How It Was

Janet Ellis writes with tenderness and wisdom about how you can lose a child while they are still under your roof - and how a child long-lost will never leave you. I veered between laughter and a lump in the throat, often on the same page. This book will sneak up behind you and break your heart.

It's wonderful. A brutal tale of a fraught mother-daughter relationship. The writing fizzes along. Loved it.

Explores the human condition with pin-sharp precision, so accurate it hurts. It's a raw read, complex and compelling in its structure, with emotions laid bare. Written with empathy and integrity.

Wonderfully evocative, immersive and beautifully written

I absolutely loved it. The careful evocation of an era is incredibly seductive . . . These are real, believable, fragile people whose lives the reader becomes totally immersed in and gripped by.

You will love this - immersive, amazing, remarkable, I could barely breathe. I cried - and I never cry.

Cataclysmic

An atmospheric, clever novel, which will get under your skin

Ellis writes beautifully, with a great eye for detail. She has a wry comic touch and all the emotions are spot on.

Poignant, cleverly nuanced and funny

Heartbreaking - I would definitely recommend. It's going to be a very popular summer read.

An emotional epic. The former TV presenter's debut novel, The Butcher's Hook, was great, and this second one is also terrific, particularly in the way she writes about mother-daughter relationships.

A brilliantly written, dark domestic noir

I ate this up in one day . . . it has such great characters and very realistic, imperfect relationships. A thoroughly immersive story that I would heartily recommend.

A tale of silences, secrets and misunderstandings, of marital infidelities and of paths not taken . . . A fluent, convincing depiction of the poignant intricacies of family life

Ellis has a knack for depicting the way in which families struggle to communicate . . . engaging and readable

An emotional read with humour and heartbreak in equal measure

An engrossing read . . . a story of family secrets and twisted relationships

Lolita meets Madame Bovary . . . Ellis writes fantastically

Gripping . . . an engrossing read from a talented writer

It's equally as compelling as her first. I can't put it down!