her hit-and-run investigation with the help of Christopher’s cop friend. When Sylvia and her mother-in-law, Sandy, attend a meditation group Joseph runs, she discovers that Danny Ward, the only witness to the crash, is among Joseph’s inner circle. Sensing a lead, Sylvia encourages Sandy to continue joining her at the frequent, increasingly intense sessions, despite strong warnings to the contrary from Theo. As Sandy is sucked into Joseph’s orbit and her own feelings for Theo grow, Todd skillfully ratchets up the suspense on the way toward a stunning climax. The result is a lyrical and inventive literary mystery from an author whom readers will hope returns far sooner than any visiting comet. Agent: Janet Silver, Aevitas Creative Management. (July)
From the Publisher
"[An] intoxicating debut...Todd skillfully ratchets up the suspense on the way toward a stunning climax. The result is a lyrical and inventive literary mystery from an author whom readers will hope returns far sooner than any visiting comet.”—Publishers Weekly, (starred review)
“Bright Objects is a mesmerizing, profound tale of obsession, exploring the need to believe in something and the duty to live in reality. Ruby Todd infuses the novel with almost unbearable tension—it moves toward a breathtaking climax as surely as a comet hurtling toward Earth.”—Clémence Michallon, author of The Quiet Tenant
“I loved Bright Objects. Sylvia is an enormously appealing narrator who offers a thoughtful and nuanced perspective on a world turned on its axis.”—Polly Stewart, author of The Good Ones
“Bright Objects is the story of a woman consumed by an unquellable obsession, reduced by solitude and incompleteness, caught in an unconscious embattled conspiracy of her own making. Ruby Todd writes of the strain of fearful events and discoveries, and the fatal inevitability of a sense of guilt when someone close to one is killed, all the while revealing to us the hidden realities that lie in wait for us.”—Susanna Moore, author of In the Cut and The Lost Wife
“A novel written with immense grace, beauty, and depth, Bright Objects plumbs the farthest reaches of one widow's grief, ultimately revealing the brilliance of our humanity in the face of immense loss—the will to fight for what's right, the will to hope, and most importantly, the will to love again. A surprising, thrilling, and seductively dangerous comet of a book.”—Chelsea Bieker, author of Godshot and Madwoman
“The X-Files meets Nick Cave’s Ghosteen—science, faith, and human folly collide in this celestial melodrama.”—Laura Elizabeth Woollett, author of The Newcomer
“A literary mystery of consummate elegance and gravity. Bright Objects traces a graceful orbit around the phenomena of human grief and love.”—Jessica Au, author of Cold Enough for Snow
“Gripping, thrilling. An electric story of small towns, big secrets and the last great comet of the millennium.”—Felicity McLean, author of The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone
