Love in the Ruins
Kate Furnivall

People are disappearing. I spoke to my neighbour yesterday, we laughed at some nonsense, and today he is gone. We only discovered he was missing because the dog wouldn't stop howling and we all knew he would never leave his beloved pet. So I am careful, extremely careful.

Two families divided by war.
An entire city on the edge of disaster.

'I was blown away not just by the gripping story, which had my heart thumping at times, but the sheer eloquence of writing. It is a story of the strength of the human spirit, and of love which will not be defeated. I know I will be recommending it to everyone' LESLEY PEARSE

1948, Berlin. World War II has ended and there is supposed to be peace; but Russian troops have closed all access to the city. Roads, railway lines and waterways are blocked and two million people are trapped, relying on airlifts of food, water and medicine to survive. The sharp eyes of the Russian state police watch everything; no one can be trusted.

Anna and Ingrid are both searching for answers - and revenge - in the messy aftermath of war. They understand that survival comes only by knowing what to trade: food; medicine; heirlooms; secrets. Both are living in the shadows of a city where the line between right and wrong has become dangerously blurred.

But they cannot give up in the search for a lost child ...

'An absolutely stunning book from the Queen of Historical Fiction. Emotional, powerful, meticulously researched, sharp writing, just wonderful. I was thoroughly lost in this 1948 world of a post-war, divided Berlin, and the characters picking up the pieces after so much horror, particularly Anna who has suffered immense trauma and is looking for her lost child in the ruins. Sure to be an Autumn blockbuster - it certainly deserves to be' LOUISE SWANSON

'In Kate's inimitable style we are immediately drawn into this impeccably researched and terrifying period of history. Stunning from the very first line, this is a masterclass in historical fiction writing. A story in turns moving and thrilling with characters that settle into your heart and won't let go. I felt the darkness and the freezing cold of living under Russian control when Berliners had no choice but learn to obey. Survival the only game in a town rife with informers. An absolute triumph!' DINAH JEFFERIES

'There is only one word to describe Child of the Ruins and that is awesome. It is compelling and evocative, thrilling and yet hugely touching. Kate Furnivall has really steeped herself in the period and faced the horrors of those times. I congratulate her' DILLY COURT

'An extraordinarily tense and gripping story set in a city brought to its knees in the aftermath of war, where life is cheap and crusts of bread are currency. Anna Wolff is my favourite so far of Kate Furnivall's indomitable heroines: she's emotional and relatable, but also smart, determined, and utterly ruthless when needs must. The plotting is ingenious and the writing beautifully atmospheric. Images of the divided city, with its shadowy tribes of lost children, will stick in my mind for a long time' GILL PAUL