Patricia Highsmith

As Edith Howland's life becomes harsh, her diary entries only become brighter and brighter. She invents a happy life. As she knits for imaginary grandchildren, the real world recedes. Her descent into madness is subtle, appalling, and entirely believable.

The Cry of the Owl is a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. It was first published in the US in 1962 by Harper & Row and in the UK by Heinemann the following year. The book tells the story of Robert Forester who, following a painful divorce, develops an obsession with the seemingly happy, …