Traversing three generations of women torn apart by family trauma, The Girl in the Maze explores the complex relationship and challenges involved in both mothering and being mothered. ‘I would caution you against delving into the past. The past is often best left exactly where it is.’

Emma Bowen has never had a close relationship with her mother, barely speaking with her in the last years of her life. But after her mother’s death, Emma finds something that might just explain the distance between them.

Discovering letters between her mother and grandmother, it seems to Emma that her mother has always been difficult.

As she searches for answers about her own childhood, Emma is drawn into the mystery of her mother’s enigmatic life. The more she finds, the more lost she feels, but Emma is determined to uncover her mother’s past, and the secrets held within it, whatever the cost.

An enthralling story of three women, generations apart, linked by one terrible tragedy.

PRAISE FOR THE GIRL IN THE MAZE ‘an evocative narrative of suppressed emotions, missed chances and shifting loyalties. [Hayward’s] rich and moving prose both haunts and intrigues’ - Rosie Chard, author of The Insistent Garden

‘a multi-layered haunting history, powerful because it’s just so close to all of our lives.’ - Fiona Perrin, author of How to Not Get Divorced

‘raw and compelling’ - Rebecca Netley, author of The Whistling

‘an elegantly written, totally gripping story … I was swept away by it.’ - Katy Regan, author of The Story of You

‘packed with mystery and intrigue and peopled with such real, flawed characters I felt like they might walk off the page.’ - Laura Pearson, author of I Wanted You to Know

‘a well-researched and emotional book that will take you on a journey filled with family drama, deceit and deep-buried family secrets.’ - Jessica Jarlvi, author of When I Wake Up

‘Moving, sometimes shocking, and always compelling’ - Justine Bothwick, author of In the Mirror, a Peacock Danced