The acclaimed author of The Ecliptic has written a novel of exceptional beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, and the invention and reconciliation of self—weaving a haunting story of lost innocence and love. Actually, the child isn’t Sean’s — but to the bafflement of Willa’s new husband, Peter, she plays grandma by jumping on a flight anyway, plunging them into the dramas of lone parent Denise and her precocious nine-year-old, Cheryl. John Travolta shares sweet video of son Ben as he and daughter Ella wish him a happy 13th birthday: 'I can't believe my baby boy is now a teenager'

PICTURED: Danny Cipriani puts on a cosy display with Strictly's JowitaPrzystal as they hug at their first training session - days after announcing his split from wife Victoria White Lotus stars Meghann Fahy and Leo Woodall kept romance private over fears they would 'disrupt the show' Matt Willis expresses gratitude for wife Emma's support in his addiction film as she revealed devastating impact his illness had on her It felt a little strange dealing with a climactic scene well before the end of the book and the latter part felt a little jarred even though it was also quite interesting. A thoughtful story with frightful moments. Well worth a read!Until that dismal week in August, when every plan he made was an attempt to cancel every word he spoke was a version or lie, I believed my father was a good man, someone whose blood was fit to share.” The latest barrage of truth bombs from Harry and Meghan's 'mouthpiece': Every claim from sneak peek of Omid Scobie's new book How is it possible that a few short days of misery can corrupt a lifetime? How is it that we let ourselves be so defined by other people's sins? All I know is, from the moment I was old enough to recognise his absence, my father had the most peculiar hold on me." Deeply humanizing insight shines through Wood's depiction of Daniel. Harrowing and unforgettable. Booklist​(starred review)

No one is going to survive this story, and for a while I was sure Dan would be one of those who would perish at his father’s hands. Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams reveals the moment he embraced his sexuality and decided to publicly come out as gay Benjamin Wood was born in 1981 and grew up in northwest England. He is the author of four acclaimed novels.His most recent work, The Young Accomplice , was published by Penguin Viking in June 2022. It was selected as one of the books of the year by The Times​& Sunday Times, New Statesman, The Spectator, The Irish Times,and others. A serialised version of the novel was broadcast as a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime in April 2023. It's already a star of The Crown's sixth and final series. But there's nothing final about Princess Diana's post-divorce fashion style - which is here to stay AJ Odudu puts on a leggy display in a silver sequinned mini dress as she reunites with former Big Brother co-host Emma Willis at the wrap party Fearsome suspense ... an impressive exercise in mood and narrative command, with a freezing chill that takes some time to depart from the mind. Tim Martin, The Spectator

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary: Viewers left 'sobbing' after Wilf's fate is revealed after actor Bernard Cribbins died aged 93 It would be unfair to expose too much of the highly suspenseful journey. Suffice to say that this is a novel of expertly woven tension and frightening glimpses into the mind of the deranged other; a worthy successor to Wood’s excellent second novel, 2015’s The Ecliptic. At the same time, it is an inquiry into how men might learn to live with their shadow selves. Towards the end, all grown up and contemplating fatherhood, Daniel unearths a motto from Sophocles passed on from his mother: “The small man lives his life outside disaster.” This appears to suggest that the only way to avoid catastrophe is to endure a narrow, self-limiting existence, to keep one’s head down and play safe. Which might well be a recipe for something his mother might have approved of, but it has no basis in Greek drama. What Sophocles actually says is: “When a god drives a man, and deceives him, he will decide that what is bad is good and live only a brief while outside disaster.” As the novel ends, the implication is that the real achievement is to learn how to live with inevitable failure – as father, as husband, as man – and have the strength of character to try again, to fail again, to fail better. AB - For twenty years, Daniel Hardesty has borne the emotional scars of a childhood trauma which he is powerless to undo, which leaves him no peace. One August morning in 1995, the young Daniel and his estranged father Francis – a character of ‘two weathers’, of irresistible charm and roiling self-pity – set out on a road trip to the North that seems to represent a chance to salvage their relationship. But with every passing mile, the layers of Fran’s mendacity and desperation are exposed, pushing him to acts of violence that will define the rest of his son’s life.It is up to the reader to uncover the connection. The father—Fran—works on the set and his son, Daniel, knows every script by heart. Daniel is promised access to the set—a magical promise to a young boy. But instead, Daniel becomes party to a real-life horror show that his young mind, years later, has trouble understanding. Who to believe? Is the memory of a child—for that matter, the memory of anyone—the key to the truth?

Tenderly dissecting the limits of love between parent and child while wriggling with a rich, thrilling tension, this palpably atmospheric story found its way beneath my skin and now lives there. Tell anyone who’ll listen, Benjamin Wood is one of the best novelists in Britain. David Whitehouse, author of About a SonAll the kids want a Grealish!' How Surrey barber, who arrived from Iraq at nine with broken English, has become the go-to stylist for Premiership stars A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' Edward Docx, Guardian I'm A Celeb fans GUTTED as they notice one ICONIC star missing from camp: 'What's happened to them?' Olivia Munn and John Mulaney celebrate son Malcolm's second birthday with tropical getaway: 'Sunshine, my only sunshine'