Escape

Misdirection, illusion, locked doors and old secrets - these are the tools of the magician. What happens when they're used to escape from real life?

Rachel Lambert can escape from a Bohemian Torture Crib, but she can't leave her marriage. 'You're stuck,' says the voice inside her head. 'And you'll never get out.'

Her whole life she's tried to be a good girl - she considers others first and she's never missed a deadline. Now her family's doing a vanishing act, her book on magic is a year late to the publishers, and Rachel's losing her grip on reality. She's even taken to fantasising about Harry Houdini in the grocery aisle at the supermarket.

Guido, her husband, is spending more and more time with his star pupil, Silvia, and her daughter, Clara, has run off to Italy, seeking independence and adventure. From Florence, Clara sends news like mysterious puzzle pieces, forming a disturbing picture of Guido's past and exploding her mother's illusions.

Yet sometimes truth is the key to freedom - and possibly our salvation...

Anna Fienberg's new novel is a wry and wrenchingly honest look at the pitfalls of motherhood and modern marriage - and one woman's attempt to escape them.