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AS FEATURED ON THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG POWER LIST 2026: a sensual, sharp, and utterly compelling campus novel about grief, reinvention, and the ripple effects of telling lies, by a talented young author'Superb ... Witty, assured, energisingly original' GUARDIAN'Razor-edged and emotionally rich ... Exquisite' LUCY ROSE, AUTHOR OF THE LAMB'A literary star in the making' MARIE CLAIRE***I had never been good, and there was no point in trying now.On a small art college campus in upstate New York, Charlotte begins her final year with a lie. Her father died over the summer, she says. Heart attack. Very sudden.Awkward and insular, Charlotte has never really fit in. But now her sympathetic classmates treat her differently, showing their concern in attention, affection, and, as she begins a relationship with fellow student Katarina, even love. Perhaps some things are worth lying for - no matter how big the lie gets.But six thousand miles away, in England, her father is very much alive, alone and unhappy in the cramped childhood home Charlotte left behind. She has always kept difficult truths at arm's length, but his resolve to visit his distant daughter might just be the one thing she can't control.***'Punchy ... Sprinkled with dry wit' The Times'The kind of interior voice that ensnares you ... The art college campus novel I've always wanted.... Grace Murray is one of those writers who you can devote yourself to' CLAIRE KOHDA, AUTHOR OF WOMAN, EATING'The sharpest, meanest of prose in the best possible way. An outstanding debut from author to watch' HEATHER DARWENT, AUTHOR OF THE THINGS WE DO TO OUR FRIENDS

'Superb ... Witty, assured, energisingly original' GUARDIAN<BR><BR>'Razor-edged and emotionally rich ... Exquisite' LUCY ROSE, AUTHOR OF THE LAMB<BR><BR>'A literary star in the making' MARIE CLAIRE<BR><BR>***<BR><BR>Introducing an outstanding new voice in literary fiction: a sensual, sharp, and utterly compelling campus novel about grief, reinvention, and the ripple effects of telling lies<BR><BR>If I ever woke up with an ungodly dread - that I could change it all now, turn around, and confess - I ignored it. I had never been good, and there was no point in trying now.<BR><BR>On a small liberal arts campus in upstate New York, Charlotte begins her final year with a lie. Her father died over the summer, she says. Heart attack. Very sudden.<BR><BR>Charlotte had never been close with her classmates but as she repeats her tale, their expressions soften into kindness. And so she learns there are things worth lying for: attention, affection, and, as she embarks on a relationship with fellow student Katarina, even love. All she needs to do is keep control of the threads that hold her lie - and her life - together.<BR><BR>But six thousand miles away, alone in the grey two-up-two-down Staffordshire terrace she grew up in, her father is very much alive, watching television and drinking beer. Charlotte has always kept difficult truths at arm's length, but his resolve to visit his distant daughter might just be the one thing she can't control.<BR><BR>'The kind of interior voice that ensnares you ... The art college campus novel I've always wanted.... Grace Murray is one of those writers who you can devote yourself to' CLAIRE KOHDA, AUTHOR OF WOMAN, EATING<BR><BR>***GRACE MURRAY FEATURES ON THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG POWER LIST 2026***