The Lie Tree

WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR

"A hugely talented writer of tireless invention and prose" Guardian

"Brilliant, dark, thrilling, utterly original" Patrick Ness

The Lie Tree is a wonderfully evocative and atmospheric novel by Frances Hardinge, award-winning author of Cuckoo Song and Fly By Night.

Faith's father has been found dead under mysterious circumstances, and as she is searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. The tree only grows healthy and bears fruit if you whisper a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, will deliver a hidden truth to the person who consumes it. The bigger the lie, the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered.

The girl realizes that she is good at lying and that the tree might hold the key to her father's murder, so she begins to spread untruths far and wide across her small island community. But as her tales spiral out of control, she discovers that where lies seduce, truths shatter . . .

PRAISE FOR THE LIE TREE

"A sinuously beguiling tale of faith, science and murder" Sunday Times News Review

"This historical fantasy, written with Hardinge's rare precision and originality of language, illuminates the Victorian age and resonates for ours." Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Year

"Throwing evolution, feminism and revenge tragedy together, The Lie Tree is a thrilling, gleamingly involving novel that anyone might enjoy, with gorgeous, lush writing matched by a vividly hooking plot." Philip Womack, The Literary Review