BOOK OF THE YEAR OBSERVER, MAIL ON SUNDAY

'Let’s not mince words. This is a great book' Lionel Shriver

'An heir to Graham Greene' New York Times Book Review

During a white-hot summer on the idyllic Greek island of Hydra, two girls fall into one another’s lives to devastating effect.

When Samantha, a young, impressionable American, meets Naomi, a Brit with a taste for danger, their relationship quickly takes on a special intensity. Amid the sun, sea and high society of island life, their imaginations are sparked when one day they find a young Arab man, Faoud, washed up on shore, a casualty of the crisis raging across the Aegean. But when their seemingly simple plan to help the stranger goes wrong, all must face the horrific consequences they have set in motion.

Sinister and ravishing, Beautiful Animals tells the story of two worlds colliding. It exposes the dark heart of friendship, and shows just how often the road to hell is paved with the best of intentions.

'Like The Great Gatsby' New York Times Book Review