Heatstroke

Unfolding over a stifling hot summer, Heatstroke draws us into the secrets, lies and betrayals that simmer beneath a fracturing relationship between mother and daughter, leaving them both changed forever.

Barkworth has a pinsharp eye for detail. . .it's propulsive, thought-provoking and atmospheric - Daily Mail

An atmospheric read that will draw you into its tangled web

Dark and unsettling

Gripping and intensely atmospheric ... beautifully explores the complicated relationship between mothers and teenage daughters... you won't want to put this down

A bold and beautifully written novel of desire and danger - Mail on Sunday

Barkworth is excruciatingly good at encapsulating that point in life where Mia and Lily stand - on the edge of growing up... Intense and claustrophobic, this is an impressive first book

A sultry, stifling debut

Raw, unsparing and almost unbearably tender . Perfect sentences swim gracefully across every page, overlaying a narrative that delights in wrong-footing the readers' assumptions. I couldn't tear myself away

Stylish and sensual

I am addicted !... A gripping, dark and twisty read with beautiful, poetic writing

Painfully real, and so beautifully written I wanted to stay within its pages forever. Heatstroke is unsettling, challenging and utterly immersive

Tense, sultry, unsettling, sweaty and evocative . . . A thrilling look at mothers and daughters, adolescence, sex, suburbia and secrets

Pulls you into its sweaty interior and keeps you gripped to the end. Darkly atmospheric and so well written

Sexy, sensual, difficult, provocative - I was hooked for every twist, turn and revelation. This is definitely one of the best reads of the summer . I was blown away

I gulped this whole thing down in one sitting. It's compulsive, sticky and full of gorgeous writing

A scorching tale of obsession, betrayal and the wounds that mothers and daughters inflict on each other in the name of love

Fevered and claustrophobic

Hazel grew up in Stirlingshire and North Yorkshire before studying English at Oxford. She then moved to London where she spent her days working as a cultural consultant, and her nights dancing in a pop band at glam rock clubs. Hazel is a graduate of both the Oxford University MSt in Creative Writing and the Curtis Brown Creative Novel-Writing course. She now works in Oxford, where she lives with her partner. Heatstroke is her first novel.