LoveReading Says
Remote islands, windswept landscapes – and an unsolved murder. Clare Whitfield’s follow up to her much acclaimed debut, People of Abandoned Character, is perfect for fans of dark, twisty tales. When teenager Prue feels obliged to go live with her extended family, we’re slowly pulled into a new faraway landscape in the Shetlands, one that feels barren but full of intrigue. Prue’s on a mission to know the identity of her biological father, but while there gets drawn into another mystery she’s keen to uncover. It’s the kind of book that asks you to be alert, to pay attention, to take in the details and soak up the words. It’ll make the last act of unfolding dramas play out in unforgettable style.
Julie Vuong
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The Gone and the Forgotten Synopsis
Part psychological thriller, part coming-of-age novel from the author of People of Abandoned Character.
An absent father. A missing girl. Buried family secrets. Is the truth worth searching for?
Sixteen-year-old Prue has grown up around secrets. Her gran's stern silence, her mother's teary breakdowns, her aunt's whispered assurances. But now, in the aftermath of her mum's latest 'episode', Prue's decided she's old enough for the truth. She wants to know what it is that makes the adults around her turn tight-lipped and distracted. She wants to know why her mum can't cope. Most of all, she wants to know who her dad is.
Forced to spend the summer in the Shetlands with her aunt, Ruth, and new uncle, Archie, Prue arrives determined to find some answers. But she soon finds herself caught up in a web of family secrets, betrayals and - perhaps - even murder...
Set during one long summer in Shetland, this is a beautifully drawn, psychologically astute novel about a young woman's search for truth, even as she realises the lies that surround her have been keeping her safe.
Praise for The Gone and the Forgotten:
'What a beautiful, absorbing, emotional book... A stunning read' Louise Beech
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781838932794 |
| Publication date: |
5th January 2023 |
| Author: |
Clare Whitfield |
| Publisher: |
Apollo an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
408 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Thriller and Suspense
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| Other Genres: |
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Clare Whitfield Press Reviews
'What a beautiful, absorbing, emotional book. I was on that remote island with these characters, lost in their unfolding dramas and the barren landscape and long-past secrets. I was with young Prue on her quest to disperse the shadows of her past, and certainly identified with many of the things she had been through. A stunning read' -- Louise Beech PRAISE FOR PEOPLE OF ABANDONED CHARACTER:
'This impressive debut builds up pace, pathos and intrigue superbly, with plenty of twists and turns' Woman's Weekly.
'A gripping and original take on the world's most notorious serial killer. A perfectly thrilling read for those long winter nights. Highly recommended' Adam Hamdy.
'A mistreated wife suspects her husband might be the Whitechapel killer... Compelling' Sunday Times.
'An astonishing book set in a Victorian London plagued by Jack the Ripper. Whitfield's narrator is Susannah, an ex-nurse who rushed into a rapidly souring marriage with a wealthy surgeon and starts to believe that her husband might be Leather Apron himself. I'd be amazed if it isn't dominating the shortlists come next year's awards season' -- M.W. Craven
About Clare Whitfield
Clare Whitfield is a UK based writer. While studying for an MA in Creative & Critical Writing at the University of Winchester, her fiction appeared on Spelk, Commuter-Lit, Literary Orphans and in Matt Shaw’s Masters of Horror anthology. Clare has published two crime fiction novels, People of Abandoned Character, which won the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award in 2021, and The Gone and The Forgotten. Poor Girls is her third novel.
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