Faber scoops Hamer's 'gripping' third novel

Faber will publish the third novel from Kate Hamer, Crushed, about an obsessive friendship between three girls.

The thriller from The Girl in the Red Coat author will be published on 2nd May 2019. Editorial director Louisa Joyner bought UK and Commonwealth and Canada as well as EU rights from Alice Lutyens at Curtis Brown.

Aimed at fans of The Virgin Suicides (HarperCollins) and Megan Abbott, the psychological thriller is the story of three girls who, over the course of one long hot summer, find their friendship pushed to a breaking point as one of them convinces herself that her thoughts can influence events in the world around them. "As their love tips over into obsession and their naivety into wilful blindness all three girls wield more power than they could possibly ever have imagined, with devastating consequences,” the publisher said. "It's a raw and powerful novel."   

Joyner said: 'Kate Hamer’s new novel combines the sheer page-turning brilliance of The Girl in the Red Coat with the quality of storytelling and warmth of characterisation so celebrated in The Doll Funeral. Forged from the sheer dark brilliance that is Kate’s imagination it’s a gripping treat."

In 2011 Hamer won the Rhys Davies short-story prize and her short stories have appeared in various collections. Her debut novel The Girl in the Red Coat was published by Faber in 2015 and was shortlisted for various prizes. It was followed by The Doll Funeral last year which was a Bookseller Book of the Month. Hamer grew up in the West Country and Wales and is now based in Cardiff.