As read on BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. Luke is a young playwright: intense, magnetic and hungry for experience. Fleeing a disastrous upbringing in the North East he arrives in London and shares a flat with Paul, an aspiring producer, and beautiful, fiery Leigh. The three of them set up a radical theatre company, their friendship forged in rehearsal rooms above pubs, candlelit power cuts, and smoky late-night parties, part of a thrilling new generation of writers, directors and rising voices. When Nina, a fragile actress, strays towards their group, Luke recognises a damaged soul and the balance between the friends is threatened. Luke is torn between loyalty, desire and his own painful past, until everything he values, even the promise of the future, is in danger. Suddenly the fallout threatens to be immense.

An intoxicating and immersive read... It is a fraught and compelling novel; one that replays itself uncomfortably in the mind long after it is finished -- Lucy Atkins Sunday Times Intense... Ms Jones is unflinching as she plots the course of fallout with no shelter, of wounded lives undone by desperation in love and art -- Carmela Ciuraru New York Times Written with a precision and a level of descriptive subtlety that puts her up there with our foremost novelists. I can't help but feel that if she had been born Samuel Jones she would already be considered on a par with the Barneses and McEwans of this parish... Fallout is crafted with a pared-back delicacy and attention to detail that shows an author determined to do better with every sentence. And at the same time, there is an intensity of focus, a merciless yet empathetic gaze directed towards each of the main characters that ensures we care deeply about each of them -- Elizabeth Day Observer Hugely enjoyable... Fallout is both deliciously gobble-able and carefully constructed... A thoroughly pleasurable read -- Holly Williams Independent on Sunday An intelligent, pacy tale... Every summer needs a One Day-style read; this book is a contender for that crown -- Anne Ashworth The Times Absorbing and romantic... Will drag you in and keep you there until the very last page -- Mernie Gilmore Daily Express Life-enhancing and compelling -- Di Speirs Psychologies An emotionally charged fourth novel from Jones Glamour Cements her reputation as a writer in the style of William Boyd: able to take on a variety of styles and mould them to her own voice -- Viv Groskop Red Jones has artfully captured the era and the febrile atmosphere of London theatreland -- Carla McKay Daily Mail

Sadie Jones is a novelist and screenwriter who was born and brought up in London. Her first novel, The Outcast ('Riveting', Lionel Shriver; 'Devastatingly good', Daily Mail) was the winner of the Costa First Novel Award. It was also shortlisted for the Orange Prize and was a Richard and Judy Summer Reads Number One bestseller. Sadie adapted The Outcast for BBC Television in 2014. Her second novel, Small Wars, ('Outstanding', The Times; 'One of the best books about the English at war ever', Joel Morris), was published in 2009, and longlisted for the Orange Prize. Her third, in 2010, was The Uninvited Guests. 2009 ('...a shimmering comedy of manners and disturbing commentary on class... a brilliant novel.' Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder. 'Delightful, eerie novel ... puts one in mind of Hilary Mantel's Beyond Black ...' The Daily Telegraph.) Her most recent novel, published May 2014, is Fallout, ('Intoxicating and immersive.' The Sunday Times; 'Intense. unflinching', The New York Times), is now out in paperback. Sadie is married to the architect, Tim Boyd, and they live in West London with their two children.