The Book of Sand

THEO CLARE left school at fifteen. She worked as a barmaid, security guard, filmmaker, hostess in a Tokyo club, educational administrator and teacher of English as a foreign language in Asia. She had an MA in film from The American University in Washington, DC and an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University, UK. She wrote crime novels under the name Mo Hayder, and her fifth novel Ritual was nominated for the Barry Award for Best Crime 2009 and was voted Best Book of 2008 by Publishers Weekly. Gone, her seventh novel, won the Edgar Allan Poe Award, and her novel Wolf was nominated for Best Novel in the 2015 Edgar Awards and is currently being adapted for the BBC. Set primarily in an alternate universe, her most recent novel, The Book of Sand, will be published posthumously in early 2022. Theo Clare was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December 2020 and passed away in July 2021. She leaves behind a husband and daughter, a powerful legacy of books, and an incredible number of people who loved and admired her.

Fearless' MARK BILLINGHAM 'Utterly compelling' HARRIET TYCE 'Absolutely awesome' ALEX NORTH 'Stunning' JANE CORRY 'A future classic' CHRISTOPHER FOWLER ___________________________________ SAND. A hostile world of burning sun. Outlines of several once-busy cities shimmer on the horizon, and in the distance a group of people - a family - walk towards us. Ahead lies shelter which they know they must reach before the light fails - as to be out after dark is to invite danger and almost certain death. To survive in this alien world of shifting sand, they must find an object hidden in or near water. But other families want it too. They are willing to fight for it. And you know that you may have to kill - just to say alive ...