The Lost Girl

Eva is an echo, created by the mysterious Weavers as an exact copy of someone else. Growing up in a remote cottage in the peaceful Lake District, she is raised by a caring group of guardians, who safeguard her for the Weavers but leave her in no doubt of the true purpose of her existence - to replace her ‘other’, Amarra, a 15-year-old from Bangalore, if she ever dies. Forced to study every detail of Amarra’s life, Eva knows everything about her ‘other’ - what she does, what she eats, who her friends are, even what it's like to kiss her boyfriend. She must watch the same films, read the same books, and study the same subjects - and when Amarra gets a tattoo, Eva has to get one too. But when Amarra dies suddenly in a car crash, Eva soon discovers that everything she has done has not prepared her for what it will really mean to take over Amarra’s life. 

Leaving behind everyone she has ever known, she sets out for India where she must find her place within Amarra’s grieving family - and convince Amarra’s friends, and even her boyfriend, that Amarra is still alive. If she fails, she faces the ‘sleep order’, which will end her life forever. Then there is the danger of the hunters - those who think that echoes are an abomination, and would stop at nothing to destroy them. 

Shot through with references to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this unusual, ambitious and gripping science-fiction thriller raises plenty of thought-provoking questions about grief, loss, love and identity. Beautifully-written, emotionally complex and assured, this is an impressive debut novel which is certain to both engage and intrigue fans of dystopian romance.