The Anniversary - An addictive and dangerously readable literary thriller, longlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize

'It was always hard to tell where our marriage ended, and my work began. I often dream now that I am drifting in a dark sea, the water around me lukewarm, like blood.' Novelist J. B. Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Patrick is older than J. B., formerly her professor. But now his success is starting to wane and hers may overshadow his. For days they sail in the sun.
They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. There is nothing but dark water all around them. Then a storm hits, and Patrick falls off the ship. J. B. is left alone, as the search for what happened to Patrick - and the truth about their marriage - begins. With a stay-up-all-night plot and breathtaking prose, this is the haunting and unforgettable story of a marriage and a death'Dangerously readable' Observer'Stunning' i paper'Electrifying' Sunday Times'Magnificent' Joanna Cannon'Compulsive' Financial Times