Worth

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Richard and Sarah meet in London, fall in love, and after some complications, marry. To escape the rat-race – and their ex-partners – they decide to move to the countryside, and buy a cottage in the pretty Suffolk village of Worth. At first, they struggle to find friends, but then they meet Catherine, who’s recently moved into the cottage next door. As a single woman, she admires their love for each other. As a couple, they admire her uncompromising nature. On weekday nights in sleepy Worth, with nothing to do, the trio’s pastime is each other. A delightful friendship ensues. But there are things to Catherine that don’t add up. Topics avoided, questions unanswered. She describes a manipulative but never-seen sister, who she says is making her life hell. Richard and Sarah offer advice as best they can, but they are starting to feel uneasy. The rural idyll is beginning to fade. With Richard struggling to find work, Sarah, who’s pregnant, takes a job with a woman she meets at a conference – a connection that draws the couple deeper into the life of their neighbour – far deeper than they could ever have imagined. Worth is about friendship, family and the perils of loving your neighbor. It is a fast-paced, wildly entertaining and blackly comic new novel from the inimitable Jon Canter.

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Jon Canter is the author of two novels, Seeds of Greatness and A Short Gentleman, both of them adapted for BBC Radio 4. He has also written stand-up comedy, TV and radio scripts for many of Britain’s most prominent comedians, and comment pieces for the Guardian.