'Warm and humane, this novel is beautifully written' The Times 'At his best, Gale is an effortlessly elastic storyteller, a writer with heart, soul, and a dark and naughty wit, one whose company you relish and trust. In fact you feel you would believe anything he told you -- and if I have a small complaint, it's that he sometimes doesn't quite seem to realise it, doesn't trust in his own genuine power. Now and then he writes a little too hard, too carefully or too deliberately. Relax, you want to tell him. Trust yourself, because we do. Do less, because what you do is already so effective. But it's a minor quibble in a novel which managed to upset and uplift me in equal measure, and which kept me company -- and kept me guessing -- right through to its slightly bitter and heartfelt end' Julie Myerson, Observer 'What Gale does so well is to delineate the unpremeditated spider-web consequences of actions, most particularly those where the intentions are apparently perfectly "good". The unfolding nightmare for all the family of the consequences of adopting are exquisitely and painfully documented! The final chapter left me with a lump in my throat' Salley Vickers, Guardian 'Late at night on the day a new Patrick Gale arrives I am always to be found crouching on the icy bathroom floor, banished from the bedroom for keeping my husband awake, feverishly turning the pages. The pins and needles are terrible, but worth it.' Spectator 'This being Gale there's a compelling tale to be told ! a convincing, moving account of man's struggle with faith, marriage and morality' Sunday Times

Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight in 1962. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester. He now lives on a farm near Land's End. His most recent novels are The Whole Day Through and the Richard & Judy bestseller Notes from an Exhibition.