Jennifer Trevelyan

*A New York Times Best Thriller *‘Atmospheric, disturbing and beautifully evoked’ – Daily Mail‘Page-turning . . . I absolutely loved this’ – Liane Moriarty, bestselling author of Here One Moment‘Riveting . . . it held me captive’ – Hannah Kent, bestselling author of DevotionIn the past, we had always spent our summer holidays in remote places. That had always been my mother’s preference. This year was different . . .Ten-year-old Alex thought this holiday would be fun, but now everyone in her family is being boring. Her mother needs to finish her novel, her dad wants to watch cricket and her older sister only has eyes for the local lifeguard.Then her new friend, Kahu, tells her a secret. Two years ago, a girl went missing and everyone said she drowned. But what if the adults are wrong? What if she’s waiting to be found?As Alex and Kahu hunt for clues, childhood curiosity soon gives way to a darker reality. As the summer heat peaks, one terrifying question remains: did the missing girl really drown, or is a predator hiding in plain sight?Brilliantly page-turning and tensely atmospheric, A Beautiful Family will leave a lump in your throat and a hole in your heart.‘Immersive . . . Alix grasps at the truth of things, but her perspective means only the reader parses the more adult story unravelling around her . . . as the underlying narratives coalesce’ – The Guardian

‘Trevelyan expertly sets up multiple mysteries that converge, stunningly’ – The New York Times‘A charming debut’ – The Guardian‘Atmospheric, disturbing and beautifully evoked’ – Daily MailDiscover this breathtaking debut novel of family secrets and searing atmosphere set over one long, hot summer on the New Zealand coast. Perfect for fans of The Paper Palace, The Lovely Bones and The List of Suspicious Things. In the past, we had always spent our summer holidays in remote places. That had always been my mother’s preference. This year was different . . . As the long summer holiday stretches ahead, ten-year-old Alix wants to spend every second on the beach and in the water. But, with her parents unusually distracted and her older sister now more interested in boys, she finds herself alone. Then she meets Kahu at the beach and he tells her about The Mystery. Two years ago, a girl went missing and none of the adults could find her. So the new friends decide to investigate - because people don’t just disappear. But as Alex and Kahu search for clues, they stumble upon secrets they wish they’d left alone. Is Alix's holiday house as safe as it seems? And is her sister putting her trust in the wrong peopl? rilliantly page-turning and tensely atmospheric, Jennifer Trevelyan's A Beautiful Family will leave a lump in your throat and a hole in your heart. ‘Extraordinary . . . I absolutely loved this page-turning family mystery’ – Liane Moriarty, bestselling author of Here One Moment‘Riveting . . . [It] held me captive from the first page to the last’ – Hannah Kent, bestselling author of Devotion‘Such stunning New Zealand characters and imagery’ – Jacinda Ardern