The Secrets She Keeps — Helen Cross

'Oh I have all of this, John; money, men, beauty, fame, and still I am unhappy.' No one could tell you exactly why Misty Moore was famous, but everyone knew everything about her: the marriages, the plastic surgery, and now a baby. Nineteen-year-old John has been plucked out of a London sandwich bar to be Misty's nanny while she hides out - post pregnancy - in a crumbling mansion in Wychwood, in deepest Yorkshire. He is dazzled by his change of fortune, Misty's impossible breasts and most of all by the heartbreaking Hepsie Vine who is mysteriously bound to Misty. But there's more to his job than just glamour and decadence. For the village in Wychwood comes with a dank trace of secrets and Misty - of course - has plenty of her own. Helen Cross's new novel is a modern day morality tale. Written with a wild lyricism, it is brilliant, haunting and utterly original