The Impossible Thing
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  • Published: 25 February 2025
  • ISBN: 9781787630987
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $34.99
Categories:

The Impossible Thing

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
25 Feb 2025
EBook
27 Feb 2025
Audiobook
27 Feb 2025
Hardback
27 Mar 2025
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How do you find something that doesn't exist? Find out, in the most joyful mystery of 2025...

'A perfect crime caper.' Woman & Home

'Comic, thrilling and ultimately moving.' The Scottish Mail on Sunday

‘The gift of The Impossible Thing is the pure joy of reading.’ VAL MCDERMID

'Extraordinary. There's a deceptive simplicity to The Impossible Thing that packs a real punch.' ANN CLEEVES

From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner, Sunday Times bestselling and Booker-longlisted author Belinda Bauer, a sweeping tale about a hungry young girl, an impossible discovery, and a crime that remained unsolved for one hundred years. . . until now.

It was the greatest mystery never told . . .

1926. On the towering cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. But when small and hungry Celie Sheppard finds an 'impossible' red egg, it will forever alter the course of her life - and the lives of others.

One hundred years later in a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort discovers his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.

A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skulduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.

'Solid gold. . . This could be her best ever.' LEE CHILD

‘A captivating novel from one of the UK’s most talented storytellers. I loved every page of this unique mystery.’ CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Fans of Bauer know to expect something original from this most ingenious of crime writers . . . A funny, moving and beautiful written tale of misfits and oological obsession.' The Guardian


PRAISE FOR BELINDA BAUER:

'As good as Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time . . . and with more twists and coils than a hangman's noose.' Sunday Express on Rubbernecker

‘Few writers who convey so well the essential sadness of life do so with such warmth and wit’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Belinda Bauer’s fiction teems with life. She’s also an ingenious creator, never afraid to improve on reality.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Belinda Bauer has shifted the boundaries of what makes a truly gripping, terrifying thriller.’ Daily Mirror
  • Published: 25 February 2025
  • ISBN: 9781787630987
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $34.99
Categories:

About the author

Belinda Bauer

Belinda Bauer grew up in England and South Africa and now lives in Wales. She worked as a journalist and a screenwriter before finally writing a book to appease her nagging mother.

For her debut, Blacklands, Belinda was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year. She went on to win the CWA Dagger in the Library for her body of work. Her fourth novel, Rubbernecker, was voted Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Her eighth novel, Snap, was a Sunday Times bestseller. It was longlisted for the Man Booker prize and voted Crime & Thriller Book of the Year at the Specsavers National Book Awards.

Her books have been translated into twenty-five languages.

portrait photo of Belinda Bauer

Also by Belinda Bauer

Exit
Snap
The Beautiful Dead
The Shut Eye
The Facts of Life and Death
Rubbernecker
Finders Keepers
See all

Praise for The Impossible Thing

This highly imaginative and gloriously written novel is packed with memorable characters, most of them misfits. This is literary crime writing at its best.

Literary Review

Extraordinary

Sunday Express

Belinda Bauer is a genius - she can turn any idea into a solid gold, suspenseful, immersive and intriguing story. This could be her best ever.

LEE CHILD

A unique blend of crime and history.

Gazette & Herald

Comic, thrilling and ultimately moving.

The Scottish Mail on Sunday

Fans of Bauer know to expect something original from this most ingenious of crime writers. . . a funny, moving and beautifully written tale of misfits and oological obsession.

The Guardian

Intriguing . . . A perfect crime caper.

Woman & Home

Bauer (Exit) tugs at the heartstrings in this extraordinary literary mystery that unfolds across intersecting timelines . . . It’s another winner from an impressively versatile writer.

Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

An extraordinary novel. Belinda Bauer writes so beautifully. There's a deceptive simplicity to The Impossible Thing that packs a real punch, and the characters and their stories have really stayed with me. Highly recommended!

ANN CLEEVES, Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author

A wonderful, brilliant mystery

LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON

Belinda Bauer is a genius - she can turn any idea into a solid gold, suspenseful, immersive and intriguing story. This could be her best ever.

LEE CHILD, Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author

It’s hard to overstate the absolute charm of The Impossible Thing. Remember the feeling of wonder the first time you fell in love with a book? This.

VAL McDERMID

Part crime caper, part historical mystery, The Impossible Thing is one of the most enjoyable novels I've read in ages. Meticulously plotted and told with wit and heart, it is utterly distinctive and totally addictive.

PAULA HAWKINS, global No.1 bestselling author
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