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Ghosted: A Love Story

“Ghosted is a marvellous novel; thrumming with the absences and presences that can haunt a life, and shot through with flashes of great sadness and joy. If you don’t know Jenn Ashworth’s work already – which you should – this is a great place to start.” – Jon McGregor

One ordinary morning, Laurie’s husband Mark disappears, leaving behind his phone and wallet. For weeks she tells no one, carrying on her cleaning job at the nearby university, visiting her tricky, dementia-suffering father, and holing up in her high-rise flat with a bottle of wine (or two) to hand. When she finally reports Mark as missing, the police are suspicious. Why did she take so long? Wasn’t she worried? Laurie’s account of subsequent events raises even more questions. What makes her mistrust her father’s carer? Does she really sense a strange presence in the flat? And why is she still fascinated by the long-ago murder of a local girl?

“There are dark and alluring undercurrents to everything that Jenn Ashworth produces, and she has a brilliantly uncanny ability to unnerve at every turn. To me, her psychologically-driven work ranks alongside such singular spiritual ancestors as Muriel Spark, Jean Rhys and Shirley Jackson.” – Benjamin Myers
“A vivid, blackly funny and heartbreaking portrait of a marriage and the tiny and large hurts within it, how they wear at us and haunt us despite everything. Beautifully hopeful.” – Sophie Mackintosh
“Ghosted perfectly captures the claustrophobia of living in your own mind. Ashworth’s writing is both acerbic and insightful. She has created a protagonist who is as flawed and as interesting as most memorable people are.” – Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
“Dark, funny, thrilling and deeply human, Ghosted is a book that will haunt you forever, and you’ll be glad. Jenn Ashworth is a master of modern storytelling.” – Emma Jane Unsworth
“Ghosted is fresh, darkly funny and exceptionally moving. Jenn Ashworth has created complex and real characters who behave in surprising but completely believable ways. In this novel, about the consequences of keeping our feelings locked inside, Ashworth folds grief and anger and love into every line.” – Claire Fuller

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