Ever since Keith Ridgway published his landmark cult novel Hawthorn & Child, his ardent fans have yearned for more Finally, Ridgway gives us A Shock, his thrilling and unsparing, slippery and shockingly good new novel. Formed as a rondel of interlocking stories with a clutch of more or less loosely connected repeating characters, it’s at once deracinated yet potent with place, druggy yet frighteningly shot through with reality. His people appear, disappear, and reappear. They’re on the fringes of London, clinging to sanity or solvency or a story by their fingernails, consumed by emotions and anxieties in fuzzily understood situations. A deft, high-wire act, full of imprecise yet sharp dialog as well as witchy sleights of hand reminiscent of Muriel Spark, A Shock delivers a knockout punch of an ending. Perhaps Ridgway’s most breathtaking quality is his scintillating stealthiness: you can never quite put your finger on how he casts his spell—he delivers the shock of a master jewel thief (already far-off and scot-free) stealing your watch: when at some point you look down at your wrist, all you see is that in more than one way you don’t know what time it is…
A mind-blowing adventure into a literary fourth dimension: part noir, part London snapshot, all unsettlingly amazing Hawthorn and his partner, Child, are called to the scene of a mysterious shooting in North London. The only witness is unreliable, the clues are scarce, and the victim, a young man who lives nearby, swears he was shot by a ghost car. While Hawthorn battles with fatigue and strange dreams, the crime and the narrative slip from his grasp and the stories of other Londoners take over: a young pickpocket on the run from his boss; an editor in possession of a disturbing manuscript; a teenage girl who spends her days at the Tate Modern; a pack of wolves; and a madman who has been infected by the former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Haunting these disparate lives is the shadowy figure of Mishazzo, an elusive crime magnate who may be running the city, or may not exist at all.
'A masterpiece' JON MCGREGOR'Impossible to forget' THE TIMES'Astonishing' GUARDIAN'Startling' FINANCIAL TIMESWINNER OF THE EU PRIZE FOR LITERATURE'BOOK OF THE YEAR' NEW STATESMAN, OBSERVER, IRISH TIMES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE The fields were eternal, our life the only way of things, and I would do whatever was required of me to protect it.The autumn of 1933 is the most beautiful Edie Mather can remember, though the Great War still casts a shadow over the cornfields of her beloved home, Wych Farm.When charismatic, outspoken Constance FitzAllen arrives from London to write about fading rural traditions, she takes an interest in fourteen-year-old Edie, showing her a kindness she has never known before. But the older woman isn't quite what she seems.As harvest time approaches and pressures mount on the whole community, Edie must find a way to trust her instincts and save herself from disaster.
A lawyer gets an unsettling message twenty years after her lover’s death on 9/11, in this “fast-paced and emotional page-turner” by the author of The Dilemma (Christian White, bestselling author). At last, I’ve found you. A shock, I’m sure. But in time, I’ll explain. Martin Back in 2001, a young Lucie worked in New York City and was in love with Martin, who promised to leave his wife for her. Then he became one of the many victims of the terrorist attack of September 11. Two decades later, Lucie has just joined the staff of a prestigious London law firm after a bitter separation. However, her attempt at a new start is derailed by a baffling hand-delivered note—signed Martin. Is her vivid imagination playing tricks? Did her long-lost lover have stage his own disappearance under the cover of that fateful day, or could it be that someone else is stalking her? Filled with compelling characters and unsettling plot twists, spanning London, New York, and Sydney, A Voice in the Night is an addictive thriller about one woman’s quest to solve a mystery from the past and the thin line between hope and dread. “Masterful pacing and stealthy execution . . . keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing right up until the end.” —Julietta Henderson, author of The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman “An eerie and riveting story.” —Lynn Hightower, author of Alien Blues “A tightly crafted, clever thriller.” —Sarah Clutton, author of The Daughter’s Promise
Jingqiu, an innocent young woman from a politically questionable family in the city, is selected as one of a small group of students to be sent to the countryside to work on a project that will further the Cultural Revolution. Clever, curious and eager, she tries to fit in with her hosts and the rural way of life, and it isn't appropriate for her to fall in love. But she does, with the son of a mighty army general. This beautiful, simple story of love against the odds will break your heart.
Love will always find a way...Discover the intriguing secrets of Hawthorn Place in this heartfelt dual-time novel, filled with warmth and charm, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley and Cecelia Ahern. Two houses, hundreds of miles apart...yet connected always. When life throws Molly Butterfield a curveball, she decides to spend some time with her recently widowed granddad, Wally, at Hawthorn Place, his quirky Victorian house on the Dorset coast. But cosseted Molly struggles to look after herself, never mind her grieving granddad, until the accidental discovery of an identical Art and Crafts house on the Norfolk coast offers her an unexpected purpose, as well as revealing a bewildering mystery. Discovering that both Hawthorn Place and Acacia House were designed by architect Percy Gladwell, Molly uncovers the secret of a love which linked them, so powerful it defied reason. What follows is a summer which will change Molly for ever...
Previously published as GIDEON THE CUTPURSE 1763 Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine -- and Peter and Kate's only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Peter, and Kate are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.