Synopsis
‘Extraordinary . . . I absolutely loved this page-turning family mystery’ – Liane Moriarty, bestselling author of Here One Moment
'Riveting . . . [It] held me captive from the first page to the last' – Hannah Kent, bestselling author of Devotion
Discover this breathtaking debut novel of family secrets and searing atmosphere set over one long, hot summer on the New Zealand coast.
In the past, we had always spent our summer holidays in remote places. That had always been my mother’s preference. This year was different . . .
As the long summer holiday stretches ahead, ten-year-old Alix wants to spend every second on the beach and in the water. But with her parents unusually distracted and her older sister now more interested in boys, she finds herself alone.
Then she meets Kahu at the beach and he tells her about The Mystery. Two years ago, a girl went missing and none of the adults could find her. So the new friends decide to investigate - because people don’t just disappear.
But as Alex and Kahu search for clues, they stumble upon secrets they wish they’d left uncovered. Is Alix's holiday house as safe as it seems? And is her sister putting her trust in the wrong people?
Brilliantly page-turning and tensely atmospheric, A Beautiful Family will leave a lump in your throat and a hole in your heart.
'Part coming of age story, part taut thriller' – Laurie Frankel, bestselling author of Family Family
'Find a sun-lit corner and devour this sensational debut in one session' – Jacqueline Bublitz, author of Before You Knew My Name
Details
19 June 2025
9781035055739Reviews
I absolutely loved this page-turning family mystery and didn’t want it to end. The author so effortlessly transported me to another place and time, and every character leapt off the page. An extraordinary, exquisitely written debutLiane Moriarty, bestselling author of Here One Moment
An absolutely riveting read. A Beautiful Family held me captive from the first page to the last, both through Trevelyan's uncanny ability to maintain inexorable tension throughout, and her wholly believable narration of a ten-year-old trying to make sense of the adult world around her. I loved itHannah Kent, bestselling author of Devotion
Taut yet tender, A Beautiful Family examines the precariousness of childhood through the lens of a long, hazy summer of secrets. Proving the maxim that all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way, Trevelyan has crafted a coming of age story that perfectly balances the nostalgia of summer holidays with a looming sense of danger. Find a sun-lit corner and devour this sensational debut in one session (like I did)Jacqueline Bublitz, author of Before You Knew My Name
Dappled in sand and shadow, A Beautiful Family is part coming of age story, part taut thriller, part travelogue, perfectly transporting the reader not only to summer holiday on the New Zealand coast but also to that magical age between childhood and adolescence when the world starts to reveal its dark secrets and everything is more complicated – and, yes, beautiful – than it has seemed. Jennifer Trevelyan’s immersive debut is atmospheric, aching, and very youngLaurie Frankel, bestselling author of Family Family
