'A LABYRINTHINE MYSTERY OF EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY' Jo Brand'DELIRIOUS AND REWARDING' Guardian'UNMISSABLE' Woman's WeeklyFleeing Scotland in the wake of family disgrace, 16-year-old Ida Campbell secures a scholarship at a failing girls' boarding school on a remote part of the south English coast. Despite the eccentricities of her new Headmistress, who warns her of the dangers of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of
the bomb, St Anne's seems like a refuge to Ida. But all this is about to change. For a start, her new room-mate is the infamous Louise Adler, potential arsonist and hardened outcast.
Meanwhile, the geography teacher Eleanor Alston, in her late thirties, a disastrous love affair in her wake, faces the new term with weary resignation. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of a new teacher, Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is.
And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils.
What is happening to the girls of St Anne's? Could there be a poisoner among them? Is Ida's scholarship really an escape, or is it instead a new nightmare?READERS ARE LOVING HAVOC:'Superb. Brilliantly funny, at times extremely poignant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Another beautifully written book by Rebecca' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I absolutely loved the humour in this book. Bonus points for the Cold War references' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Entertaining and humorous' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Praise for Rebecca Wait:'IT'LL EASILY BE ONE OF MY BOOKS OF THE YEAR' Hannah Beckerman
'It's a warm book and a touching one. And did I mention it's funny? Just read it. You'll see'
The Times'Funny, tender and sad'
Sunday Express'If you liked Meg Mason's
Sorrow and Bliss, you'll love this novel'
Good Housekeeping'One of the richest explorations of family dysfunction I've read'
i newspaper'Shades of Fleabag in this smart, funny drama'
Mail on Sunday'An enjoyably bittersweet novel about a dysfunctional modern family'
Independent'Razor-sharp '
Observer'One of the funniest novels you'll read this year'
Guardian Industry Reviews
Tragedy and comedy fuse together perfectly in a labyrinthine mystery of emotional and psychological complexity.Havoc is a rich, wry delight of a read -
as funny as it is thought-provoking, as evocative as it is page-turning. Rebecca Wait is a phenomenal storyteller. I can't wait to see what she writes next - Abbie Greaves, author of The Silent Treatment
Eerie and utterly absorbing . . . [Havoc] is a tragicomic triumph about adolescence, identity and how quickly order can unravel - IMAGE Magazine
SCREAMING, CRYING, THROWING UP!
Havoc is a fever worth catching, a gloomy and gorgeous pleasure - Maggie Thrash, author of Rainbow Black
A delight to return to [Rebecca's] witty, emotional, insightful writing - Hannah Beckerman
Rebecca Wait has a glorious turn of phrase and a dazzling ability to go on peculiar tangents that never detract, but only ever add to a character's experience . . . Wait's writing is dry and droll, her characters twisty, thoughtful and highly specific, and
Havoc is a total blast of a read, perfectly pinpointing where tragedy and wryness meet. - Irish News
Its boarding-school setting may well be decrepit, but the writing in
Havoc is anything but.
Sharp and compelling, Wait has - once again - created the most curious of characters, who made me both laugh and gasp aloud. In many ways extraordinary, I loved it - Amy Beashel
A wonderfully droll English tragicomedy, with darkness and bite - Natasha Poliszczuk (Summer Reading List 2025)
