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An Unlikely Visitor
- Author
- Joanna Cannon
- Narrator
- Emily Joyce
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 4 June 2026
- Run Time
- 9 hours 41 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Fiction: literary and general non-genre, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Humorous fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
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What to expect
‘Moving, funny, compassionate and wise. An Unlikely Visitor made me laugh, cry and left me filled with hope’ ELIZABETH DAY
'A perfect book for today’s world’ SARAH WINMAN
‘Heartbreaking, life-affirming and funny all at the same time’ JANE FALLON
MARGARET THINKS HER TIME IS UP… BUT MAYBE HER TIME IS NOW?
Things have been hard since her husband Derek died, and they never really got over the disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie, all those years ago.
Despite everything, they built a lovely life together… it’s just starting to feel impossible for Margaret on her own.
Then one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visitor, and together they set out to discover what really happened to Jeanie.
Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story…
'Poignant' SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE
'Compelling' MAIL ON SUNDAY, BEST NEW FICTION
‘A poignant exploration of grief, resilience and hope' WOMAN'S OWN
It's not always about the destination… join Joanna Cannon's readers on a profoundly moving emotional journey:
'A book that invites you to slow down… will leave you feeling both tearful and inspired' FIVE STARS Reader Review
'Wonderfully comforting' FIVE STARS Reader Review
'This is a wonderful book, and it will stay with me for a very long time' FIVE STARS Reader Review
'Tender and poignant' FIVE STARS Reader Review
'I laughed and cried and could not put the book down' FIVE STARS Reader Review
'A very special book that will have the reader crying, laughing… and feeling every other possible emotion' FIVE STARS Reader Review
More praise for Joanna Cannon:
‘An Unlikely Visitor feels like a surreal collaboration between Alan Bennett, Alice Sebold, and a Derbyshire Elizabeth Strout’ PATRICK GALE
‘In An Unlikely Visitor Joanna Cannon treats weighty subjects – grief, loss, victimhood – with a light touch and her characteristic compassion and humour’ CLARE CHAMBERS
‘Emotional, sweet, funny, hauntingly sad and poignant’ SARA COX
‘Lovely, lovely, lovely… Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe’ MARIAN KEYES
‘An utter delight’ SARAH WINMAN
‘A joy and a triumph’ RACHEL JOYCE
‘Charming, wise and profoundly human’ ERIN KELLY
Critics Review
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'An Unlikely Visitor is an astonishing achievement… Joanna Cannon is an exquisite observer of human nature. Her stories are not so much told as felt by the soul' ELIZABETH DAY
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'Joanna Cannon is a compassionate storyteller who writes about the big things with a lightness of touch. An Unlikely Visitor is an engaging mystery, magical and humane as it slowly unfurls – a perfect book for today’s world’ SARAH WINMAN
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‘Joanna Cannon beautifully examines each tragic, surprising, shocking and precious moment of ordinary life. An extraordinary book, I loved it’ FERN BRITTON
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'Joanna Cannon's words are like a heartbeat on the page; she is easily one of my favourite authors. An Unlikely Visitor is an emotional, imaginative story written with such empathy and tenderness' CECELIA AHERN
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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'A poignant, funny and life-affirming novel about finding another end to your story, told with Joanna Cannon's wit and warmth' PRIMA
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'A richly imagined, deeply soothing and impeccably structured story, told with Joanna Cannon's trademark wit and warmth. A balm for the soul' SAMUEL BURR
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'Brimming with Jo's trademark compassion, insight and wry humour, An Unlikely Visitor is both a meditation on a grief, a mystery of a missing child and a powerful exploration of the human condition. A treat of a novel' HANNAH BECKERMAN
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'A novel that appears to be telling Margaret and Derek’s poignant story becomes, in Joanna Cannon’s gifted hands, a profound reflection on the human condition, and therein lie the joy and the magic… We are left marvelling at how extraordinary ordinary people can be, and what a wonder it is to live and love at all' JOANNA GLEN
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Praise for Joanna Cannon:
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‘Lovely, lovely, lovely… Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe’ MARIAN KEYES
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‘A chronicler both of the human condition and the quotidian details which speak to who we are’ GUARDIAN
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‘Irresistibly good-hearted’ DAILY TELEGRAPH
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‘Funny, melancholy, acutely observant’ SUNDAY EXPRESS
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‘Compassionate, thoughtful and tender’ OBSERVER
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
- No written reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Joanna Cannon
- Narrator
- Emily Joyce
- Duration
- 9 hours 41 minutes
- Release Date
- 4 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9780008255114
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Fiction: literary and general non-genre, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Humorous fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
‘Moving, funny, compassionate and wise. An Unlikely Visitor made me laugh, cry and left me filled with hope’ ELIZABETH DAY 'A perfect book for today’s world’ SARAH WINMAN ‘Heartbreaking, life-affirming and funny all at the same time’ JANE FALLON MARGARET THINKS HER TIME IS UP… BUT MAYBE HER TIME IS NOW? Things have been hard since her husband Derek died, and they never really got over the disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie, all those years ago. Despite everything, they built a lovely life together… it’s just starting to feel impossible for Margaret on her own. Then one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visitor, and together they set out to discover what really happened to Jeanie. Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story… 'Poignant' SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE 'Compelling' MAIL ON SUNDAY, BEST NEW FICTION ‘A poignant exploration of grief, resilience and hope' WOMAN'S OWN It's not always about the destination… join Joanna Cannon's readers on a profoundly moving emotional journey: 'A book that invites you to slow down… will leave you feeling both tearful and inspired' FIVE STARS Reader Review 'Wonderfully comforting' FIVE STARS Reader Review 'This is a wonderful book, and it will stay with me for a very long time' FIVE STARS Reader Review 'Tender and poignant' FIVE STARS Reader Review 'I laughed and cried and could not put the book down' FIVE STARS Reader Review 'A very special book that will have the reader crying, laughing… and feeling every other possible emotion' FIVE STARS Reader Review More praise for Joanna Cannon: ‘An Unlikely Visitor feels like a surreal collaboration between Alan Bennett, Alice Sebold, and a Derbyshire Elizabeth Strout’ PATRICK GALE ‘In An Unlikely Visitor Joanna Cannon treats weighty subjects – grief, loss, victimhood – with a light touch and her characteristic compassion and humour’ CLARE CHAMBERS ‘Emotional, sweet, funny, hauntingly sad and poignant’ SARA COX ‘Lovely, lovely, lovely… Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe’ MARIAN KEYES ‘An utter delight’ SARAH WINMAN ‘A joy and a triumph’ RACHEL JOYCE ‘Charming, wise and profoundly human’ ERIN KELLY
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