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Haven't They Grown

a totally gripping, addictive and unputdownable crime thriller packed with twists

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Haven't They Grown

By: Sophie Hannah
Narrated by: Laura Kirman
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About this listen

 The new standalone from 'one of the great unmissables of the genre - intelligent, classy and with a wonderfully gothic imagination' [The Times] - with a disturbingly impossible situation.

All Beth has to do is drive her son to his Under-14s away match, watch him play, and bring him home.

Just because she knows that her former best friend lives near the football ground, that doesn't mean she has to drive past her house and try to catch a glimpse of her. Why would Beth do that, and risk dredging up painful memories? She hasn't seen Flora Braid for twelve years.

But she can't resist. She parks outside Flora's house and watches from across the road as Flora and her children, Thomas and Emily, step out of the car. Except...

There's something terribly wrong.

Flora looks the same, only older - just as Beth would have expected. It's the children that are the problem. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily Braid were five and three years old. Today, they look precisely as they did then. They are still five and three. They are Thomas and Emily without a doubt - Beth hears Flora call them by their names - but they haven't changed at all.
They are no taller, no older.

Why haven't they grown?

(p)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2020 Sophie Hannah Crime Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Scary Crime

Critic reviews

Praise for HAVEN'T THEY GROWN
From the impossible premise to its chilling conclusion, Haven't They Grown is a masterpiece in plotting. Hannah's writing is darkly funny and brilliantly observed - I adore her books.
SO clever, so gripping: Hannah asks her readers an impossible question and answers it with style. I tore through Haven't They Grown. Brilliant characters and a corker of an ending. Bravo!
Ingenious... delivers twists and turns at every corner
The twists and turns in this weird psychological thriller are entertaining and a bit creepy at times. You'll finish this book wondering what the hell just happened!...an entertaining read that I would highly recommend
Hannah is in a league of her own... this twist-packed, always surprising thriller will keep you gripped to the satisfying conclusion
Hannah is one of our most courageous crime writers, a literary high-wire artist who sets herself the toughest of challenges in inventing inexplicable mysteries that she must create plausible solutions for... she pulls it off beautifully
Hannah has always excelled at the knotty, impossible twist and Haven't They Grown is as complex and sinister as ever
If you like your mysteries extremely twisty, this could be for you
With it's jaw-dropping hook, twisting plot and ingenious conclusion, Haven't They Grown, is a galloping read that will have you rattling through the pages, desperate to solve the mysterious puzzle at its heart
Engaging and dynamic...an interesting story that leads to a dramatic face off
Hannah is becoming something of a national treasure... rich and nuanced
fiendishly clever
Prepare for sleep deprivation!
Sophie Hannah, who can twist a conventional plot until it screams for mercy, puts an existential spin on the domestic-suspense novel
All stars
Most relevant
it was ok. a little too far fetched, but enjoyed listening to it on a long car journey.

too far fetched!

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Gripping, well plotted, excellent narration...yes to all of those. But what I found far more unusual is the very realistic family life of Beth, the central character. Instead of the usual stock husband who storms out over his wife’s investigations, here we have a funny, loving couple where they bicker and still support each other. Same goes for the children. The ‘baddie’ was perhaps a bit too much of a bad thing at the very end, but my guesses had been even more lurid so I can’t complain. Going to reread the whole Hanna oeuvre now!

Great depiction of relationships

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Worth getting to the end but felt like it could have been half the length.

Good ending but too long

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Great story, great narrator loved it twists and turns all the way couldn't stop listening

Loved the book

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I'd been looking at this book on the Kindle store for ages thinking how much I'd like to read it but knowing I unfortunately lack time for reading at the moment, so when it came up in the Audible 2 for 1 offer, I knew I had to get it and I dont regret it at all.
It sucks you in straight away, leaving you with a need to know more. How can it possibly be that these children haven't grown? How could they be the same children?
The best part is I didnt find it predictable. I was amazed when I got, what I believed to be, the answer to all the questions the book gives you and still had over an hour left!
I'll definitely be looking at other books by this author.

As this is an Audible review, I feel I should mention the narrator was also very good!

Brilliant

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