Elizabeth is Missing

THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE MAJOR BBC DRAMA STARRING BAFTA AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS GLENDA JACKSON

How do you solve a mystery when you can't remember the clues?

Maud is forgetful. She makes a cup of tea and doesn't remember to drink it. She goes to the shops and forgets why she went. Sometimes her home is unrecognizable - or her daughter Helen seems a total stranger.

But there's one thing Maud is sure of: her friend Elizabeth is missing. The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, to leave it alone, to shut up, Maud will get to the bottom of it.

Because somewhere in Maud's damaged mind lies the answer to an unsolved seventy-year-old mystery. One everyone has forgotten about.

Everyone, except Maud . . .

One of the cleverest mysteries either of us has read. Maud, who is falling into the grip of dementia, nevertheless knows and remembers something with absolute conviction: Elizabeth is missing. Utterly absorbing... Richard & Judy Book Club review

Emma Healey Elizabeth Is Missing - Extract

You know there was an old woman mugged around here?? Carla says, letting her long black ponytail snake over one shoulder. Well, actually, it was Weymouth, but it could have been here. So you see, you can't be too careful. They found her with half her face smashed in.?

This last bit is said in a hushed voice, but hearing isn't one of my problems. I wish Carla wouldn't tell me these things; they leave me with an uneasy feeling long after I've forgotten the stories themselves. I shudder and look out of the window. I can't think which direction Weymouth is in. A bird flies by.

Have I got enough eggs?

Plenty, so you don't have to go out today.

She picks up the carers folder, nodding at me, keeping eye contact until I nod back. I feel like I'm at school. There was something in my head a moment ago, a story, but I've lost the thread of it now. Once upon a time, is that how it started? Once upon a time in a deep, dark forest, there lived an old, old woman named Maud. I can't think what the next bit should be. Something about waiting for her daughter to come and visit, perhaps. It's a shame I don't live in a nice little cottage in a dark forest, I could just fancy that. And my granddaughter might bring me food in a basket.