Sunday Times bestselling author Kate Hamer's new novel blends the rawness and power of The Virgin Suicides with the propulsive force of a Megan Abbott novel.
Phoebe stands on Pulteney Bridge, the shock of mangled metal and blood-stained walls flashes through her mind as she tries to cover her face, so she won't be recognised. It wouldn't do to be spotted looking like this. She feels sick. Phoebe thought murder and murder happened. At home, Phoebe arranges the scissors and knives, so they point toward her mother's room. She is exhausted, making sure there's no trace of herself - not a single hair, not even her scent - left anywhere in the house. She must not let her thoughts unravel, because if they do, there's no telling who might be caught in the crossfire, and Phoebe will have to live with the consequences.
Venturing into the forest with nothing but a suitcase and the company of her only true friend-the imaginary Shadow Boy-Ruby discovers a group of siblings who live alone in the woods. The children take her in, and while they offer the closest Ruby's ever had to a family, Ruby begins to suspect that they might need her even more than she needs them. And it's not always clear what's real and what's not-or who's trying to help her and who might be a threat. Told from shifting timelines, and the alternating perspectives of teenage Ruby; her mother, Anna; and even the Shadow Boy, The Doll Funeral is a dazzling follow-up to Kate Hamer's breakout debut, The Girl in the Red Coat, and a gripping, exquisitely mysterious novel about the connections that remain after a family has been broken apart.
"My name is Ruby. I live with Barbara and Mick. They're not my real parents, but they tell me what to do, and what to say. I'm supposed to say that my bruises and black eye came from falling down the stairs. But there are things I won't say. I won't tell them I'm going to hunt for my real parents. I'm going to be with my real family. And I'm not going to let Mick stop me."
The World of Shadow introduces The Doll Funeral and delves further into one of the characters in the book - Shadow. Shadow flits through The Doll Funeral, he has a close but often tempestuous relationship with the hero, Ruby. In the short story we rewind back and see a snapshot of his life, find out more about his connection with Ruby and experience the life, pain and love of this boy who has such a profound influence on the course of the book.
She is the missing girl. But she doesn't know she's lost. Carmel Wakeford becomes separated from her mother at a local children's festival, and is found by a man who claims to be her estranged grandfather. He tells her that her mother has had an accident and that she is to live with him for now. As days become weeks with her new family, 8-year-old Carmel realises that this man believes she has a special gift... While her mother desperately tries to find her, Carmel embarks on an extraordinary journey, one that will make her question who she is - and who she might become.
She is the missing girl. But she doesn't know she's lost. Carmel Wakeford becomes separated from her mother at a local children's festival, and is found by a man who claims to be her estranged grandfather. He tells her that her mother has had an accident and that she is to live with him for now. As days become weeks with her new family, 8-year-old Carmel realises that this man believes she has a special gift... While her mother desperately tries to find her, Carmel embarks on an extraordinary journey, one that will make her question who she is - and who she might become.
