The Mountain in my Shoe

After years of abuse, Bernadette makes the decision to leave her husband, only to find that he is missing ... along with a little boy she'd befriended years earlier. A tense, dramatic and moving novel from the bestselling author of How To Be Brave and The Lion Tamer Who Lost. 'Full of beautiful descriptions, images and observations ... hauntingly poignant, with a relentless tension and pace' Katie Marsh 'Moving, engrossing and richly drawn, this is storytelling in its purest form ... mesmerising' Amanda Jennings _______________ A missing boy. A missing book. A missing husband. A woman who must find them all to find herself. On the night Bernadette finally has the courage to tell her domineering husband that she's leaving, he doesn't come home. Neither does Conor, the little boy she's befriended for the past five years. Also missing is his lifebook, the only thing that holds the answers. With the help of Conor's foster mum, Bernadette must face her own past, her husband's secrets and a future she never dared imagine in order to find them all. Exquisitely written and deeply touching, The Mountain in My Shoe is both page-turning psychological suspense and a powerful and emotive examination of the meaning of family ... and just how far we're willing to go for the people we love. _______________ 'Deft and full of emotions' Irish Times 'It is a brilliantly creative work of fiction' We Love this Book (The Bookseller) 'A fabulous, exquisitely written novel that tugs at the soul ... incredibly moving' David Young 'A moving and powerful book' Jane Lythell 'A rich, psychologically profound novel about overcoming adversity ... It's a masterpiece' Gill Paul 'Dark, compelling and highly thought-provoking ... a fascinating page-turner that wrenches at your insides' Off-the-Shelf Books 'A wonderful, nuanced book probing the damages wreaked by absence and neglect, while exploring the power of love and hope ... and what it means to be truly 'home'. It made me laugh and cry by turns. I loved it' Melissa Bailey 'An exquisite novel. Darkly compelling emotionally charged. And I LOVED it!' Jane Isaac

Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Reader's Choice in 2015. The sequel, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for the Not the Booker Prize. Her third book, Maria in the Moon was widely reviewed and critically acclaimed. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice. Louise is currently writing her next book. She lives with her husband and children on the outskirts of Hull - the UK's 2017 City of Culture - and loves her job as Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.Follow Louise on Twitter @LouiseWriter and visit her website: louisebeech.co.uk