The Homes: a totally compelling, heart-breaking read based on a true story

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'Set to be one of the Scottish crime books of the year. I loved it' CHRIS BROOKMYRE
'Heart-warming, heart-breaking and utterly compelling' MARION TODD
'Excellent' HERALD

There were good people in The Homes. But there were also some very, very bad ones...

A thousand unwanted children live in The Homes, a village of orphans in the Scottish Lowlands on the outskirts of Glasgow. Lesley was six before she learned that most children live with their parents. Now Lesley is twelve, and she and her best friend Jonesy live in Cottage 5, Jonesy the irrepressible spirit to Lesley's quiet thoughtfulness.

Life is often cruel at The Homes, and suddenly it becomes much crueller. A child is found murdered. Then another. With the police unable to catch the killer, Lesley decides to take the matter into her own hands. But unwanted children are easy victims, and Lesley is in terrible danger...

Inspired by a true story, and introducing readers to the unforgettable voice of young orphan Lesley, The Homes is a moving and lyrical thriller, perfect for readers of Val McDermid, Chris Whitaker, Jane Casey and Denise Mina.

Reviews

'Tense yet tender, as moving as it is gripping... set to be one of the Scottish crime books of the year. I loved it' - Chris Brookmyre

'An extraordinary story quite brilliantly told. Lesley is a wonderful character, and J.B. Mylet catches her voice perfectly. I found myself staying up long after lights out reading "just another chapter"' - James Oswald

'Heart-warming, heart-breaking and utterly compelling. I could not put this beautiful book down and it stayed with me long after I finished it' - Marion Todd

'An evocative, compelling and ultimately moving mystery with a captivating central character' - Brian McGilloway

'Amazing. I was hooked from the first page... A brilliant, must read story, all the more powerful because it's told through the bewildered logic of a child. I read it with an ache in my chest for all the Lesleys and Jonesys out there' - Anna Smith

Author Bio

J.B. Mylet was inspired to write The Homes by the stories his mother told him about her childhood. She grew up in the infamous Quarrier's Homes in Scotland in the 1960s, along with a thousand other orphaned or unwanted children, and did not realise that children were supposed to live with their parents until she was seven. He felt this was a story that needed to be told. He lives in London.