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Lonely Mouth
- Author
- Jacqueline Maley
- Narrator
- Hannah Fredericksen
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 2 July 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 12 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Sink your teeth into a slice of family drama with this deliciously funny novel about sisterhood, secrets and the things you can't stomach.
Matilda knows about hunger. She works in one of Sydney's buzziest restaurants, Bocca, while suppressing her cravings, including for her celebrity chef boss, Colson. Everything in her life is tightly controlled: she allows herself one weekend a month to feast and purge, the rest of the time, she stays perfect.
That is, until her younger half-sister Lara crashes back into town, stirring up the family’s chaotic past and bringing long-buried family secrets to the surface. As the pressure rises in the kitchen and at home, Matilda’s carefully compartmentalised life begins to unravel.
A deliciously moreish book club novel about food, appetite, body image, family dysfunction and desire – perfect for readers looking for a smart summer holiday read.
‘Witty, savage and poignant’ NIGELLA LAWSON
'Humane and deeply, darkly humorous' MARINA KEMP, author of UNWILDING
'Gorgeous, mesmerising' CLAIRE POWELL, author of ALL IN
© Jacqueline Maley 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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A song of abandonment, ghastly mothers, dysfunctional families, sisterhood and loss... Witty, savage and poignant
NIGELLA LAWSON
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[Lonely Mouth] is brilliant on how repressing the past rather than dealing with it means it’s always there, ready to ruin the present too
Daily Mail
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An incredible read about families, body image and the importance of letting go
The Sun
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Exploring themes of addiction, love, loss and abandonment, Maley’s nuanced novel feels like a pressure cooker ready to explode
Mail on Sunday
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Richly drawn, wry and utterly compelling. I devoured it in a weekend
FELICITY CLOAKE
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Lonely Mouth is humane and deeply, darkly humorous. Maley has a gift for character. Her cast of misfits stayed with me long after reading
MARINA KEMP, author of The Unwilding
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Packed full of gripping family dysfunction, we devoured this. Just don't read it when you're hungry!
Heat Magazine
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I'm so glad to have discovered Jacqueline Maley. She writes with wit, poise and precision, while her characters are devastatingly real. Lonely Mouth is a gorgeous, mesmerising novel
CLAIRE POWELL, author of At The Table
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Complex, layered, and gut-wrenching, Lonely Mouth laces personal trauma and family dysfunction with humour and humanity. A singularly rich and moreish novel – I couldn't get enough of it
GRAINNE O'HARE, author of Thirst Trap
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Read the first sentence of Jacqueline Maley’s debut novel, and you will be in it until the end. Electrifying, deeply unsettling and so, so satisfying. And, if you’ve ever tried to manage the sharp end of a career with the blunt demands of parenthood, fiercely recognisable
MEG MASON, on The Truth About Her
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Jacqueline Maley
- Narrator
- Hannah Fredericksen
- Duration
- 10 hours 12 minutes
- Release Date
- 2 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529997811
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Coping with / advice about body image issues or topics, Cultural studies: food and society
Synopsis
Sink your teeth into a slice of family drama with this deliciously funny novel about sisterhood, secrets and the things you can't stomach.Matilda knows about hunger. She works in one of Sydney's buzziest restaurants, Bocca, while suppressing her cravings, including for her celebrity chef boss, Colson. Everything in her life is tightly controlled: she allows herself one weekend a month to feast and purge, the rest of the time, she stays perfect.That is, until her younger half-sister Lara crashes back into town, stirring up the family’s chaotic past and bringing long-buried family secrets to the surface. As the pressure rises in the kitchen and at home, Matilda’s carefully compartmentalised life begins to unravel.A deliciously moreish book club novel about food, appetite, body image, family dysfunction and desire – perfect for readers looking for a smart summer holiday read.‘Witty, savage and poignant’ NIGELLA LAWSON'Humane and deeply, darkly humorous' MARINA KEMP, author of UNWILDING'Gorgeous, mesmerising' CLAIRE POWELL, author of ALL IN© Jacqueline Maley 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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