Freeing Grace

Description

Warm and compelling, Freeing Grace tells the story of David, curate of an inner-city parish, and Leila, his Nigerian-born wife. Unable to have children of their own, they're desperate for a family. When they finally hear that they've been approved to adopt a baby, Grace, they can scarcely believe their good fortune. There's just one problem for which David and Leila cannot plan: Grace's birth family-the enigmatic, charismatic Harrisons. Enlisting their friend, the feckless New Zealander Jake Kelly - who's half in love with all of them, one way or another - the Harrisons send him on a quest that will force a shocking confrontation. Everyone only wants what's best for Grace - but who can say exactly what that is? 'An absorbing examination of fraught family dynamics and complex social issues [that] will appeal to devotees of Joanna Trollope and Jodi Picoult. Charity Norman has put down the clearest of markers that she is hot on their heels.' - Daily Mail 'Jodi Picoult had better look over her shoulder - she's got a new contender by the name of Charity Norman.' - The Sydney Morning Herald '[An] insightful account of family dynamics' - The Age 'Easy to read, hard to put down, it'll move you to tears.' - Easy Living

Charity Norman was born in Uganda and brought up in successive draughty vicarages in Yorkshire and Birmingham. After several years' travel she became a barrister, specialising in crime and family law in the northeast of England. Also a mediator and telephone crisis line listener, she's passionate about the power of communication to slice through the knots. In 2002, realising that her three children had barely met her, she took a break from the law and moved with her family to New Zealand. Her first novel, Freeing Grace, was published in 2010. Second Chances (After the Fall) was a Richard and Judy Book Club choice and World Book Night title. See You in September, her fifth book, was shortlisted for Best Crime Novel in the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Awards for Crime Fiction. The Secrets of Strangers is her sixth book and has been shortlisted for Best International Crime Fiction at the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards and longlisted for Best Novel at the 2021 Ngaio Awards.