Front cover of Havoc by Rebecca Wait, paperback

Havoc : a blistering tragicomedy from the author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way - Rebecca Wait

Rebecca Wait

£10.99
  • Pages · 448 pages
  • Publication Date · 02/07/2026
  • Genre · Fiction: special features
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A LABYRINTHINE MYSTERY OF EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY' Jo Brand'DELIRIOUS AND REWARDING' Guardian'UNMISSABLE' Woman's WeeklyFleeing 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 the bomb, 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. 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. And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils. 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?READERS ARE LOVING HAVOC:'Superb. Brilliantly funny, at times extremely poignant' ★★★★★ 'Another beautifully written book by Rebecca' ★★★★★ 'Utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it' ★★★★★ 'I absolutely loved the humour in this book. Bonus points for the Cold War references' ★★★★★ 'Entertaining and humorous' ★★★★★

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