Windmill Hill

(Hardback)

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'Brilliantly observed. I loved it' CLAIRE FULLER

'Lucy Atkins, a one-of-a-kind author, has reached new heights' MICK HERRON

'Compulsive and skilfully woven' CLARE CHAMBERS

'An intriguing, brilliantly told story' NINA STIBBE

One night in a remote hunting lodge with a Hollywood director causes an international scandal that wrecks Astrid's glittering stage career, and her marriage. Her ex-husband, the charismatic Scottish actor Magnus Fellowes, goes on to find global fame, while Astrid retreats to a disintegrating Sussex windmill.

Now 82, she lives there still, with a troupe of dachshunds and her long-suffering friend, Mrs Baker, who came to clean twenty years ago and never left. But the past is catching up with them. There has been an 'Awful Incident' at the windmill; the women are in shock. Then Astrid hears that Magnus, now on his death bed, is writing a tell-all memoir. Outraged, she sets off for Scotland, determined to stop him.

Windmill Hill is the story of two very different women, both with painful pasts, and their eccentric friendship - deep, enduring, and loyal to the last.

PRAISE FOR LUCY ATKINS

'It was an utter joy to relish Atkins's wonderfully skilled and unobtrusive writing and lose myself in the mystery' Sarah Perry

'An utterly compelling read' Claire Fuller

'Sly, witty and gripping . . . I loved it' Naomi Alderman

'Atkins excels at characterisation' Guardian

'A sinewy, supple and gorgeously satisfying triumph' Lucy Mangan

'Gripping as well as beautifully written' Polly Samson

Reviews

What a fabulous character Lucy Atkins has created in Astrid! 82 with a wandering mind, she is eccentric, determined, loyal, and wholly believable. This novel, ultimately about female friendship is playful, brilliantly observed, and with a plot that leaps and skips and surprises in the best possible ways. I loved it * Claire Fuller *
Windmill Hill is a compulsive and skilfully woven story of loyal female friendship, memories, regrets and secrets that will not stay buried. Lucy Atkins keeps the reader turning the pages hungrily * Clare Chambers *
I loved Windmill Hill. Glorious characters in an intriguing, brilliantly told story. And so funny! * Nina Stibbe *
Lucy Atkins, a one-of-a-kind writer, has reached new heights. Packed with story, character, sadness, friendship and joy, Windmill Hill is charming and shocking by turns, and never fails to delight * Mick Herron *
Utterly gorgeous - a lush, rich mystery peopled by unforgettable characters * JP Delaney *
I've been a firm fan of Lucy Atkins since The Night Visitor and the superb Magpie Lane, but Windmill Hill propels her into a different league. Exquisitely written, with a protagonist who leaps off the page, it's comic, astute, heart-warming and powered by two dark strands of suspense that tug you as strongly as the wind beneath the mill's sails. I loved it * Sarah Vaughan *
Windmill Hill is a propulsive read about the lives of theatre actors; their loves, long buried secrets and what they are willing to do for fame. It is written with all the addictive energy of a whodunit but also the elegance and poise of literary fiction. A deft display of Lucy Atkins's talents as a delicate observer of human nature and a master of intrigue * Arifa Akbar *
Lucy Atkins is such a skilled storyteller, creating compelling, interesting characters who remain with the reader long after the last word is read. I loved the story of friendship at the heart of Windmill Hill and I was entranced by this exquisitely written novel. It's a novel I will be giving to all my friends. Beautifully written, it has stayed with me a long time * Clover Stroud *
Lucy Atkins is an author at the top of her game with Windmill Hill. This is a compelling and multi-layered novel with so much to say about love and friendship, about being young and growing old - and how the concept of home can be found in another human being while companionship can be found in an old, irritable windmill * Freya North *
A beautifully written story about the endurance and strength of female friendship, and how we can set the past free if we find the courage to face it. Lucy Atkins writes place and character with such skill, I feel as though I have sat by the windmill with Astrid and Mrs Baker, watching the downs unfold before us and drinking a shot (or two) of Jim Beam. A truly memorable story, I loved it * Joanna Cannon *
A triumph. Funny, mysterious, moving and ingenious - a Shakespearian knot of happiness all round * Philip Pullman *
A fascinating exploration of the resilience of the aged and the determination to confront the ghosts of the past. The book keeps you in suspense until the final page * Michael Billington *
I'm a big Lucy Atkins fan and Windmill Hill is a brilliantly structured tale of complicated lives which moves cleverly between several timelines. The protagonists are fascinating and the windmill almost a character in its own right. A really absorbing read * Adle Geras *

Author Bio

Lucy Atkins is an award-winning author and journalist. She is a book critic for the Sunday Times and the Guardian, teaches on Oxford University's Creative Writing Master's degree and has judged the Costa Book Awards. She has written for publications including the Guardian, the Times, the Telegraph, the Times Literary Supplement and many UK magazines. Her third novel, The Night Visitor, has been optioned for television. Her most recent novel, Magpie Lane, was chosen as a book of the year by BBC Radio 4's Open Book, the Guardian, the Telegraph and Good Housekeeping magazine.