Description

FROM THE COSTA AWARD-WINNING, WOMEN’S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF UNSETTLED GROUND

‘An absolute masterpiece. Utterly absorbing, genuinely unsettling’ JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things

‘Atmospheric, psychologically vivid, and unputdownable’ ALICE WINN, author of In Memoriam

1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job in the postroom of a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and-delightfully- some new friends, including wild-child, Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at The Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist the promise of a readymade, hodgepodge family.

But as Sue’s behaviour and demands become more extreme, Ursula who has always been hungry-for food-and more importantly for love, acceptance and belonging, carries out her friend’s terrible dare. It’s a decision that will haunt her for decades.

Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned, reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.

From critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Claire Fuller, Hunger and Thirst is a compelling and chilling tale of loneliness and female friendship, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.

‘Unremittingly unsettling, propulsive and tense. Fuller excels at depicting outsiders, and writes with such precision and economy. Truly terrifying’ Sarah Vaughan

‘Addictive, disturbing and suspenseful. It reminded me of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine at her most vivid. Ursula is a rare creation’ Amanda Craig

Publisher Review

‘An absolute masterpiece. Utterly absorbing, genuinely unsettling … like all the most terrifying horror films of the 70’s and 80’s and all the most scary ghost stories’ * Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things * Atmospheric, psychologically vivid, and unputdownable … it frightened and enthralled me * Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam * Psychologically gripping, disquieting, and breathlessly suspenseful …. brilliant and truly terrifying * Kirkus Reviews * Unremittingly unsettling, propulsive and tense. Fuller excels at depicting outsiders, and writes with such precision and economy. Truly terrifying * Sarah Vaughan, author of Little Disasters * Addictive, disturbing and suspenseful. It reminded me of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine at her most vivid. Ursula is a rare creation * Amanda Craig * A truly chilling story … I was entirely captured in this novel’s haunting spell * Essie Fox, author of The Fascination * Such a propulsive book – but at the same time, such a deep examination of art and violence and the slipperiness at the heart of both memory and friendship. I was absolutely gripped by it * Jenn Ashworth, author of Ghosted * Gothic, disturbing, and mesmerisingly well-written, Hunger & Thirst is like nothing I’ve read before. Claire Fuller’s ability to generate suspense, revulsion, and disquiet within a nuanced and intelligent world is second to none. * Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane * Love story, psychological thriller, highly literary horror – Claire Fuller pulls off all three with this brilliant novel that is familiar and frightening in equal measure. Most of all, it’s GREAT FUN. I absolutely loved it * Kathleen MacMahon, author of Nothing but Blue Sky * A gothic chiller – haunting, artful, suspenseful, complex, and cinematic * William Landay, author of All That is Mine I Carry With Me *