Four women spark a revolution on a Caribbean island - the electrifying new novel from the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch.
'Vital, enraging and brilliant. I loved it' SARAH WINMAN
Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri's carnival, a young female steel-pan player is found dead beneath a cannonball tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island.
As the days pass, this shocking event draws together four women. There's Sharleen, a journalist with an eye for the real story. Her childhood friend Tara, the pink-haired, straight-talking star of the activism scene. Gigi, the 'notorious' founder of the Port Isabella Sex Workers Collective. And Daisy, first lady of St Colibri, who is haunted by a disappearance in her own family decades ago.
In a community in which women's voices are often silenced and violence against them is often overlooked, the group soon find themselves compelled to speak out - and to act. But even they could never have foreseen the consequences of their courage...
'Extraordinary... pulsates with the rebel spirit of women'
HANNAH LOWE
'A thrilling read, I loved it'
SADIE JONES
* A Guardian Book to Look Out For in 2024 *
PRAISE FOR MONIQUE ROFFEY:
'Monique Roffey is a unique talent' Bernardine Evaristo
'A daring, mesmerising novel' Maggie O'Farrell
'Wonderful, immersive, evocative . . . A masterclass of world-building' Bridget Collins
'Once I had started it, I couldn't stop . . . brilliant' Clare Chambers
Autorentext
Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and lives in London. She is the author of seven novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Goldsmiths Prize. Her other highly acclaimed books include Archipelago, which won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle and House of Ashes. In addition to her work as an environmental activist, she is a professor of contemporary fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University.