Trespass

When your past is a lie, who are you?

'Provocative, moving and timely' Mail on Sunday

'All the excitement of a thriller with the depth of a literary novel' Cathy Rentzenbrink

'As memorable for her sharp and even funny social observation as it is for the powerful outrage that drives it' Sunday Times

'Brilliant, chilling' Helena Kennedy QC

As a teenager, Tess falls into environmental activism - and the arms of an older, charismatic protester. She has never been happier. When he suddenly disappears, leaving her pregnant and alone, she is shattered. Slowly, though, she rebuilds a life for herself and her daughter Mia. 'We're all we need,' she sings to Mia as they dance around the kitchen. 'Me and you, us two.'

But, as Mia nears her thirteenth birthday, the death of a relative sparks questions - about activism, about her family, about her father - that Tess cannot answer. And when a hidden letter is found, Tess suddenly has urgent questions of her own. As mother and daughter pull apart, caught up in their own private quests for answers, the certainties of memory and history begin to unravel and a single shocking question emerges: if your past is all a lie, then who are you?

Complex, profound and devastatingly timely, this brilliant psychological suspense explores the twisted world of undercover operations, the most secretive part of the secret state where nothing is sacred and no one cares to count the cost.

“A magnificent, nuanced and intricate novel. Trespass is as political as it is personal, both moving and psychologically fascinating”

I read Trespass in one go. So perceptive and clever. All the excitement of a thriller with the depth of a literary novel -- Cathy Rentzenbrink
As memorable for her sharp and even funny social observation as it is for the powerful outrage that drives it -- Phil Baker Sunday Times
Provocative, moving and timely -- Hephzibah Anderson Mail on Sunday
A magnificent, nuanced and intricate novel. Trespass is as political as it is personal, both moving and psychologically fascinating -- Sadie Jones
A novel about love -- and state-sanctioned impunity ... Paranoid fantasy or reality? Brilliant, chilling -- Helena Kennedy QC
Some characters pull you in from the off and that's exactly how I felt about Tess, a young climate activist who becomes pregnant by an older man who isn't who he says he is Good Housekeeping
A fascinating tale . . . Clark's historical worlds are meticulously researched. The Times, In the Full Light of the Sun
With great skill and sympathy, Clark evokes a febrile society in which politics, love and art offer no certainties, and the ground always threatens to open beneath her characters' feet. -- Nick Rennison Sunday Times, In the Full Light of the Sun
An irresistible story . . . as compelling as it is expansive - Guardian Guardian, In the Full Light of the Sun

Clare Clark is the author of six highly acclaimed historical novels, including The Great Stink, Savage Lands (both longlisted for the Orange Prize) and The Nature of Monsters. Born in 1967, she graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge with a double first in History, and now lives in London with her husband and two children.

When your past is a lie, who are you? 'Provocative, moving and timely' Mail on Sunday 'All the excitement of a thriller with the depth of a literary novel' Cathy Rentzenbrink 'As memorable for her sharp and even funny social observation as it is for the powerful outrage that drives it' Sunday Times 'Brilliant, chilling' Helena Kennedy QC As a teenager, Tess falls into environmental activism - and the arms of an older, charismatic protester. She has never been happier. When he suddenly disappears, leaving her pregnant and alone, she is shattered. Slowly, though, she rebuilds a life for herself and her daughter Mia. 'We're all we need,' she sings to Mia as they dance around the kitchen. 'Me and you, us two.'But, as Mia nears her thirteenth birthday, the death of a relative sparks questions - about activism, about her family, about her father - that Tess cannot answer. And when a hidden letter is found, Tess suddenly has urgent questions of her own. As mother and daughter pull apart, caught up in their own private quests for answers, the certainties of memory and history begin to unravel and a single shocking question emerges: if your past is all a lie, then who are you?Complex, profound and devastatingly timely, this brilliant psychological suspense explores the twisted world of undercover operations, the most secretive part of the secret state where nothing is sacred and no one cares to count the cost.

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