The Well

A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB READ AN OBSERVER NEW FACE OF FICTION 2015A HUFFINGTON POST 'ONE TO WATCH IN 2015'LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER 2015'I was gripped by Catherine Chanter's The Well immediately. The beauty of her prose is riveting, the imagery so assured. This is an astonishing debut' Sarah Winman, author of When God was a Rabbit'I loved this book!' JESSIE BURTON, author of The Miniaturist When Ruth Ardingly and her family first drive up from London in their grime-encrusted car and view The Well, they are enchanted by a jewel of a place, a farm that appears to offer everything the family are searching for.An opportunity for Ruth. An escape for Mark. A home for their grandson Lucien.But The Well's unique glory comes at a terrible price. The locals suspect foul play in its verdant fields and drooping fruit trees, and Ruth becomes increasingly isolated as she struggles to explain why her land flourishes whilst her neighbours' produce withers and dies. Fearful of envious locals and suspicious of those who seem to be offering help, Ruth is less and less sure who she can trust.As The Well envelops them, Ruth's paradise becomes a prison, Mark's dream a recurring nightmare, and Lucien's playground a grave.