Touch - Hardcover

Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated author whose debut novel was written when she was just fourteen years old. She is fast establishing herself as one of the most powerful and imaginative voices in modern fiction. Her first book published under the Claire North pen name was The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which became a word-of-mouth bestseller and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The follow-up Touch received widespread critical acclaim and was described by the Independent as 'little short of a masterpiece'. Her next novel The Sudden Appearance of Hope won the 2017 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and her recent book The End of the Day has been shortlisted for the 2017 Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award. In addition to working on her next novel 84K, Claire is also one of three writers contributing to the upcoming Black Mirror book, which ties into Charlie Brooker's award-winning TV series. In between writing, Claire also works as a theatre lighting designer. She lives in London.

Forget all the other thrillers, this is one of the biggest things this year. Make sure you read this one. * THE BOOK PLANK * Fast-paced, imaginative . . . There is plenty of conspiracy and intrigue in this deftly paced novel, but North also poses subtle questions about identity and love. In the end, it is not power that Kepler and its nemesis are fighting over but the right to be known. * WASHINGTON POST * Offers readers a fast-paced, action-packed, nerve-wracking plot centered around an intense game of "cat and mouse" . . . The writing is gorgeous. As I read, my fingers were itching to underline quotes on virtually every page. The characters are richly drawn and compelling. The plot is utterly riveting. The book is pretty much perfect, is what I'm saying. * BOOKTOPIA * Triumphant . . . This novel is utterly engaging, addictive, and thought-provoking . . . simply superb * CIVILIAN READER * The writing is stunning; the action . . . exhilarating; the depth and emotion - always - thought-provoking and touching * THE LITERARY TREE * Powerful, disquieting, and provocative * PORNOKITSCH * With her second novel Touch, Claire North has set her marker down as a here-to-stay talent. This is another excellent read with so much imagination packed into its pages the quality dazzles * Peter F. Hamilton * An intensely gripping cat and mouse game . . . Seriously I cannot get over how amazingly good Claire North is. I could have read this book forever. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was so smart,Touch is beyond genius. This will be one of THE books of 2015. Mark my words * BITE THE BOOK * A dark thriller that asks readers to imagine whom they would be if they could be anyone. Literally . . . This fast-paced tale starts with a bang and continues with a bunch more of them . . . The high stakes and breakneck pace of the plot will draw readers in, and the meditations on what it means to be human and to be loved will linger long after the last shot is fired * KIRKUS * Touch is fast, smart, cinematic and with a cracking central idea. This is absolutely destined to be one of the biggest thrillers of 2015 . . . A very, very impressive second outing * Rick O'Shea, radio presenter * A brilliantly balanced knife's edge of a book - fast-paced and thrilling, it's somehow also languorous, thoughtful, intelligently intimate . . . I am left staggered into an awed slow-clap at everything North has accomplished here. Touch is touching, horrifying, magnificent; step into it, and it will step into you. * NPR * As intriguing and breathless as it is brilliantly original, constantly defying expectations and a step (or two) ahead of the reader. Featuring a troubled hero who can move from body to body just by grazing someone's fingertip and who becomes the subject of a sinister assassination attempt . . . Agile, unpredictable, this one will keep you awake at night in the search for answers * LOVE READING * I was totally and utterly gripped, it's just extraordinary. Absolutely mesmerising * Clare Mackintosh, author, feature writer and columnist * A work of sparkling originality that works both as mesmerising thriller and exploration of what it means, at the most profound level, to be human * Alex Marwood, author of THE WICKED GIRLS * One of the cleverest, most compelling books I've read in a long time. The intoxicating voice, ingenious premise and intricate plot will have readers clamouring for a copy. Touch has bestseller written all over it and Claire North is one hell of a writer * C. L. Taylor, author of THE ACCIDENT * The quality of the writing and the dazzlingly imaginative heart of this exciting book will seduce even scifi sceptics, and keep readers absolutely hooked to the dramatic conclusion * SUNDAY MIRROR * North's talent shines out * SUNDAY TIMES * Poignant and intensely gripping * GUARDIAN * Touch is little short of a masterpiece . . . both a thought-provoking literary treatise on what makes us human, and a genre-thriller that rattles on at a breakneck pace. Excellent. * INDEPENDENT *