In an unrewarding relationship with an alcoholic musician, and treading water in a thankless job, Anna is hardly living her best life. She's never felt like she fitted in. She's never felt like she's had a proper family.
Her birth mother abandoned her on a traffic island when she was a baby, her adopted mother died in a car crash when she was seven, a car crash Anna survived. Then her father sent her away to boarding school.
Then Anna finds out she's pregnant. Chapter by chapter we move through her roller coaster of a pregnancy. Then she finds a clue about her birth family and she becomes consumed with finding out more. Out in time for #MothersDay but ‘Marlene’, ‘Ma’ might not be the birth mother that Anna had always dreamt of being reunited with.
This is an absolute page-turner. It'll have you sneaking away to grab precious reading time.
Motherhood can be murder... Perfect for fans of MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER, MAGPIE and HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY. 'Terrific, so twisted' HARRIET TYCE
'One hell of a ride!' THE SUN 'Superbly written and darkly funny. I simply couldn't look away.' JANICE HALLETT 'An absolute corker' GLAMOUR
Anna never had a real family. She never needed one.
But when she meets her birth mother, Marlene, everything changes - because the same day, she learns she's going to have a baby of her own.
Now Anna's hurled headfirst into a new family, whether she wants it or not. At last, Marlene has a chance to become the mother she never was. She's so close, she can practically taste it.
And nothing - or more accurately, no one - will stand in her way.
'Dark, funny' GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE MONTH
'A startlingly original, pitch dark page-turner' CLAIRE MCGOWAN
'Dark, brilliant, and completely and utterly compelling.' JENNY COLGAN
'Deliciously dark.' JOHN MARRS
'Marlene is a jaw-dropping creation, the mother of malign mothers' BETH MORREY
'A stunning ending that leaves you breathless. Astonishingly good.' ROBERT THOROGOOD
'Twists and turns until you really can't imagine what might happen next' KATY BRAND
'Completely gripping and quite terrifying. I was utterly blindsided by its twists and turns.' LUCY PORTER
'Fantastic: so funny, so human - you won't be able to put it down.' ISY SUTTIE
