Bad Fruit: An astonishing, gripping new crime thriller debut novel from a hot literary fiction voice of 2023

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Without revealing too much, we view the story from the point of view of Lily, a girl about to go off to Oxford. She struggles with the idea of leaving her close relationship with her mother behind, particularly as we gradually see the twisted dependence between mother and daughter. Would Lily's 'mama' function without her daughter, her 'doll'? The 'Bad Fruit' of the title is not just the referring to the mother's taste for soured juice, but giving us a metaphorical insight into the impact parenting can have on the trajectory of children's lives from generation to generation. We are left wondering what really lies at the heart of this strange family and how any of them can escape the destructive cycle of dependence and anger we bear witness to. It is unfortunate that it also relies on an exoticised vision of Singapore, refracted through May's twisted memories and Lily's tourist perspective. Ella King won the Blue Pencil Agency pitch prize in 2019 with the first 500 words of her debut novel 'Bad Fruit', an accolade which I am pleased to say is supported by the absolute quality of the entire novel. The ability to launch a story in such a powerful way is just one of the reasons why King's novel is a stunning masterclass in writing a deeply affecting psychological thriller. Having finished this book several days ago, I find myself haunted and moved by the dark events King presents, the representation of intergenerational trauma and the power of memory both skilled and engrossing for the reader. This book totally destroyed me on multiple levels, and I know it will haunt me for a while to come!

I really loved this debut novel by Singaporean author Ella King. I think if you loved The Push by Ashley Audrain and a hint of Girl A by Abigail Dean you would love this book as well.

Despite the heavy subject matter, the novel, at least initially, is prevented from feeling truly gloomy by Lily’s narration and her support network. Books like this typically hit me right in the heart. How can they not? The idea of a child being abused by anyone much less their own parents that should love them unconditionally is heartbreaking. It’s a really memorable title – which has clearly inspired the brilliant cover art! How early in the process did the title come to you? At some point in the book, I even questioned myself about feeling someone else’s trauma as I am very interested in the ability for your body to keep trauma. Could it be passed on to you from your ancestors? It's genuinely taken the breath out of me, this book - I love it, but I'm definitely going to need some recovery time after the gutpunches in that ending. The conceit is so smart, taking generational trauma and making it literal, and the way the author writes characters you'll care about and then shows you the full extent of their trauma - brutal even as a reader who knows it's fiction, but that's the genius of the writing.

A few months later, I was accepted onto Faber Academy’s ‘Writing A Novel’ course with the incredible author and tutor, Sarah May. There, I started writing regularly, giving more thought to character, plot and voice and being critiqued by an insanely talented group of other authors. After Faber Academy ended, I still wrote but I found it harder to fit in with returning to work and looking after my daughter. The story is absolutely messed up and often very messy, which the author captures perfectly in writing, managing to still portray each and every one of the characters in a relatable way, even at their craziest, which is no mean feat and makes this a masterpiece of storytelling. This book was more than just a thriller to me, it was about the characters, especially Lily and learning along with her. Ella King has done a wonderful job of building the story in a way that makes you feel like you are going at the same pace as Lily. Ella takes time to let you as a reader learn what the family dynamic is like and form your own questions on what has made the characters the way they are. The subjects of abuse, generational trauma and their effects are covered very well in my opinion and I felt like I truly learned something from reading this book.Our main character Lily is on the brink of attending her dream college in the fall. She only has two remaining months to survive her mother’s moods and catering to her demands. She wants and needs to get away! Overall, this is an incredibly well written novel that has you full of questions from the start and you do get answers. The pace is pitched extremely well and I genuinely couldn’t put it down as this is a psychological thriller that has you in its grip throughout. Highly recommended. It’s the summer holidays, and Lily is waiting for the fall when she’ll commence her first year at Oxford. Until then, she must continue to single-handedly manage her mother’s erratic moods since her father and siblings are incapable of doing so. From preparing her mother’s favourite Singaporean meals to altering her appearance to look more like her, Lily will do just about anything to avoid her mother’s wrath.

It offers such a unique perspective of how ugly it can be to be the Golden Child, which is something I don’t think many of us know. I see so many perspectives from scapegoat kids, I thought we definitely had it worse. But this story shows that being the Golden Child is ugly as well, but maybe just in a different way. Conformity and degradation come at a great personal cost for Golden Children. wow. a book about complicated familial relationships and generational trauma?? say no more, i'm sold. If you’ve struggled with abuse relationships of any kind then be wary before diving into this masterpiece, this could be triggering for you. Emily: Can you tell us about your writing journey and what lead you to this place – publishing your debut novel with HarperFiction? Now Maggie is an adult, she wants to find out what really happened – if her old certainty stemmed from her struggles with her mental health, or if something more sinister was going on in Blairmore. Maggie is told by one grizzled local, Charlie, that the island of Kilmeray is a “thin place”, where “the distance between this world and other worlds is shortest, the walls thinnest”, and Johnstone plays cat and mouse with the reader’s perception of reality and the supernatural. Deliciously creepy and unsettling.Having little knowledge of things Singaporean, I loved the cultural descriptions too. Food shopping, preparation, and cooking were almost characters themselves and I chortled a bit with the mention of calamari in particular. We meet Lily in the summer just before she’s due to start university, she’s secured a place at Oxford – her future looks bright. She lives with her parents in Greenwich, South-East London and has two older siblings: a sister, Julia and a brother, Jacob. The story is dense but not completely dark. It’s lightened by Lily’s engaging character and the author’s unique writing style. It was a pleasure to read fresh and sophisticated wording and my literary appreciation was balanced with the weighty subject matter. It’s the summer holidays, and Lily is waiting for the fall when she’ll commence her first year of university at Oxford. Until then, she has to continue single-handedly managing her mother’s erratic moods since her father and siblings are incapable of doing so. From preparing her mother’s favourite Singaporean meals and spoiled juice to altering her appearance to look more like her, Lily will do just about anything to avoid her mother’s wrath. IF YOU HAVE A DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR MOTHER OR FATHER OR BOTH, CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED. If you don't have the coping mechanisms to deal with being #triggered by family abuse, don't self-harm by forcing yourself to read this. Mental health >>>>>>