Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Prize, a sad, haunting tale of sister rivalry, of the invasion of privacy, of resentment, of reclusive behaviour, secrets and lies as elderly sisters live together again after forty-seven years apart.  The details on moths is extraordinarily fascinating.

Comparison: Hilary Mantel, Kate Atkinson, Barbara Trapido.

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Synopsis

From her lookout on the first floor, Ginny watches and waits for her adored younger sister to return to the crumbling mansion that was once their idyllic childhood home. Vivien has not stepped foot in the house since she left, forty seven years ago; Ginny, the reclusive lepidopterist, has rarely ventured outside it. The remembrance of their youth, of loss, and of old rivalries plays across Ginny’s mind. Why is Vivi coming home?

Ginny has been selling off the family furniture over the years, gradually shutting off each wing of the house and retreating into the precise routines and isolation that define her days. Only the attic remains untouched. There, collected over several generations, are walls lined with pinned and preserved Bordered Beauties and Rusty Waves, Feathered Footmen and Great Brocades, Purple Cloud, Angle Shades, the Gothic and the Stranger . . .

Reviews

'intricately crafted story, told with just the right balance of claustrophobia and compassion.’ PSYCHOLOGIES

'This is a dark book, but an extremely funny one . . . A brilliantly paced debut.’ DAILY MAIL

A gothic mystery that keeps you pinned to the page like an insect in a case' EVE

About the Author

Aged 34, Poppy Adams is a documentary filmmaker with a Natural Science degree who has made films for the BBC, Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel. She has three children and lives with her husband in London. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation