Gliterary Lunches - Food For Thought

Go To Sleep
by Helen Walsh

The Author

Helen Walsh burst onto the literary scene in 2004 with her controversial, award-winning novel Brass. Her poignant second novel Once Upon a Time in England won the Somerset Maugham Prize. Go to Sleep is her third novel and has generated huge interest and discussion as it shines a light on the taboos surrounding depression.

Helen has attended Gliterary Lunch events before and is a candid and very engaging speaker.

Praise for Helen Walsh

'A combustible combination of raw emotion and deep compassion'
The Independent on Sunday

'She will knock you sideways'
Guardian

The Plot

As Rachel Massey stands on the cusp of the biggest journey of her life, she is terrified and excited, there is nothing she wants more, yet she senses things will never be the same again. This is the story of Rachel's voyage into motherhood. Full of the same hopes and dreams as any parent-to-be, she soon realises that nothing about this new world is as she imagined. Gradually the raw shock of sleep deprivation takes its toll on her and the truth begins to blur with the unreal and Rachel becomes consumed by one sole desire - to sleep. But how far will she go to get her baby to sleep? Devastatingly honest and shockingly painful at times, Go To Sleep is a heart-wrenching story about one woman and her newborn child. It strips motherhood bare in the most unforgettable of ways.

The Retribution
by Val McDermid

The Author

Val McDermid grew up in Kirkcaldy, read English at Oxford and then went into journalism. She is now the author of 22 bestselling novels which have sold over 10 million copies and has won many awards, including the CWA Gold Dagger for the best crime novel of the year. Val has talked at several Gliterary Lunches in the past but this is the first time she has been to an Edinburgh event.

Praise for Val McDermid

'[McDermid's] work is taut, psychologically complex and so gripping that it puts your life on hold'
The Times

'Peerless...one of the world's finest crime writers, McDermid is currently at the top of her game.'
Glasgow Herald

The Plot

There is one serial killer who has shaped and defined police profiler Tony Hill's life. One serial killer whose evil surpasses all others. One serial killer who has the power to chill him to the bone: Jacko Vance. And now Jacko is back in Tony's life. Even more twisted and cunning than ever before, he is focused on wreaking revenge on Tony - and DCI Carol Jordan - for the years he has spent in prison. Tony doesn't know when Jacko will strike, or where. All he knows is that Jacko will cause him to feel fear like he has never known before and devastate his life in ways he cannot imagine...