LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2017

It’s every mother’s worst nightmare. But Ruth Malone is not like other mothers.

“A phenomenal achievement … a lightning fast, heart-pounding, psychologically resonant crime novel that effortlessly transcends genre. If you believed that literary fiction can’t be a one-sitting read, think again” Jeffery Deaver

It’s the summer of 1965, and the streets of Queens, New York shimmer in a heatwave. One July morning, Ruth Malone wakes to find a bedroom window wide open and her two young children missing. After a desperate search, the police make a horrifying discovery.

Noting Ruth’s perfectly made-up face and provocative clothing, the empty liquor bottles and love letters that litter her apartment, the detectives leap to convenient conclusions, fuelled by neighbourhood gossip and speculation. Sent to cover the case on his first major assignment, tabloid reporter Pete Wonicke at