Instructions for a Heatwave

An unforgettable narrative—from the New York Times bestselling author of Hamnet—of a family falling apart and coming together with hard-won, life-changing truths about who they really are. “Strange weather brings out strange behavior.” London, 1976. In the thick of a record-breaking heatwave, Gretta Riordan’s newly retired husband has cleaned out his bank account and vanished. Now, for the first time in years, Gretta calls her children home: Michael Francis, a history teacher whose marriage is failing; Monica, whose blighted past has driven a wedge between her and her younger sister; and Aoife, the youngest, whose new life in Manhattan is elaborately arranged to conceal a devastating secret. In a story that stretches from the Upper West Side to a village on the coast of Ireland, Maggie O’Farrell explores the mysteries that inhere within families, and reveals the fault lines over which we build our lives. Don’t miss Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, The Marriage Portrait, coming in September!