Bad Fruit

EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS SECRETS . . . ‘Unforgettable’ RED – ‘Memorable’ OBSERVER – ‘A family overflowing with secrets’ LOUISE HARE – ‘Impossible to put down’ CHRIS WHITAKER – ‘Searing’ ELLE – ‘A chilling literary thriller’ GRAZIA From hot new talent, Ella King, comes an unforgettable story about a family gone bad . . . LILY IS A GOOD DAUGHTER Every evening she pours Mama a glass of perfectly spoilt orange juice. She arranges the teddy bears on Mama’s quilt, she puts on her matching pink clothes. Anything to help put out the fire of Mama’s rage. MAMA IS A GOOD LIAR But Mama is becoming unpredictable, dangerous. And as she starts to unravel, so do the memories that Lily has kept locked away for so long.She only wanted to be good, to help piece Mama back together. But as home truths creep out of the shadows, Lily must recast everything: what if her house isn’t a home – but a prison? What if Mama isn’t a protector – but a monster . . . ‘Disturbing, poignant and memorable all at once – an exploration of a very dark relationship between a daughter and her mother’ OBSERVER ‘A riveting novel exploring how family ties can both make us and break us’ RED ‘Beautiful, disturbing, impossible to put down. Bad Fruit heralds a seriously impressive new talent in Ella King’ CHRIS WHITAKER ‘Masterful in its evocation of the complexity of mother-daughter relationships . . . a writer to watch’ HARPER’S BAZAAR

‘A chilling literary thriller’ GRAZIA ‘Disturbing, poignant and memorable all at once – an exploration of a very dark relationship between a daughter and her mother’ OBSERVER ‘A riveting novel exploring how family ties can both make us and break us’ RED ‘Searing’ ELLE ‘A compelling debut that fizzes with tension from start to finish . . . this is a darkly fascinating, tightly plotted narrative from a writer to watch’ HARPER’S BAZAAR ‘A family overflowing with secrets. Bad Fruit is dark, compelling and beautifully written’ LOUISE HARE ‘Beautiful, disturbing, impossible to put down. Bad Fruit heralds a seriously impressive new talent in Ella King’ CHRIS WHITAKER ‘Thrilling and suspenseful, King’s exemplary novel will keep readers fascinated until the end’ BOOKLIST, starred review ‘A beautiful collision of mothers and daughters, human darkness and human kindness, truth and lies’ SARAH MAY ‘Compelling and wicked, Bad Fruit is a novel about the darkest of family secrets and the lies we tell ourselves in order to live with them. This is an intimate, compulsive thriller best read on a hot summer night’ JING-JING LEE ‘Tense, intense and intriguing. Ella King is a genuinely exciting new voice’ KATE HAMER ‘King is unflinching as she examines the hard questions about family. What defines belonging? Looks, care, secrets? How do you understand someone who loves you and hurts you? In Bad Fruit, guilt, hate, and love mingle powerfully’ ROWAN HISAYO BUCHANAN ‘Bad Fruit is brilliant, taut and explosive. Ella King deftly explores the toxicity of generational trauma while being unafraid to confront the racial tensions that can simmer below the surface. A bold new voice’ HELENA LEE 'At once beautiful and harrowing’ L V MATTHEWS ‘Mesmerizing, dream-like and darkly suspenseful’ FRANCES CHA

Ella King is a Singaporean novelist living in London. She read Philosophy and Theology at Oxford University and is a corporate lawyer. A graduate of Faber Academy’s novel-writing programme, she won the Blue Pencil Pitch Prize 2019 and came third in the Aurora Prize for Short Fiction 2019. She was inspired to write Bad Fruit by the stories her grandmother told her and her volunteer work with anti-human trafficking and domestic violence charities.