One Small Thing: Eve Chase

Harry, my dog doesn’t talk back. There are many wonderful things about hanging out with a four-year-old golden retriever during lockdown but this is one of the best. In the last few weeks, our house has grown smaller and noisier (also hairier, Harry’s been moulting). Me and my husband have two teenagers at home, and an eleven-year-old, marauding around all day, all verbose, all with opinions - mostly about the fact they’d like more snacks and screen time. Harry, on the other hand, wags his tail, works his chocolate-brown eyes. And yes, he’d also like a dog biscuit, thank you very much, but he’d be happy with a rub, or snaffling a bit of toast from the floor. He’s never down, easily pleased, and delighted to have the whole pack at home. 

When I’m writing, my mind is a frantic snowstorm of words and plot conundrums. The dog takes me to a quieter, more physical place.  In the mornings, early, we’ll go for a run. Apart from his habit of feasting on cowpats, he’s brilliant company. Not too fast. Always happy to stop for a rest, and sit on the bank of the river, watching the wild geese, drinking in this incongruously beautiful spring. 

For the rest of the family, he fulfils other essential key worker roles, such as being dressed up. Wearing flowers in his collar. Doing his famed yoga downward dog. Lying on his back with his paws in the air. During the ‘one exercise a day’ bit of lockdown, he was exhausted, having been walked by different members of the family in succession. And while my children have frequently fought with each other, missed their schools, friends and grannies, Harry has been their refuge, a deep pile honey monster in which to bury their faces, a warm big paw to hold. His affection is unconditional and absolute. He may not know the word for it, but what he’s brought into our lockdown house - apart from his hair - is love. 

The Glass House by Eve Chase is out now, and available at Amazon, Waterstones and Hive. You can find out more about Eve's work here. Follow Eve on Insta and Twitter @evepollychase

THE STUNNING NEW MYSTERY ABOUT OLD FAMILY SECRETS FROM THE AUTHOR OF BLACK RABBIT HALL AND THE VANISHING OF AUDREY WILDE

'A captivating mystery: beautifully written, with a rich sense of place, a cast of memorable characters, and lots of deep, dark secrets' Kate Morton, bestselling author of The Clockmaker's Daughter

Outside a remote manor house in an idyllic wood, a baby girl is found.

The Harrington family takes her in and disbelief quickly turns to joy. They're grieving a terrible tragedy of their own and the beautiful baby fills them with hope, lighting up the house's dark, dusty corners.

Desperate not to lose her to the authorities, they keep her secret, suspended in a blissful summer world where normal rules of behaviour - and the law - don't seem to apply.

But within days a body will lie dead in the grounds.

And their dreams of a perfect family will shatter like glass.

Years later, the truth will need to be put back together again, piece by piece . . .

From the author of Black Rabbit Hall, The Glass House is an emotional, thrilling book about family secrets and belonging - and how we find ourselves when we are most lost.

'I adored this beautifully-written, riveting mystery' Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call

'Absolutely her best yet' Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

'So beautifully and insightfully written, with characters I grew to love. A compelling, moving story that kept me turning the pages right to the very last' Katherine Webb, author of The Legacy