Passiontide

Four women spark a revolution on a Caribbean island – the electrifying new novel from the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch.

* A Guardian Book to Look Out For in 2024 *

Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri’s carnival, a young female steel-pan player is found dead beneath a cannonball tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island.

As the days pass, this shocking event draws together four women. There’s Sharleen, a journalist with an eye for the real story. Her childhood friend Tara, the pink-haired, straight-talking star of the activism scene. Gigi, the ‘notorious’ founder of the Port Isabella Sex Workers Collective. And Daisy, first lady of St Colibri, who is haunted by a disappearance in her own family decades ago.

In a community in which women’s voices are often silenced and violence against them is often overlooked, the group soon find themselves compelled to speak out – and to act. But even they could never have foreseen the consequences of their courage…

Passiontide is a fiercely alive novel about women daring to imagine a different world. It confirms Monique Roffey as one of our most spellbinding storytellers.

PRAISE FOR MONIQUE ROFFEY:

‘Monique Roffey is a unique talent’ Bernardine Evaristo

‘A daring, mesmerising novel’ Maggie O’Farrell

‘Wonderful, immersive, evocative . . . A masterclass of world-building’ Bridget Collins

‘Once I had started it, I couldn’t stop . . . brilliant’ Clare Chambers