A Flaw in the Design cover art

A Flaw in the Design

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

A Flaw in the Design

By: Nathan Oates
Narrated by: David Pittu
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £17.94

Buy Now for £17.94

About this listen

Gil has been estranged from his sister ever since her obnoxious son tried to drown his daughter on a family holiday. That's Gil's interpretation; his sister thinks he was only playing around.

Or did. When she and her husband perish in a car crash, Gil becomes his nephew's legal guardian. Matthew is now an urbane 17-year-old, raised in Manhattan's Upper East Side, a planet away from rural Vermont, where Gil lives with his wife and daughters, teaching at the local university.

At first, Matthew seems like he has changed, but when he begins to take Gil's writing classes, he submits a story detailing the various ways a character resembling Gil's youngest daughter might die. While Gil believes that he has invited a psychopath to live under his roof, the women in his life are impressed by Matthew's intelligence and charm. Is Gil losing his mind, or are his family in desperate danger?

©2023 Nathan Oates (P)2026 Profile Books Ltd Domestic Thrillers Suspense Thriller & Suspense Marriage Fiction New York

Critic reviews

"A literary thriller of the highest order." (Julia May Jonas, author of Vladimir)
All stars
Most relevant
I didn’t like the ending at all in fact I found it quite infuriating and to me it let down the book. Also reminded me of bret Easton Ellis’s the shards.

Erm

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book, loved the writing and loved disliking both main characters. I get the ending but it would have been very satisfying to see him get his comeuppance

Really Good Book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Saw this book reviewed in the FT a few weeks ago and thought it sounded interesting. I so glad that I listened to this. So often I listen to and read books only to be disappointed by the quality of the writing, finding characters and stories that lack credibility. This book however exceeded all my expectations, it’s well written, a proper psychological thriller. It’s well paced and characters, dialogue and situations feel real. Excellent narration. Highly recommend, best use of a credit in years !

Great Book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One of the most gripping books I’ve read in a while. I look forward to more from this author.

Gripping

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.