
The must-read new novel from Nikki Gemmell - as provocative and as deeply felt as her international bestseller THE BRIDE STRIPPED BARE. three children wake up in a basement room. they have been drugged and taken from their beds in the middle of the night. Now they are alone. Where are their parents? Who can they trust? the family has been betrayed to the government and Salt Cottage, their home on a clifftop above the ocean, is no longer safe. their mother's scientific work has put them all in danger. to protect them, she must let them go. She must put her faith in an old family friend - and in her children's own resilience and courage. Searing, provocative and unputdownable, tHE BOOK OF RAPtURE is a novel of our time that's every bit as passionate and driven as tHE BRIDE StRIPPED BARE. It will compel, seduce and haunt you. 'the true dramatic tension of the book is really quite compelling . . . this book will generate discussion' Sydney Morning Herald 'At the heart of A Book of Rapture is a sweet, thoughtful fable about the innocence of children and the power of familial love' the Age 'powerful and heart-rending . . . Nikki Gemmell well knows how to keep readers engaged' Courier Mail 'the Book of Rapture is a haunting, seductive story and challenging, not least because it is so hard to put down' Sunday tasmanian 'Intense' townsville Bulletin 'rapturous passages . . . lovely words push the Book of Rapture up on to another, mysterious level' Weekend Australian 'Nikki Gemmell's haunting new novel challenges readers to question all that they know and believe' Herald Sun 'a gripping read . . . this is a book that challenges beliefs about science, children, marriage and trust' Border Mail 'Haunting, thought-provoking and beautifully written' Marie Claire 'thought-provoking' Weekend Post 'splendidly lyrical and visceral' Sun Herald 'if the strength of a novel lies in its power to haunt a reader well after the last page, this is herculean' West Australian 'A fine novel' Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin
Author

Nikki Gemmell has written four novels, Shiver, Cleave, Lovesong, The Bride Stripped Bare and The Book Of Rapture, and one non-fiction book, Pleasure: An Almanac for the Heart. Her work has been internationally critically acclaimed and translated into many languages. In France she's been described as a female Jack Kerouac, in Australia as one of the most original and engaging authors of her generation and in the US as one of the few truly original voices to emerge in a long time. The French literary review "Lire" has included her in a list of what it calls the fifty most important writers in the world - the ones it believes will have a significant influence on the literature of the 21st century. The criteria for selection included a very individual voice and unmistakeable style, as well as an original choice of subject. Nikki Gemmell was selected along with such novelists as Rick Moody, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Froer, Rohinton Mistry, Tim Winton, Colum McCann, Michel Faber and Hari Kunzru among others. Born in Wollongong, Australia, she now lives in London.