'Sad, funny, clever, engrossing; this is a wonderful debut.' - Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13

'Dazzling, formally subversive, brimming with compassion' - Colin Walsh, author of Kala

A blazing, inventive novel about the mark we leave on the lives of others, that plays out in ways you least expect - very much like life itself.

A LOCKED ROOM.
A HIDDEN LIFE.

Abigail and her brother Benjamin have always been close. To celebrate his birthday, Abigail hires a grand old house and gathers their friends together for a murder mystery party. As the night goes on, they drink too much and play games. Relationships are forged, consolidated or frayed. Someone kisses someone they shouldn’t, someone else’s heart is broken.

In the morning, everyone wakes up – except Benjamin.

Suddenly everything is not quite what it seems. An eminent detective arrives determined to find Benjamin’s killer. The house now has a butler, a gardener and a housekeeper. This is a locked-room mystery, and everyone is a suspect.

As Abigail attempts to fathom her brother’s unexpected death in a world that has been turned upside down, she begins to wonder whether perhaps the true mystery might have been his life . . .

'A dark, twisting, dismantling work . . . I've never read anything like it' - Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters