*** THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER *** Twice upon a time - for that is how some stories should continue . . . 'Book lovers and fans of John Connolly will not be disappointed by this remarkable standalone novel' INDEPENDENT 'Will wholly satisfy fans of The Book of Lost Things. The tale is fully immersed in the otherworld of fantasy and fairytale... the novel is also a quietly profound journey to the heart of the human condition' IRISH TIMES 'This can be read as a standalone, and may well prove as popular as its predecessor' GUARDIAN Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies comatose following a car accident. She is a body without a spirit, a stolen child. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud to Phoebe the fairy stories she loves in the hope they might summon her back to this world. But it is hard to keep faith, so very hard. Now an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres. Something wants her to enter, and to journey - to a land coloured by the memories of Ceres's childhood, and the folklore beloved of her father, to a land of witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes; to a land where old enemies are watching, and waiting. To the Land of Lost Things. For anyone who loved THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS and for all readers who enjoy dark, beautifully written fables that explore the heart of the human condition: love, loyalty and sacrifice. 'A unique and compelling journey' DAILY MAIL 'Dark and beautiful' HEAT 'Captivating... he's certainly spun more gold with The Land of Lost Things' SUNDAY BUSINESS POST 'A rollicking adventure... Connolly is such a skilled storyteller that you can't help being swept along' IRISH INDEPENDENT 'This dark fairy tale, sequel to The Book of Lost Things (2006), speaks volumes about a mother's devotion [...] A feat of imagination' KIRKUS 'I've been waiting for this book for over 15 years and it is everything I hoped it would be and more. Simply breathtaking' MARK BILLINGHAM