Books for Adults
Vita & the Birds
A lie brought her happiness…
A dark secret set her free
A haunting mystery for fans of Eve Chase, Kate Morton and Kate Mosse.
‘A poignant, page-turning story, beautifully written’ - Leonora Nattrass, author of Black Drop & Blue Water
1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the shadow of her controlling older brother, Aubrey. Trapped and isolated on the East Anglian coast, Vita takes solace in watching the birds that fly over the marshes. But then she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney. The two women form a close bond, and Vita finally glimpses a chance to escape Aubrey’s grasp and be as free as the birds she loves.
1997: Decades later and in the wake of her mother’s death, Eve Blakeney returns to the coast where she spent childhood summers with her beloved grandmother, Dodie. Eve hopes the visit will help make sense of her grief. The last thing she expects to find is a bundle of letters that hint at the heart-breaking story of Dodie’s relationship with a woman named Vita.
Eve and Vita’s stories are linked by a shattering secret that echoes through the decades, and when Eve discovers the truth, it will overturn everything she thought she knew about her family – and change her life forever.
The Unravelling
Two women.
A wild Island.
A terrible truth buried deep in the past…
A darkly beautiful dual-timeline novel with a captivating mystery, for fans of Diane Setterfield and Kiran Millwood Hargrave
'Like a surreal cabinet of curiosities - haunting, eerie, evocative' Bridget Collins, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Binding
When Tartelin Brown accepts a job with the reclusive Marianne Stourbridge, she finds herself on a wild island with a mysterious history.
Tartelin is tasked with hunting butterflies for Marianne's research. But she quickly uncovers something far more intriguing than the curious creatures that inhabit the landscape.
Because the island and Marianne share a remarkable history, and what happened all those years ago has left its scars, and some terrible secrets.
As Tartelin pieces together Marianne's connection to the island, she must confront her own reasons for being there. Can the two women finally face up to the painful memories that bind them so tightly to the past?
Nb, The Unravelling is called The Women of Pearl Island in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
THE ILLUSTRATED CHILD
A young girl.
A hidden treasure.
A dark family secret.
‘An extraordinary debut… beautiful, dark, haunting’ Edward Carey
Romilly Kemp has an idyllic childhood, roaming the wilderness that surrounds her father’s ramshackle farmhouse. But when he makes her the star of his beautifully illustrated books, her carefree if somewhat lonely existence is threatened.
The books are thought to hold clues to an elaborate treasure hunt, and strangers turn up at their door, anxious to get a glimpse of the ‘Kemp Treasure Girl’. But when her father falls ill, leaving Romilly more isolated and alone than ever, she begins to delve deeper into the books – and her past.
As she makes sense of the clues he has hidden, she finds a truth that is far darker and more devastating than any treasure hunt has a right to be. For not everything that is hidden is gold.
Nb, The Illustrated Child is called The Book of Hidden Wonders in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Book Club Questions
The lovely people at lovereading.co.uk have come up with some great book club questions for The Illustrated Child. For their full blog piece, click here!
How would you describe this novel to someone without including any spoilers?
Did you expect this novel to take the route it did, were there any surprises along the way?
How did you feel about the more difficult issues you discovered, do you think Romilly is a successful narrator?
What did you think about the adults in Romilly’s life, how did she herself view parenting?
How did your feelings towards Romilly’s friend Stacey change during the novel?
What is it about this novel that makes it feel so different?
The father and daughter relationship is a complicated one, did your own thoughts alter as you read?
What did you think about Braër House, and the connection between nature and the house.
Would you want to read Romilly and the Kitten and the other books? Did you find the books easy to picture in your mind?
This is the author’s debut, would you be inclined to read her next novel no matter what the theme?
