What July Knew

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

** This audiobook contains a bonus interview with the author**

A moving family mystery about the secrets we keep to protect those we love. For readers of Joanna Cannon, Janice Hallett and Jo Browning Wroe.

July knows 18 things about her mother. But not the truth.

Summer, 1995. On her tenth birthday, July's teacher sets the class a project to find out about a relation they don't know. It's easy for July to choose her subject. She doesn't remember her mother, who died when she was small, and her father refuses to talk about her. Ever. The only memories she has of her are flashbacks from the accident that claimed her mother's life.

But then she receives the note: 'She didn't die in a car accident.'

Determined to discover what really happened, July begins to investigate, cycling around the street where her family used to live and questioning the neighbours. When she is caught snooping round a crumbling house at the end of the road, she learns that the man living there was the last person to see July's mother alive.

In his version of the story, he is a hero. In everyone else's, he is anything but...

Praise for Emily Koch:

'Really well-written, deeply moving and psychologically affecting... Highly recommended' Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient

'A debut to be reckoned with' Guardian

'Packs a real emotional punch.' Cara Hunter, author of Close to Home

'A magnetic, all-consuming read. A heart-breaking suspense' Gytha Lodge, author of Watching from the Dark

© Emily Koch 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Critics Review

  • Touchingly effective in conveying a childhood lived in fear

    Sunday Times

  • If you liked Elizabeth is Missing, you’ll love this

    Cara Hunter

  • Big-hearted novel. By turns charming and shocking, it’s both a deftly-woven mystery and a redemptive family drama – and I was cheering July on all the way

    Emylia Hall

  • July Hooper is such a brilliant creation – smart, inquisitive and determined – that you’ll be rooting for her every step of the way as she unravels the mystery of her own life in this captivating story.

    T.M. Logan, author of The Holiday

  • Tenderly told and utterly compelling, this coming-of-age mystery is as full of twists and surprises as it is of heart. July is an unforgettable lead – I loved following her back to the 90s!

    Emma Stonex

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