The midnight news

Baker, Jo

£16.99

It is 1940 and bombs are falling on London. Watching from her attic window, Charlotte sees enemy planes coming in over the city, and her neighbours’ homes destroyed. Still grieving her beloved brother who never returned from France, Charlotte has moved away from her overbearing family and built a new life for herself. She works as a typist for the Ministry of Information, rents a room on the top floor of Mrs Callaghan’s ramshackle house, and shares gin and confidences with her best friend, Elena. Charlotte comes to fear that there is something – or someone – else at work. Who is the shadow man who seems to be following her? Or is her mind playing tricks on her again?

Out of stock

Publish Date: 20/04/2023

Description

‘Impressive and satisfying . . . a novel that succeeds both in creating pages that turn themselves, and in continually feeding the reader’s sense of wonder’ Daily Telegraph

It is 1940 and twenty-year-old Charlotte Richmond watches from her attic window as enemy planes fly over London. Still grieving her beloved brother who never returned from France, she is working hard to keep her own little life ticking over: holding down a dull typist job at the Ministry of Information, sharing gin and confidences with her best friend Elena, and dodging her difficult father. She has good reason to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. She knows what happens when she makes a nuisance of herself.

On her way to work she often sees the boy who feeds the birds – a source of unexpected joy amidst the rubble of the Blitz. But every day brings new scenes of devastation, and after yet another heartbreaking loss Charlotte has an uncanny sense of foreboding. Someone is stalking the darkness, targeting her friends. And now he is following her.

She no longer knows who to trust. She can’t even trust herself. She knows this; her family have told so her often enough. As grief and suspicion consume her, Charlotte’s nerves become increasingly frayed, and soon her very freedom is under threat . . .

Riveting and deeply moving, The Midnight News is a tour de force from Sunday Times bestselling author Jo Baker – a breathtaking story of friendship, love and war.

‘Intriguing and thrilling . . . it had me by the throat’ EMMA DONOGHUE
‘A marvel of storytelling . . . your heart will be in your mouth as you read’ FRANCIS SPUFFORD
‘Immersive and utterly enthralling’ CATHY RENTZENBRINK
‘Riveting and moving . . . masterful’ NINA STIBBE
‘I stayed up late reading and was glad’ SARAH MOSS

Additional information

Weight 669 g
Dimensions 238 × 164 × 40 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

432

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K