The gripping and dark book club debut with a compelling voice at its centre.*THE GUARDIAN 2021
BEST CRIME AND THRILLER PICK* 'Gorgeously written' PANDORA SYKES 'I loved this book' CLARE
MACKINTOSH 'A darkly dazzling debut . . . gripping' LISA JEWELL 'Sharp-edged and highly
discussable' BOOKLIST ___________ 'So that was all it took ' I thought. 'That was all it took
for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning one moment one
yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all.' Chrissie knows how to steal sweets from the
shop without getting caught the best hiding place for hide-and-seek the perfect wall for
handstands. Now she has a new secret. It gives her a fizzing sherbet feeling in her belly. She
doesn't get to feel power like this at home where food is scarce and attention scarcer.
Fifteen years later Julia is trying to mother her five-year-old daughter Molly. She is always
worried - about affording food and school shoes about what the other mothers think of her.
Most of all she worries that the social services are about to take Molly away. That's when the
phone calls begin which Julia is too afraid to answer because it's clear the caller knows the
truth about what happened all those years ago. And it's time to face the truth: is forgiveness
and redemption ever possible for someone who has killed? ______________ 'Perceptive and
compassionate' GUARDIAN 'A stunning debut' WASHINGTON POST 'Compulsively readable' ASHLEY
AUDRAIN 'Compelling . . . stunningly powerful' GRAZIA 'An unforgettable narrative voice' PAULA
HAWKINS 'An extraordinary and heart-rending novel' OBSERVER 'This is outstanding . . . so
powerful' TRACY FENTON 'A gripping unsettling debut novel' ABIGAIL DEAN ______________ Readers
love The First Day of Spring . . . *****'A powerful distressing haunting but ultimately
brilliant read' *****'Such a heartbreaking and powerful psychological drama that will stay with
me for a long time' *****'An incredible book' *****'A thought provoking dark and compulsive
read... Highly recommend' *****'You DO NOT want to miss The First Day of Spring!'
