‘Joanna Cannon is a compassionate storyteller who writes about the big things with a lightness of touch. An Unlikely Visitor is an engaging mystery, magical and humane as it slowly unfurls – a perfect book for today’s world’ SARAH WINMAN

‘Joanna Cannon beautifully examines each tragic, surprising, shocking and precious moment of ordinary life. An extraordinary book, I loved it’ FERN BRITTON

Margaret thinks her time is up…

Things have been hard since her husband Derek died, and they never really got over the disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie, all those years ago.

Despite everything, they built a lovely life together… it’s just starting to feel impossible for Margaret on her own.

But maybe her time is now?

Then one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visi-tor, and together they set out to discover what really hap-pened to Jeanie.

Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story…

‘A warm and kind novel that shows the beauty in ordinary life’ GEORGINA MOORE

'Brimming with Jo's trademark compassion, insight and wry humour, An Unlikely Visitor is both a meditation on a grief, a mystery of a missing child and a powerful exploration of the human condition. Jo writes so beautifully about human frailties and her kindness illuminates every sentence. A treat of a novel' HANNAH BECKERMAN

'A novel that appears to be telling Margaret and Derek’s poignant story becomes, in Joanna Cannon’s gifted hands, a profound reflection on the human condition, and therein lie the joy and the magic… We are left marvelling at how extraordinary ordinary people can be, and what a wonder it is to live and love at all' JOANNA GLEN

'A richly imagined, deeply soothing and impeccably structured story, told with Joanna Cannon's trademark wit and warmth. A balm for the soul' SAMUEL BURR

Praise for Joanna Cannon:

‘Emotional, sweet, funny, hauntingly sad and poignant’ SARA COX

‘Lovely, lovely, lovely… Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe’ MARIAN KEYES

‘An utter delight’ SARAH WINMAN

‘A joy and a triumph’ RACHEL JOYCE

‘Charming, wise and profoundly human’ ERIN KELLY

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘An utter delight’ Sarah Winman

‘Quirky, moving and beautifully written’ Paula Hawkins

‘Vibrant and funny’ Guardian

Summer, 1976

Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.

But as doors and mouths begin to open and the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find more than they could have imagined?

——————

‘Cannon is so attuned to other people’s stories? a chronicler both of the human condition and the quotidian details which speak to who we are’ Guardian

?‘A very special book’ Nathan Filer

‘An utter delight’ Sarah Winman

‘A delight’ Paula Hawkins

‘A treasure chest of a novel’ Julie Cohen

‘One of the standout novels of the year’ Hannah Beckerman

‘I didn’t want the book to end’ Carys Bray

‘An excellent debut’ James Hannah

‘Grace and Tilly are my new heroes’ Kate Hamer

‘A wonderful debut’ Jill Mansell

‘A modern classic in the making’ Sarah Hilary

‘A stunning debut’ Katie Fforde

‘Phenomenal’ Miranda Dickinson

‘A beautiful book’ EVENING STANDARD

‘Deserves to be read by as wide an audience as possible’ DAILY MIRROR

How do we give a voice to those who so often remain unheard? Will You Read This, Please? is a frank and impactful collection of twelve stories written in conjunction with our best British writers, including Tracy Chevalier and Clare Mackintosh, based on the lived experience of people who have faced mental illness in the UK.

Edited by Sunday Times bestselling author Joanna Cannon, the stories told here are powerful, resonant and heart-breaking. This is a ground-breaking and unfaorgettable collection, shining a light on the stigma and isolation of living with mental illness, while also showing the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

How do we give a voice to those who so often remain unheard? Will You Read This, Please? is a frank and impactful collection of twelve stories as told to our best British writers, based on the lived experience of people who have faced mental illness in the UK.

Edited by Joanna Cannon, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Three Things About Elsie and A Tidy Ending, the stories told here are powerful, resonant and heart-breaking. This is a ground-breaking and unforgettable collection, shining a light on the stigma and isolation of living with mental illness, while also showing the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

SARAH’S STORY JOANNA CANNON
JEREMY’S STORY TRACY CHEVALIER
JEN’S STORY CATHERINE CHO
MARIE’S STORY BENJAMIN JOHNCOCK
FRANKI’S STORY REBECCA PERT
NICOLA’S STORY JENN ASHWORTH
CAT’S STORY SHELLEY HARRIS
PHOENIX’S STORY HAFSA ZAYYAN
LEWIS’S STORY RHIK SAMADDER
SANMEET’S STORY SELALI FIAMANYA
ALAIN’S STORY KATHRYN MANNIX
JOYIA’S STORY CLARE MACKINTOSH

‘It had me holding my breath!’ MARIAN KEYES

‘I loved this novel. It was perfection. Highly recommend’ CECELIA AHERN

‘A stupendous novel? complicated, dark, funny and very human’ FERN BRITTON

MEET LINDA.

Linda lives a nice, normal life, on a nice, normal street with Terry, her perfectly ordinary husband.

Linda’s not like everyone else, she keeps herself to herself. But she’s good at solving puzzles and there are times she sees things other people might have overlooked.

Because nothing on Cavendish Avenue is quite as it seems. People have started to go missing in the neighbourhood and Linda will soon discover that some secrets can’t stay buried forever?

————————————————————-

‘Genuinely haunting’ THE TIMES, Thrillers of the Year

‘A curtain-twitching, darkly funny tale with a gloriously sinister twist’ OBSERVER

‘Joanna Cannon creates a world that is so real, so parochial and stifling? Then adds in a killer. Glorious’ JANE FALLON

‘Not just a twist-laden mystery, but a keenly observed slice of life. Her best yet’ CLARE MACKINTOSH

‘A darkly funny and delightfully sinister read’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘Compelling? combines pathos with lovely flashes of humour and a wholly unexpected ending’ GUARDIAN

‘Jo’s writing is as delicate and precise as tapestry and Linda is a character you’ll never forget’ JILL MANSELL

Readers are LOVING this book:

‘Outstanding’ ?????
‘Unforgettable’ ?????
‘Wonderfully complex’ ?????
‘Fabulously quirky’ ?????
‘I couldn’t get Linda out of my head’ ?????
‘Left me reeling’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘So shocked’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘I was completely wrong-footed’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘Jaw-dropping twists’ ? ? ? ? ?

‘Dark, claustrophobic, compelling, shocking and very funny indeed’ ?????

‘A very dark black comedy, with a murder investigation coming ever closer’ ?????

‘Left me speechless with disbelief and giddy with delight’ ?????

‘A very intriguing and rewarding thriller, and such brutal fun’ ?????

‘The ending is not just ‘tidy’ – it is totally unexpected until the very last stunning sentence ?and once you’ve read it, you will need to re-read the whole story to discover how it was done’?????

‘Devastating, deceptive and darkly funny. Classic Cannon’ Sarah Winman

—

There’s something not quite right about Linda

Her house is ordinary, even though she doesn’t feel quite at home.

Her husband is ordinary, even if he never notices her.

Her life is ordinary, but that just means Linda doesn’t have to think about what happened before.

Anyway, none of that matters now she has her new best friend Rebecca.

Not even when the murders start.

And Linda still might be able to get the tidy ending she deserves?

—

‘Cannon’s shrewd characterisation, sparky observations and subtly menacing plot makes this a darkly funny and delightfully sinister read’ Mail on Sunday

‘Compellingly creepy, with precisely observed characterisation? combines pathos with lovely flashes of humour and a wholly unexpected ending’ Guardian

‘Joanna Cannon creates a world that is so real, so parochial and stifling? Then adds in a killer. Glorious’ Jane Fallon

‘A compellingly crafted, darkly funny and compulsive read, full of twists’ Rachel Joyce

‘A genuinely funny, and moving, novel about a serial killer? a curtain-twitching, darkly funny tale with a gloriously sinister twist’ Observer

‘A twist-laden mystery’ Clare Mackintosh

‘It had me holding my breath!’ Marian Keyes

‘Lovely, lovely, lovely? Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe’ MARIAN KEYES

‘Powerful and profound’ Guardian

‘Another sure-fire hit’ Daily Mail

‘Funny, melancholy, acutely observant’ Sunday Express

‘Cannon is so attuned to other people’s stories? a chronicler both of the human condition and the quotidian details which speak to who we are’ Guardian

84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, she considers the charming new resident who looks exactly like a man she once knew – a man who died sixty years ago. His arrival has stirred distant memories she and Elsie thought they’d laid to rest. Lying prone in the front room, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light ?

‘Part whodunnit, part coming of age, this is a gripping debut about the secrets behind every door’ RACHEL JOYCE

‘Cannon is so attuned to other people’s stories? a chronicler both of the human condition and the quotidian details which speak to who we are’GUARDIAN

‘A very special book’ NATHAN FILER
‘An utter delight’ SARAH WINMAN
‘A delight’ PAULA HAWKINS
‘A treasure chest of a novel’ JULIE COHEN
‘One of the standout novels of the year’ HANNAH BECKERMAN
‘I didn’t want the book to end’ CARYS BRAY
‘An excellent debut’ JAMES HANNAH
‘Grace and Tilly are my new heroes’ KATE HAMER
‘A wonderful debut’ JILL MANSELL
‘A modern classic in the making’ SARAH HILARY
‘A stunning debut’ KATIE FFORDE
‘Phenomenal’ MIRANDA DICKINSON

England,1976.

Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.

And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined?