Discover the gripping and uplifting historical saga from the Sunday Times bestselling author, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn.

It is the late 1850s and a tired woman holding a baby walks from Hull to one of the big houses in Anlaby – the home of the wealthy Rayners. She knocks at the door, and shoves the baby at young James Rayner. The father was ‘young Mr Rayner’, and the mother is dead. Then she vanishes.

The respectable shipping family of Hull are shattered. No one wants to take responsibility for the baby and it is about to be put into an orphanage when Sammi, James’s cousin, decides to take the baby back to her parents’ home on the Holderness coast. James is banished to London, and disaster begins to beset the three branches of the Rayners.

The third novel in The Hungry Tide sequence, this epic, many-faceted story of three related families tells the triumphs and tragedies of their lives, as the whaling industry of Hull begins to decline, and the farmlands and homes continue to slip into the sea.

Readers LOVE Val Wood:
'Hull's answer to Catherine Cookson' BBC Radio 4's Front Row
‘One of those books that keeps you wanting more . . . impossible to put down’ 5 stars
‘Val Wood never fails to impress . . . I could not put this book down’ 5 stars
‘WOW. From the first page I was hooked . . . you will love this story’ 5 stars
‘I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to melt away in the pages and be lost for a while. Riveting’ 5 stars
‘Exciting story that kept me spellbound . . .Val has excelled herself yet again’ 5 stars
‘The best book I have ever read, I really felt like I was part of the story and did not want it to end’ 5 stars

Since winning the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction for her first novel, The Hungry Tide, Val Wood has become one of the most popular authors in the UK.

Born in the mining town of Castleford, Val came to East Yorkshire as a child and has lived in Hull and rural Holderness where many of her novels are set. She now lives in the market town of Beverley.

When she is not writing, Val is busy promoting libraries and supporting many charities. In 2017 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Hull for service and dedication to literature.

Find out more about Val Wood's novels by visiting her website: www.valwood.co.uk