How It Was

Critics Review

• You will love this – immersive, amazing, remarkable, I could barely breathe. I cried – and I never cry.

  Marian Keyes

• Ellis has a knack for depicting the way in which families struggle to communicate . . . engaging and readable

  Observer

• Ellis writes beautifully, with a great eye for detail. She has a wry comic touch and all the emotions are spot on.

  Daily Mail

• An atmospheric, clever novel, which will get under your skin

  Red

• A tale of silences, secrets and misunderstandings, of marital infidelities and of paths not taken . . . A fluent, convincing depiction of the poignant intricacies of family life

  Mail on Sunday

• An emotional epic. The former TV presenter’s debut novel, The Butcher’s Hook, was great, and this second one is also terrific, particularly in the way she writes about mother-daughter relationships.

  Good Housekeeping

• An engrossing read . . . a story of family secrets and twisted relationships

  Mirror

• An emotional read with humour and heartbreak in equal measure

  Daily Express

• Gripping . . . an engrossing read from a talented writer

  Daily Express

• Cataclysmic

  Radio Times

• Poignant, cleverly nuanced and funny

  Sunday Post

• It’s wonderful. A brutal tale of a fraught mother-daughter relationship. The writing fizzes along. Loved it.

  Emma Kennedy

• Janet Ellis writes with tenderness and wisdom about how you can lose a child while they are still under your roof – and how a child long-lost will never leave you. I veered between laughter and a lump in the throat, often on the same page. This book will sneak up behind you and break your heart.

  Erin Kelly

• Explores the human condition with pin-sharp precision, so accurate it hurts. It’s a raw read, complex and compelling in its structure, with emotions laid bare. Written with empathy and integrity.

  Lynne Parker

• A brilliantly written, dark domestic noir

  Simon Savidge

• Heartbreaking – I would definitely recommend. It’s going to be a very popular summer read.

  Jen Campbell

• Wonderfully evocative, immersive and beautifully written

  Kate Eberlen

• I absolutely loved it. The careful evocation of an era is incredibly seductive . . . These are real, believable, fragile people whose lives the reader becomes totally immersed in and gripped by.

  Imogen Parker

• I ate this up in one day . . . it has such great characters and very realistic, imperfect relationships. A thoroughly immersive story that I would heartily recommend.

  Bookish Chat

• Lolita meets Madame Bovary . . . Ellis writes fantastically

  Herald Publicist

• It’s equally as compelling as her first. I can’t put it down!

  My Weekly