- Annie is hoping for a clean slate, but there's something familiar about the boy next door - she's convinced she's seen him somewhere before. Obese, lonely and undeterred by her target's hostile girlfriend, she searches for guidance by obsessively studying self-help literature and romance novels. Though Annie struggles to repress a murky history of violence, secrets and sexual mishaps her past is never too far behind her, finally shattering her denial in a compelling and bloody climax. Read more
- Cold Light is the dark tale of three fourteen-year-old girls and a volatile combination of lies, jealousy and perversion that ends in tragedy. Blackly funny and with a surreal edge to its portrait of a northern English town, Jenn Ashworth's gripping novel captures the intensity of girls' friendships and the dangers they face in a predatory adult world they think they can handle. And it shows just how far that world is willing to let sentiment get in the way of the truth. Read more
- Annie is hoping for a clean slate, but there's something familiar about the boy next door - she's convinced she's seen him somewhere before. Obese, lonely and undeterred by her target's hostile girlfriend, she searches for guidance by obsessively studying self-help literature and romance novels. Though Annie struggles to repress a murky history of violence, secrets and sexual mishaps her past is never too far behind her, finally shattering her denial in a compelling and bloody climax. Read more
Latest News 
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On Elizabeth Smart and Chewing Gum
The Friday Gospels has been out nearly six months now (phew!) and I’ve done a ton of events and had a ton and a half of emails about it. Generally people have been very kind, and more than more -
Links and stuff
Busy busy busy! A wonderful launch party at Blackwell’s Manchester, with lots of friendly faces – despite the snow! If you were there, even in spirit, thank you. Just a couple of small things… A Q and A more -
Ta Da
Well it is the official publication day (I prefer to say pub-day, for obvious reasons) for The Friday Gospels. The past couple of weeks have been all about train journeys, anxiety dreams and awkward questions about Mormons. If more
Latest Reviews
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“The beautiful, provocative prose and dangerous, quirky protagonist mark Ashworth as a writer to watch.”
Publisher’s Weekly
“An extraordinarily perceptive and beautifully written novel.”
Sunday Express
“A novel about the power and pitfalls of narrative, it is told by the hand of a true storyteller.”
The Independent
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“A chilly, blackly funny novel with a surreal edge.”
Grazia Magazine
“A wonderful tale, beautifully told.”
Bella
“Ashworth’s second book confirms that the first was no one-off… her talent could take her a long way.”
The Guardian
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“Ashworth evokes a damaged mind with the empathy and confidence of Ruth Rendell.”
The Times
“An intense and intriguing novel that never quite lets the reader get comfortable… in a gripping, ever-darkening narrative.”
Jenny Diski
“An impressive debut that will remind some of the work of Patricia Highsmith. A nasty, but tough-to-put-down portrait of a sociopath.”
Kirkus
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“…who wouldn’t kill for a comic gift like Jenn Ashworth’s?”
The Guardian
