Ruth Hogan’s third novel 'inspired by Brighton elopement'

John Murray has revealed Ruth Hogan’s third novel will be Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel, a story inspired by the author's own Brighton elopement.

Due out in February 2019, Hogan's third outing follows her debut The Keeper of Lost Things, which to date has sold almost 700,000 copies across all formats with rights sold in over 30 territories, and second novel, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, which publishes in paperback this week. It is the second in a two-book deal with Two Roads signed last year.

The new novel is set in Brighton and about family secrets and friendship. It focuses on Tilda, a woman "wary of people" who travels back to Queenie Malone's magnificent Paradise Hotel in Brighton to unravel the mystery of why her mother sent her away as a young child. Along the way, she discovers her mother was not the woman she thought she knew at all...

According to John Murray, Hogan's story introduces a cast of "unforgettable characters" in its telling and "brings a resolute feeling of hope to some difficult issues".

Two Roads publisher Lisa Highton added that the book's Paradise Hotel setting was "gloriously eccentric" and promised to be "an absolute treat for all Ruth’s fans".

Hogan, for whom Brighton is a reoccurring presence in her books, said her elopement with her partner to get married in the Royal Pavilion in Brighton had inspired her third book.

She said: "This book was an absolute joy to write, particularly as it is largely set in Brighton – a place I love for so many reasons – and I’m delighted to be working with my dream team at Two Roads and John Murray once again."

Two Roads will publish The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes in paperback on 6th September 2018 and Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel in hardback on 7th February 2019.