Heatstroke

DO YOU REMEMBER THE SUMMER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING?

'A thrilling look at mothers and daughters, adolescence, sex, suburbia and secrets' NELL FRIZZELL

'Unsettling, challenging and utterly immersive' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'A sultry, stifling debut exploring power, consent and womanhood' COSMOPOLITAN

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Rachel and her daughter have never had secrets. Until now.

Lily is somewhere she shouldn't be. With someone she shouldn't be with.

Mia misses her best friend. But she let her down.

In the middle of a stifling heatwave, Rachel, Lily and Mia stand on the edge of irrevocable change. Soon, just one burning question will remain... how could they let things go this far?

A provocative debut novel for fans of My Dark Vanessa, The Push by Ashley Audrain and Megan Nolan's Acts of Desperation.

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'Barkworth is excruciatingly good' OBSERVER

'I am addicted... dark and twisty with beautiful, poetic writing' EMMA GANNON

'Gripping and intensely atmospheric... you won't want to put this down' HEAT magazine's READ OF THE WEEK

'Stylish and sensual' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE

'Twists, turns and revelations in all the right places' EVENING STANDARD

'A stunning new voice... I couldn't tear myself away' ERIN KELLY

'Sexy and provocative' LAURA JANE WILLIAMS

'Pulls you into its sweaty interior and keeps you gripped' RENEE KNIGHT

'Compulsive, sticky and full of gorgeous writing' KIRSTIN INNES

'Read next if you loved Three Women by Lisa Taddeo' WHISTLES newsletter

“Barkworth is excruciatingly good at encapsulating that point in life where Mia and Lily stand - on the edge of growing up... An impressive first book - ObserverA sultry, stifling debut - Cosmopolitan Gripping and intensely atmospheric ... beautifully explores the complicated relationship between mothers and teenage daughters... you won't want to put this down - Heat Dark and unsettling - RedAn atmospheric read that will draw you into its tangled web - Woman & Home”

Barkworth is excruciatingly good at encapsulating that point in life where Mia and Lily stand - on the edge of growing up... Intense and claustrophobic, this is an impressive first book Observer
A sultry, stifling debut Cosmopolitan
Gripping and intensely atmospheric... beautifully explores the complicated relationship between mothers and teenage daughters... you won't want to put this down Heat
An atmospheric read that will draw you into its tangled web Woman & Home
Dark and unsettling Red
Painfully real, and so beautifully written I wanted to stay within its pages forever. Heatstroke is unsettling, challenging and utterly immersive -- Clare Mackintosh
Stylish and sensual -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Tense, sultry, unsettling, sweaty and evocative . . . A thrilling look at mothers and daughters, adolescence, sex, suburbia and secrets -- Nell Frizzell
Pulls you into its sweaty interior and keeps you gripped to the end. Darkly atmospheric and so well written -- Renée Knight
Sexy, sensual, difficult, provocative - I was hooked for every twist, turn and revelation. This is definitely one of the best reads of the summer. I was blown away -- Laura Jane Williams
I am addicted!... A gripping, dark and twisty read with beautiful, poetic writing -- Emma Gannon
I gulped this whole thing down in one sitting. It's compulsive, sticky and full of gorgeous writing -- Kirstin Innes
Raw, unsparing and almost unbearably tender. Perfect sentences swim gracefully across every page, overlaying a narrative that delights in wrong-footing the readers' assumptions. I couldn't tear myself away -- Erin Kelly
A scorching tale of obsession, betrayal and the wounds that mothers and daughters inflict on each other in the name of love -- Tammy Cohen
Fevered and claustrophobic -- Jane Healey, author of The Animals at Lockwood Manor

Hazel grew up in Stirlingshire and North Yorkshire before studying English at Oxford. She then moved to London where she spent her days working as a cultural consultant, and her nights dancing in a pop band at glam rock clubs. Hazel is a graduate of both the Oxford University MSt in Creative Writing and the Curtis Brown Creative Novel-Writing course. She now works in Oxford, where she lives with her partner. Heatstroke is her first novel.

'Barkworth is excruciatingly good... An impressive first book' OBSERVER 'A sultry, stifling debut exploring power, consent and womanhood' COSMOPOLITAN 'The evocative one' HEAT magazine's READ OF THE WEEK 'Read next if you loved Three Women by Lisa Taddeo' WHISTLES newsletter --- Do you remember the summer that changed everything? Rachel and her daughter never had secrets. Until now. Lily is somewhere she shouldn't be. With someone she shouldn't be with. Mia misses her best friend. But she let her down. At the beginning of a long, hot summer, the three of them stand on the edge of irrevocable change. By the end, one burning question will remain... how could she let things go this far? FOR FANS OF ZOE HELLER, EMMA CLINE, EXPECTATION AND MY DARK VANESSA. --- 'I wanted to stay within its pages forever' CLARE MACKINTOSH 'Stylish and sensual' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE 'A thrilling look at mothers and daughters, adolescence, sex, suburbia and secrets' NELL FRIZZELL 'I am addicted... dark and twisty with beautiful, poetic writing' EMMA GANNON 'Sexy and provocative' LAURA JANE WILLIAMS 'Pulls you into its sweaty interior and keeps you gripped' RENEE KNIGHT 'I couldn't tear myself away' ERIN KELLY 'Compulsive, sticky and full of gorgeous writing' KIRSTIN INNES 'Gripping and intensely atmospheric... you won't want to put this down' HEAT 'A summer sizzler... with twists, turns and revelations in all the right places' EVENING STANDARD

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