The Fox - by Annie MacManus (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"A beautifully natural story of love and betrayal. Strangely tense and serene all at once."--Matt Haig

A propulsive, emotionally layered suspense novel about two women linked by a romance scam--and by their shared hunger to be seen.

In Dublin, Carmel has built what appears to be a fulfilling life: a successful career, a comfortable home, three grown sons. Yet a year after her husband's death, she finds herself alone in a way she never expected. The shape of her days has changed, and the future she once imagined has quietly slipped away. Then, on a dating site, she meets a widower living in London. What begins as a distraction soon becomes the brightest part of her day--a source of comfort, excitement, and possibility. For the first time in years, Carmel allows herself to imagine love again.

Hundreds of miles away in London, Lisa lives a precarious life shaped by past family trauma. She divides her days between caring for her mentally unstable sister and helping those failed by England's broken class system. Smart, sharp, and resourceful, she understands the lengths people will go to for a second chance at hope--and will do whatever she can to make ends meet.

As the lives of the two women begin to converge, Annie Macmanus unfolds a gripping story of love and deception. Moving between Dublin and London, privilege and instability, The Fox is a novel about grief, self-invention, and the distance between people in an age of constant connection.

"A moving commentary on grief and loneliness...unforgettable."--Aisling Rawle

Review Quotes

Advance praise for The Fox

"A moving commentary on grief and loneliness. The Fox has a uniquely seductive charm--it lures you in with a carefully laid premise, and leaves you with a shrewd, unforgettable perspective on love and loss."--Aisling Rawle, author of The Compound

"The Fox is a compelling, unforgettable and deeply original novel. A profound meditation on grief, loneliness, and the enduring human need for connection... beautiful, tender, mysterious and a sharply observed portrayal of midlife, full of intrigue and with the irresistible pace of a page-turner."--Elaine Feeney, author of How to Build a Boat

"Annie Macmanus can write. The Fox is a beautifully natural but offbeat story of love and betrayal. Strangely tense and serene all at once."--Matt Haig, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Midnight Library

"In The Fox, Macmanus's strengths are plain to see; this is powerful writing with psychologically complex characters. She plots so skilfully and subverts and upends our expectations of what a modern day love story might look like."--Mona Arshi, author of Somebody Loves You

"Completely absorbing. I was chilled and heartbroken in equal measure."--Katherine May, bestselling author of Wintering and Enchantment

"The Fox takes us into the recesses of profound and deepest yearning, exploring a very human longing to experience connection and love, to be seen by another and valued... The Fox is witty, clever and a beautifully formidable reckoning with what it means to be alive

Praise for Macmanus's The Mess We're In

"Glorious... So brilliant on being young, skint, ambitious and hopeful in London. My heart ached with identification, I loved it."--Marian Keyes

"A heady mix of thrills and heartbreak... I enjoyed it so so much."--Graham Norton

"Macmanus writes with remarkable verve and wisdom... She has created easily my favourite character of recent years."--Louise Kennedy

"A writer whose understanding and capturing of human nature comes as easily to her as breathing."--Candice Carty-Williams

"What Macmanus has managed to do with London is terrific, and deeply moving."--Roddy Doyle

"Bracingly lyrical."--The Observer

"A dizzyingly good read."--i Paper

"The bygone heyday of indie rock pulses with authenticity."--Irish Independent

"Such a gorgeous book... I absolutely ate up every word."--Aisling Bea

"I'm so sad it's over. I could have read another sixty chapters... A fantastic read."--Joanne McNally

Praise for Mother Mother

"A tender, surprising, occasionally bleak, moving and delicate book."--The Irish Times

"A study of grief, addiction and what it means to be a mother."--Stylist

"Melancholy, beautifully unadorned prose."--Mail on Sunday

"Unflinching and unsparing but also beautifully written."--Daily Mail