'Subtle intelligent and humane' Sunday Telegraph 'Boyne not only opens up conversations he
writes beautifully and sensitively' Woman&Home 'A perceptive moving exploration of guilt
grief and complicity' Sunday Express 'Boyne does not put a foot wrong in this masterly
novella' Mail on Sunday 'An intriguing investigation of contemporary trauma... [a] short but
powerful book' Guardian 'His quietest novel... but one just as powerful as his larger
canvases' Business Post ___________ From million-copy-bestselling author John Boyne comes a
masterfully reflective story about one woman coming to terms with the demons of her past and
finding a new path forward. The first thing Vanessa Carvin does when she arrives on the
island is change her name. To the locals she is Willow Hale a solitary outsider escaping
Dublin to live a hermetic existence in a small cottage not a notorious woman on the run from
her past. But scandals follow like hunting dogs. And she has some questions of her own to
answer. If her ex-husband is really the monster everyone says he is then how complicit was she
in his crimes? Escaping her old life might seem like a good idea but the choices she has made
throughout her marriage have consequences. Here on the island Vanessa must reflect on what
she did - and did not do. Only then can she discover whether she is worthy of finding peace at
all. Can you ever truly wash away your past? ___________ What readers are saying: 'A
scorching devastating tale' 'Powerful challenging and beautifully written' 'Compelling
propulsive and completely immersive' 'Written with the same emotional intensity and thought
provoking honesty as his longer works' 'Packs a hard hitting punch with its depth of emotional
understanding of what it is to be human' 'What an astoundingly brilliant piece of writing this
is . . . by its end you feel as though you have read something much more epic in length'
