The obituary writer - Lauren St. John

A sensual, surprising and redemptive story of loss, love and finding the courage to face our deepest fears, in the bestselling tradition of THE HORSE WHISPERER.

Nick Donaghue, a handsome young obituary writer for THE TIMES, leads a charmed existence until he is caught up in one of Britain's worst ever train crashes. When he survives unscathed, his friends and colleagues consider him the luckiest man alive. Only Nick knows the truth - that he is tormented by horrific nightmares. When they start to appear grimly prescient, his meticulously constructed urban life is derailed.

Escaping to the wilds of Cornwall strikes him as the answer, especially after he becomes captivated by a beautiful woman and a tempestuous horse he sees playing on a beach. But when his nightmares return, they threaten his fragile new world.

As Nick struggles to understand his dreams, his demons and, most dangerously of all, his passions, he realises that falling in love might come at a terrible price.

Lauren St John was born in Gatooma, Rhodesia, now Kadoma, Zimbabwe. At 11, she and her family moved to Rainbow's End farm and game reserve, the subject of her acclaimed memoir, and she grew up surrounded by animals, including eight horses, two warthogs and a pet giraffe. After nearly a decade as golf correspondent to The Sunday Times, followed by a sojourn in the US, riding the tour buses of alt. country stars like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and the Dixie Chicks, she wrote the bestselling 'White Giraffe' series. 'Dead Man's Cove', the first in her new mystery series about 11-year-old detective, Laura Marlin, won the 2011 Blue Peter Favourite Story and Book of the Year Awards.

Lauren's website is http://laurenstjohn.com/ and you can follow her on Twitter @laurenstjohn

Gripping and spellbinding, this tale is full of pure joy and complete terror
THE LADY

It's interesting to see how a successful children's writer makes the transition to adult fiction, and St John pulls it off brilliantly
THE TIMES

Lauren St John's prose is warm and light and she keeps the plot trotting along ... St John's breezy evocation of Cornwall's rugged cliffs, sandy shores and gnarly yet good-hearted villagers gives it ample seasonal appeal. Moreover, the ending might surprise you.
DAILY MAIL

What a treat. Children's author St John brings her masterful story-telling to the adult market ... Engaging, original and charming.
SAGA

This unusual love story is the first adult novel from this children's author and will have you in its thrall from the start.
CANDIS MAGAZINE

[I]t is brilliantly written and the story will grip you. It is one of those books that get under your skin and even when you are not reading it you will be thinking about it.
LOVENBOOKS