Hodder Paperbacks
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
'It's every mother's nightmare...' An extraordinary debut psychological suspense thriller from a hugely talented novelist
She's only been gone two hours.
Her husband David was meant to be looking after their two-week-old daughter. But when Alice Fancourt walks into the nursery, her terrifying ordeal begins, for Alice insists the baby in the cot is a stranger she's never seen before.
With an increasingly hostile and menacing David swearing she must either be mad or lying, how can Alice make the police believe her before it's too late
Sophie Hannah is a real star. - P J Kavanagh in the Daily Telegraph
The language and atmosphere are high-quality stuff, and the portrait of a woman in the throes of post-natal depression will be a revelation to some, to others a reminder. - Literary Review
This taut psychological thriller is full of heart-thumping suspense. - Sainsbury's Magazine
Sophie Hannah's comic fiction produces reams of entertaining moral sophistry. Her novels sparkle. - Independent
'Sophie Hannah is nothing if not flexible. An awardwinning poet, she has also published short stories and can now add accomplished "thriller writer" to her list of achievements. On first impression, however, the plot of Little Face may appear borrowed: an unhinged mother gives birth to a darling child only to find, after the initial bonding, that someone has switched babies. That's the nightmare of Alice Fancourt, who returns home after her first outing in two weeks to find the door open, her husband David napping and someone else's child in the nursery. When a controlling mother-in-law and a suspicious policeman enter the plot, readers will realise something is afoot. Adding to the tension are fears surrounding the death of David's first wife, and the discovery of a family "tradition" of estranged children. But just when readers think the plot offers no surprises, Hannah wrong-foots them and works her way, at a heart-thumping pace, to a delicious ending. Unless she wants to try her - South China Morning Post
Hannah has a keen ear for her characters' foibles, snobberies and hypocrisies, and the observation remains acute throughout. - Observer
This may well turn out to be the detective novel of the year . . . So develops a terrifying mystery of manipulation, counter-manipulation and, finally, astounding revelation - it's a haunting story told with bewitching skill - Scotsman
This may well turn out to be the detective novel of the year . . . A terrifying mystery of manipulation, counter-manipulation and, finally, astounding revelation - it's a haunting story told with bewitching skill - Scotsman
Sophie Hannah: The Human Side of the Villain
Sophie Hannah: Unlocking the Dark Side of the Mind
Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah talks about her new book
Sophie Hannah: The Human Side of the Villain
Sophie Hannah: Unlocking the Dark Side of the Mind
Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah talks about her new book
Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling crime fiction writer. Her psychological thriller The Carrier won the Specsavers National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year in 2013. Sophie is the author of the bestselling Poirot continuation mysteries. The Point of Rescue and The Other Half Lives have been adapted for television as Case Sensitive, starring Olivia Williams and Darren Boyd. Sophie is also a bestselling poet who has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE and A-level. Sophie is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. In 2023 Sophie was awarded the prestigious Dagger in the Library from the Crime Writers' Association in recognition of her brilliant body of work. She lives in Cambridge with her family.