This Immaculate Body

Written in an electric stream of consciousness, van Straaten's debut - which won the inaugural Women's Prize Discoveries ward - is as terrifying as it is heartbreaking, revealing how loneliness and damaging adolescent experiences can shape a person. A chilling book by an exciting new voice

Vogue

A compelling debut . . . original, darkly funny and addictive this has twists that will leave you reeling

Glamour

A thriller with a difference . . . A fascinating portrait of love, obsession and desire

Cosmopolitan

A thriller as much as it is an exploration of how we present ourselves and perceive our material culture, this is an evocative story that deserves immediate cult status

Dazed

Absolutely addictive. From the very first page, Emma Van Straaten had me by the Hail Marys. Obsessive, delusional, disastrous - but so intricately woven with heart, warmth and empathy. I'm as devoted to This Immaculate Body as Alice is to her delusions. An impeccable debut from a rising talent

Alice Slater

Brilliantly tense (and at points very tender) descent into madness. I wanted to shout at Alice and I also wanted to hold her tight. Van Straaten's prose is unique - long sentences and paragraphs which fold the reader into Alice's close, procedural obsession. In lots of ways, it's a dark read, but Alice's hurt and hope is luminous. She's a deeply flawed girlie with a big beating heart

Catherine Airey

Safe to say this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It was addictive, unsettling, and propulsive, I was hooked after the first page. I will be recommending to everybody when it's out in February!

Chloe Michelle Howarth

Truly fascinating and compulsive - transgressive with an ending that gave me whiplash. Emma's writing is gorgeous - rich and delicious and evocative even when uncomfortable. I found myself drawn to and repelled by Alice in equal measure, I couldn't tear my eyes away . . . an accomplished and visceral debut. I'm slightly concerned about how decisively Alice crawled into my head and has stayed there since I finished reading

Kirsty Capes

An addictive deep-dive into the dark, throbbing heart of obsessive desire. Baby Reindeer meets Convenience Store Woman

Kirsty Logan

Deeply unsettling, horribly insightful, oddly hilarious and alarmingly tender. This Immaculate Body is a deliciously addictive portrayal of blood-thumping, heart-bursting obsession that lures you in and makes you culpable

Hazel Barkworth

When it comes to love, we've all got the odd horror story. But Alice loves harder than most. She's dangerous, vulnerable, devious, hilarious, and she pushes our sympathy to breaking point. I loved every minute of her unsettling company

Kate van der Borgh

I couldn't turn away from This Immaculate Body - Emma van Straaten paints a frank and utterly compelling portrait of obsession, with a protagonist that got completely under my skin. A deliciously unsettling novel

Hannah Beer

An intense, richly textured book that I read with one eye covered - eager to see what Alice would do next, yet afraid for (and of) her. Every sentence crackles with suspense and sensory detail

Nikkitha Bakshani

This is a novel best read in an intoxicating, headlong rush

London Standard

This fine author is one to watch . . . A tale of obsession - and of how women see the world, and how it views them - it is a compulsive listen, and is garnering cult status

Sunday Post

[A] compelling and unsettling story of obsession

Daily Mirror

You might be thinking that you have already read your fair share of women unravelling, but you have never read it like this. This book is like an adult version of teenage tumblr infatuations, but on steroids. While the 'unhinged woman' trop can be difficult to execute convincingly, Van Straaten does it right . . . An absolutely amazing debut, This Immaculate Body has been living in my mind, crystal clear, since I first read it last year

nb.

Van Straaten's writing is so sharp that it becomes impossible at times not to root for our problematic protagonist. It's a ride you don't want to end

Cosmopolitan