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Alone in her native St Petersburg, Maria Glover sends an urgent summons to London and New York. Her son and daughter arrive too late to see her, but the end of their mother’s life marks the beginning of their own story: one of secrets, strangers, and the ultimate retelling of everything they thought they knew. ‘Docx knows that what we want most from a novel are stories into which we can sink our teeth and our hearts. His ability to evoke the atmosphere of a city is almost Dickensian’ Guardian ‘Full of insight: on the state of Russia, Britain and the US; and on the nature of music, addiction, love and sex. Funny and involving and the characters are often priceless’ Metro ‘I was amazed at the detail of Docx’s St Petersburg, with all its beauty and cruelty, similar to the style of Dostoevsky’ Financial Times ‘Unforgettable. Not since What a Carve Up! has there been such an absorbing indictment of the family’ Independent on Sunday

Edward Docx is the author of the acclaimed The Calligrapher, named a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year. He lives in London.