‘What a gorgeous, hot-blooded novel about art, the senses, and the multitudes of the female body’ Charlotte Runcie
‘A smart and seductive novel about female sexuality, power and acts of creation’ Chloe Ashby
‘Sensual and erotic… should be on everyone’s anticipated books for 2026 *****’ Reader Review
‘Beautifully human… Romantic and heady and violent and sexy’ Kirsty Capes

Sophie, a painter, is holidaying with friends in a stunning villa in Greece – her best friend Helena is shortly to be married, and this is the last time she and her friends will be together as single women. But life has treated them so differently since their university days, that Sophie is questioning everything about their friendship. Meanwhile her partner, Greg, is desperate for them to try for a baby, but she wants to devote herself to her art – and there are other, deeper forces, pulling the two of them in opposite directions.

In the course of the holiday, Sophie paints a nude portrait of her friend Alessia, and becomes involved in an intense affair with Ky, who lives and works on the island. Both the painting, and the affair, will challenge everything Sophie thinks she knows, about art, about motherhood, about sex – and about how and with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life.

–

From the author of the Booker nominated, international bestseller Nightcrawling: a novel about the joys and entanglements of a fierce group of teenage mothers in a Florida beach town.

When Adela Woods tells her parents she’s pregnant, they immediately send her a thousand miles away to stay with her grandmother in Padua Beach. The intention is that she will leave her baby in ‘the forgotten Panhandle of Florida’. and resume her suburban life nine months later as though nothing happened. But Adela’s plans are soon washed away by the tide.

First, Adela meets Emory, a new mother determined to defy the expectations of everyone around her, returning to high school with her newborn baby strapped to her chest. Then she meets Simone, ringleader of ‘the Girls,’ a group of young mothers who create a village together in the back of her red truck-dancing, breastfeeding, raising their children and themselves.

The town thinks they’ve lost their way. Really, they are finding it.

But as they look for love, make and break friendships, navigate the miracle of motherhood and the paradox of girlhood, Adela, Emory and Simone also find themselves on an inescapable collision course with one another.

A novel full of heart and life and hope, set against the shifting sands of secrets and betrayals, The Girls Who Grew Big offers an explosive new perspective on what it means to be a young woman, a daughter, and a mother.

‘Opens up the world of young mothers in its makeshift, sticky, struggling glory … Sensuous, gripping and utterly believable’ EMMA DONOGHUE

‘What a book! So intriguing, with a terrific plot and strong characters’ Prima

‘Simmering with secrets, this beguiling mystery is a dark delight’ Essie Fox, author of The Fascination

‘Builds an uneasy atmosphere that crept under my skin and kept me guessing until the end’ Hester Musson, author of The Beholders

Can she unlock the secrets of The House of Fever?

1935, Hedoné House, a luxurious sanatorium for the creative elite dedicated to the groundbreaking treatment of tuberculosis. As the doctor’s new wife, Agnes Templeton has pledged her life to a house of fever.

But Hedoné is no ordinary hospital. High society rubs shoulders with artists, poets and musicians. No expense is spared on the comfort of the guests, and champagne flows freely. It’s a world away from everything Agnes knows.

Her husband’s methods are unusual. There are whisperings about past patients and even a cure. Hedoné’s secrets draw Agnes in, revealing truths she could never anticipate, and soon she is caught between a past she is desperate to escape and a future she may forever regret.

Praise for Polly Crosby

‘Hugely evocative and beautifully written’ Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl

‘A thoroughly compelling mystery meets a poignant love story, all wrapped up in beautifully lyrical writing’ Frances Quinn, author of The Smallest Man

‘A beguiling mystery from a gifted storyteller’ Louise Fein, author of People Like Us

What readers are saying about The House of Fever

‘Atmospheric, eerie, claustrophobic and beguiling’ Netgalley reviewer, ?????

‘A five star read. Really loved this story’ Netgalley reviewer, ?????

‘I devoured this book’ Netgalley reviewer, ?????

‘Atmospheric, fascinating, and full of glamour’ Netgalley reviewer, ?????

‘Brimming with tension’ CLARE MACKINTOSH
‘Talk about twists and turns’ EMMA STONEX
‘Utterly addictive . . . her best yet’ ERIN KELLY
‘The perfect holiday read’ CLAIRE DOUGLAS

WE WERE DYING FOR A HOLIDAY

The six of us arrived on that beautiful Greek island dreaming of sun-drenched beaches and blood orange sunsets, ready to lose ourselves in the wild freedom of a weekend away with friends.

On the first night we swam under a blanket of stars.

On the second night the games began on our clifftop terrace.

On the third night the idyll cracked, secrets and lies whispering on the breeze.

And by the final night there was a body on the rocks below . . .

WHO WOULD KILL FOR IT?

_________________________________________________________________

What readers are saying about One of the Girls:

‘If you are looking for a sun-soaked, fast-paced, keep-you-up-till-the-early-hours thriller for summer 2022 then my god this is it!’ ?????

‘I loved this, a thrilling murder mystery read about friendship, love, deception, lies and secrets’?????

‘Absolutely gripping, a perfect summer read‘ ?????

‘This was an absolutely delicious read that grabbed me from the get-go’ ?????

‘The ending, and the revelations leading up to it, blew me away‘ ?????

‘WHAT A READ! . . . I was whizzing through the pages just to find out anything out’ ?????

‘Unputdownable! The ideal holiday read‘?????