Whistle in the Dark

Jen's 15-year-old daughter goes missing for four agonizing days. When Lana is found, unharmed, in the middle of the desolate countryside, everyone thinks the worst is over. But Lana refuses to tell anyone what happened, and the police draw a blank. The once-happy, loving family return to London, where things start to fall apart. Lana begins acting strangely- refusing to go to school, and sleeping with the light on.

As Lana stays stubbornly silent, Jen desperately tries to reach out to a daughter who has become a stranger.

A beautiful exploration of mental health and love Stylist Courageous...intriguing...entertaining Observer The novel's real strength, though, lies in its examination of such intimate familial ties and the incredulity that in a world of Google Earth, rolling news and endless online discussion groups, something - a mystery - could still go unmapped. And the conundrum isn't even so much where Lana has been, but how parents can connect with their children in such dilemmas, and how many of life's problems cannot be immediately or easily solved Financial Times The achievement of this follow-up lies its finely drawn mother/daughter pairing and sharp take on the nitty-gritty of contemporary familial relationships...the desperate love of a parent for a child they cannot know is wonderfully true to life Guardian Gripping Bella A fast-paced, gripping read Closer [A] satisfying, cathartic mystery -- Jenny Colgan Guardian There's a winning irreverence to Healey's writing Guardian Authentically and empathetically written Daily Telegraph I adored the forensic detail of Healey's writing and the wry, sharp take on millenial family life Daily Mail A gripping tale ... a deeply affecting account of one woman's quiet but unyielding refusal to allow hope to succumb to helplessness and despair The Irish Times A sensitive study of a mother-daughter relationship Woman & Home Beautifully written Good Housekeeping It's as gripping as its predecessor Elle Quirky, humorous and entirely engrossing Sunday Mirror Healey broadens the remit of the thriller...the author has managed a double feat here, creating a psychological thriller that meshes the homely with the gothic...the novel builds to a climax and the moving final sentence is formally and emotionally the perfect resolution Literary Review A sobering journey into the underworld of the human psyche Irish Independent A sharp and sympathetic description of the whole strange business of and having a teenage child - and of being one Reader's Digest An enjoyable novel about the complicated bonds of family life Mail on Sunday Healey thoughtfully explores complex problems facing young women and families today and in Lana she has created a masterpiece of inarticulacy Daily Express, Four Stars Rich with emotional depth Evening Standard At once an absorbing thriller and a beautifully observed study of the relationship between mother and teenage daughter Refinery29 Written with captivating brilliance and oozing with tension, this is a novel you really do not want to miss Heat, Five Stars Many will relate to the fraught familial relationships, which are expertly realised in this tense contemporary novel ... the interactions are so utterly real that you get completely drawn into their world ... Healey writes with such an ease and naturalness that it carries you effortlessly forward Sunday Independent I don't know anyone else who writes like this. Emma Healey's voice soars, sings and startles as she takes you right under the skin of her characters. She 'magics' the ordinary into the extraordinary and, just as impressively, transposes the extraordinary to the ordinary. Unforgettable. -- Jane Corry, bestselling author of 'My Husband's Wife' Healey is a natural story-teller -- Claire Fuller, author of 'Our Endless Numbered Days' Utterly compelling and insightful, I was drawn into this family in crisis from the first chapter of this unflinchingly honest and beautifully written novel -- Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of 'Sister' This novel is a beautiful and rare thing - a page turning thriller with all the pain, warmth and humour of authentic family life portrayed. I absolutely loved it. -- Kate Hamer, author of 'The Girl in the Red Coat' A compelling modern family drama with witty and wonderful characters. Utter bliss. -- Nina Stibbe

Emma Healey wrote her first short story when she was four, told her teachers she was going to be a writer when she was eight, but had learnt better by 12 and had decided on being a litigator (inspired entirely by the film Clueless). It took another ten years before she came back to writing. She grew up in London, where she went to art college and completed her first degree in bookbinding. She moved to Norwich in 2010 to study for the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia and never moved back again. Elizabeth is Missing was her first novel; it won the Costa First Novel Award 2014 and was shortlisted for the National Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year.

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