The paper wife

the long version

At the heart of Linda Spalding's haunting new novel is the relationship between two young women, Kate and Lily. It's the sixties and they have known each other half their lives. Closer than sisters, they have chosen each other. But at university their friendship is tested when Lily betrays her friend in the face of passion. Confronted with the pain of disloyalty, and the need to resolve her own desires, she runs away to Mexico only to find herself entangled in a series of sinister events she can hardly comprehend.