The Lamb : The literary debut of 2025

A gripping, sinister folktale set in contemporary Cumbria for fans of Sophie Mackintosh, Angela Carter, Daisy Johnson, Margaret Atwood and Julia Armfield. Pre-order now.

A FOLK TALE. A HORROR STORY. A LOVE STORY. AN ENCHANTMENT.

Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot is not at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make her own bid for freedom.

With this gothic coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts - and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.