Cloud 9

This is the slogan of Leata, the wonder-drug that sixteen-year-old Hope has been taking since she was a child, just like the rest of her family. Well, the rest of the country really. For who would choose not to take it —a perfectly safe little pill that just helps 'take the edge off' life. Because everyone can do with a little help staying happy sometimes . . . Especially Hope, whose life is maybe not as perfect as she likes to make out on her blog.

Tom's never taken Leata. Why would he? His family are happy as they are. At least they were, until the sudden death of his journalist father. The police are unequivocal: his dad killed himself. But Tom just can't believe it. Consumed by grief, he obsessively begins to unravel the trail that leads to his dad's final news story.

And Hope is there to help. As a Leata-backed blogger, Hope wants to steer Tom into 'positive living'. Instead, her efforts take them down a path she could never have expected—into the murky underworld that lies beneath the surface of the 'happy' drug everyone wants to love . . . and the secrets it will kill to hide.

About the Author

Alex Campbell announced she was going to be a writer at eight years old. But no one took much notice. After a nomadic education daydreaming in back rows across Luton, Chester, London, Sheffield and Middlesbrough - and one English degree later - Alex moved into the world of PR and copywriting. Here she worked on getting other people noticed instead.

Now, living near Bath with one husband, two children and an armful of untold stories, Alex's eight-year-old self's ambition has finally been realised with the publication of her debut novel, LAND. When she's not gazing dreamily out of windows, Alex can usually be found, notebook at the ready, in dark art-house cinemas, propping up coffee bars, or worse.