The Book of Sand

Outlines of several once-busy cities shimmer on the horizon. Now empty of inhabitants, their buildings lie in ruins.

In the distance a group of people - a family - walk towards us.

Ahead lies shelter: a 'shuck' the family call home and which they know they must reach before the light fails, as to be out after dark is to invite danger and almost certain death.

To survive in this alien world of shifting sand, they must find an object hidden in or near water. But other families want it too. And they are willing to fight to the death to make it theirs.

It is beginning to rain in Fairfax County, Virginia when McKenzie Strathie wakes up. An ordinary teenage girl living an ordinary life - except that the previous night she found a sand-lizard in her bed, and now she's beginning to question everything around her, especially who she really is ...

Two very different worlds featuring a group of extraordinary characters driven to the very limit of their endurance in a place where only the strongest will survive.

“An utterly original novel from an extraordinary creative mind, The Book of Sand is an absolute standout that's impossible to put down. KARIN SLAUGHTER

Unique and fearless, Theo Clare had that rare ability to lead her readers into places that were genuinely terrifying and to conjure images that would linger and continue to disturb. The Book of Sand is no exception. MARK BILLINGHAM”

An utterly original novel from an extraordinary creative mind, The Book of Sand is an absolute standout that's impossible to put down. -- Karin Slaughter
Unique and fearless, Theo Clare had that rare ability to lead her readers into places that were genuinely terrifying and to conjure images that would linger and continue to disturb. The Book of Sand is no exception. -- Mark Billingham
I inhaled it. It's beautifully written and utterly compelling - I was completely subsumed in the Cirque and the fate of the family -- Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange
I didn't want it to end. Audacious, extraordinary and beautifully written ... it's absolutely awesome. -- Alex North, author of The Whisper Man
Fearless and compelling, lyrical and devastating by turns, the story never slackens pace. A stunning introduction to a wholly original world. -- Jane Corry

THEO CLARE left school at 15 and has worked as a barmaid, security guard, English teacher and a hostess in a Tokyo night-club. She has an MA in film-making from the American University in Washington DC, and an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University. Under the name Mo Hayder she has written the bestselling Jack Caffery series of thrillers which include Birdman and The Treatment , as well as the standalone novels The Devil of Nanking and Pig Island . She now lives in Cheltenham with her husband and daughter.

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