When the Lights Go Out

The new novel from Carys Bray, author of the Costa-shortlisted A Song for Issy Bradley

‘A powerful and truthful story about hope and how to find it’ The Times
‘A gem of a book’ Emily Maitlis

Emma’s husband Chris is fretting about starvation and societal collapse. He’s turned off the heating and is stockpiling off-label medicines and tins of baked beans.

Chris, certain that society will soon spiral to its doom, finds Emma’s optimism exasperating. Emma finds Chris’s obsession with disaster relentless. She’s beginning to wonder whether relationships, like mortgages, should be conducted in five-year increments. But when Chris’s mother turns up for a visit, the cracks begin to show. Will Emma and Chris be able to find their way back to each other?