Jane Healey – författare

A mother’s secret past and her daughter’s present collide in this richly atmospheric novel from the acclaimed author of The Animals at Lockwood Manor. In the summer of 1973, Ruth and her four friends were obsessed with Pre-Raphaelite paintings—and a little bit obsessed with each other. Drawn to the cold depths of the river by Ruth’s house, the girls pretend to be the drowning Ophelia, with increasingly elaborate tableaux. But by the end of that fateful summer, real tragedy finds them along the banks.Twenty-four years later, Ruth returns to the suffocating, once-grand house she grew up in, the mother of young twins and seventeen-year-old Maeve, whose leukemia is recently in remission. Joining the family in the country is Stuart, Ruth’s childhood friend, who is quietly insinuating himself into their lives and gives Maeve the attention she longs for. She is unsure of her place in the world now that she is cancer-free. Her parents just want her to be an ordinary teenage girl. But what teenage girl is ordinary?Alternating between the two fateful summers, The Ophelia Girls is a suspense-filled exploration of mothers and daughters, illicit desire, and the perils and power of being a young woman.

In Boston’s North End, four immigrant women leave childhood behind—but never one another.

For four young immigrant women living in Boston’s North End in the early 1900s, escaping tradition doesn’t come easy. But at least they have one another and the Saturday Evening Girls Club, a social pottery-making group offering respite from their hectic home lives—and hope for a better future.

Ambitious Caprice dreams of opening her own hat shop, which clashes with the expectations of her Sicilian-born parents. Brilliant Ada secretly takes college classes despite the disapproval of her Russian Jewish father. Stunning Maria could marry anyone yet guards her heart to avoid the fate of her Italian Catholic mother, broken down by an alcoholic husband. And shy Thea is torn between asserting herself and embracing an antiquated Jewish tradition.

The friends face family clashes and romantic entanglements, career struggles and cultural prejudice. But through their unfailing bond, forged through their weekly gathering, they’ll draw strength—and the courage to transform their immigrant stories into the American lives of their dreams.

How far are you willing to go to get what you truly desire?It s the summer of 1957 and Max, a piano prodigy, is on a sold-out concert tour.'Unputdownable' THE TIMES'An enthralling literary symphony of ambition, desire and obsession' LAYNE FARGO'I couldn t tear myself away' ERIN KELLYHis beautiful twin sister, Natasha, serves as his manager and minder. But despite Natasha s careful planning, he begins, for the first time in his career, to make mistakes on stage. Upending his schedule to seek a cure in Paris, Max sets up the pair in the sprawling mansion of a handsome and wealthy count. But Henri is more than just a patron of the arts; he has also been unknown to Max Natasha s lover.Freed from the familiar dynamic of manager and talent, Natasha s simmering resentment and Max s deep insecurity turn into a rivalry, as the two vie for Henri s attention. While Henri woos Natasha in galleries and caf s during the day, it is Max s playing that draws him from bed each night.As the twins compete, the fractures in their already vulnerable relationship start to show, with devastating consequences for both.'Thrilling, claustrophobic, passionate' BRIDGET COLLINS'A riveting study in pressure - artistic, romantic and familial' LARA PRESCOTT'I devoured it' ANNA BAILEY'Sumptuous and intoxicating. . . a perfect summer read' RACHEL BLACKMORE Heady and intoxicating' KAT DUNN