Havoc

<p><b> ''A LABYRINTHINE MYSTERY OF EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY'' Jo Brand</b><br><b>''DELIRIOUS AND REWARDING'' <i>Guardian</i></b><br><b>''UNMISSABLE'' <i>Woman''s Weekly</i></b><br><b>A <i>GUARDIAN </i>BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025<br></b><br>Fleeing Scotland in the wake of family disgrace, 16-year-old Ida Campbell secures a scholarship at a failing girls'' boarding school on a remote part of the south English coast. Despite the eccentricities of her new Headmistress, who warns her of the dangers of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of <i>the bomb</i>, St Anne''s seems like a refuge to Ida. But all this is about to change. For a start, her new room-mate is the infamous Louise Adler, potential arsonist and hardened outcast.<br><br> Meanwhile, the geography teacher Eleanor Alston, in her late thirties, a disastrous love affair in her wake, faces the new term with weary resignation. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of a new teacher, Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is.<br><br>And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils. <b>What is happening to the girls of St Anne''s? Could there be a poisoner among them? Is Ida''s scholarship really an escape, or is it instead a new nightmare?</b><br><br><b>READERS ARE LOVING <i>HAVOC</i>:</b><br><br>''Superb. Brilliantly funny, at times extremely poignant'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐<br>''Another beautifully written book by Rebecca'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐<br>''Utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐<br>''I absolutely loved the humour in this book. Bonus points for the Cold War references'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐<br>''Entertaining and humorous'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐<br><br><b><u>Praise for Rebecca Wait:</u></b><br><br>''IT''LL EASILY BE ONE OF MY BOOKS OF THE YEAR'' Hannah Beckerman<br>''It''s a warm book and a touching one. And did I mention it''s funny? Just read it. You''ll see'' <i>The Times</i><br>''Funny, tender and sad'' <i>Sunday Express</i><br>''If you liked Meg Mason''s <i>Sorrow and Bliss</i>, you''ll love this novel'' <i>Good Housekeeping</i><br>''One of the richest explorations of family dysfunction I''ve read''<i> i newspaper</i><br>''Shades of Fleabag in this smart, funny drama'' <i>Mail on Sunday</i><br>''An enjoyably bittersweet novel about a dysfunctional modern family'' <i>Independent</i><br>''Razor-sharp '' <i>Observer</i><br>''One of the funniest novels you''ll read this year'' <i>Guardian</i></p>