The Translation of the Bones

A searingly powerful novel about passion and isolation, about the nature of belief, about love and motherhood, for fans of Ali Smith and Maggie O'Farrell

In a church in Battersea, Mary-Margaret O'Reilly sees blood on her hands and believes she has witnessed a miracle. The consequences are both profound and devastating - not just for her but for others, too: Father Diamond, the parish priest, struggling with his own faith. Stella, adrift in her marriage and aching for her ten-year old son, away at boarding school. Alice, counting the days until her soldier son comes home. And Mary-Margaret's mother, imprisoned in a tower block with nothing but her thoughts for company... What happens to Mary-Margaret will send ripples through this tight community, raising questions about the nature of devotion - in all its forms - and the cost of loving in a confusing world.

'Unfailingly gripping, filled with the essential ingredients - tension and emotion.' Patricia Duncker, LITERARY REVIEW

'Beautifully musical sentences with carefully judged rhythms.' Philip Womack, DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Skillfully constructed and beautifully written.' Peter Parker, SUNDAY TIMES