Family is everything, even when it falls apart. Discover the brand-new novel from the multi-million-copy bestselling author. AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER!'The perfect holiday read ... There's a new heft and grandeur, not only in the sophisticated characters and the fancy Italian real estate, but in the hidden darkness that can exist in a family ... Rachel Joyce is firing on all cylinders. ' THE TIMES'A masterly and deeply satisfying exploration of art, grief and familial bonds. ' OBSERVER'Warm and emotionally astute. ' MAIL ON SUNDAY'A sharp, absorbing and emotionally intelligent novel. ' GUARDIAN'A beautifully written family drama ... Long after I finished the last page, I found I missed these characters - always the sign of a special book' - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'A thoroughly engaging examination of familial truths that define and endanger the precious, ever-precarious sibling bond. The beautiful writing, unforgettable characters, and stunning setting make this a must-read. ' - Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in ChemistryThere is a heatwave across Europe. Goose and his three sisters gather at the family's house by Lake Orta in Piedmont, Italy. Their father, a famous artist, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead and there is no sign of a painting. Although the siblings have always been close, as they search for answers over that summer, the things they learn - about themselves, their father and their new stepmother - will drive them apart before they can come to any kind of understanding of what their father's legacy truly is. Extraordinarily compelling, at heart this is a novel about sibling relationships and those hairline cracks that can appear within a family: what what happens when they splinter, and what it would take to mend them. 'It made me laugh, it made me cry and I couldn't put it down. If you are a fan of Maggie O'Farrell you must read this. ' - Louise Minchin, TV presenter and author of Isolation Island'The renowned artist - the emotionally starved children - what an inspired subject! Joyce writes with her trademark vitality and compassion and there is such colour here. So much at stake. I couldn't put it down. ' - Esther Freud, author of Hideous Kinky and Mr Mac and Me'Lyrical, shrewd and, ultimately, as indecently satisfying as a four course Italian lunch. My life is a little emptier now it's over. ' - Patrick Gale, author of A Place Called Winter'Sparkling and addictive ... Rachel Joyce is so incredibly good and wise on families and siblings. I couldn't love it more. ' - Harriet Evans, author of The Garden of Lost and Found'A triumph of insight and empathy!' - Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures'Joyce is a fearless explorer of emotional landscape. ' - Sunday Times'If only there were more novelists like Rachel Joyce' - Telegraph