Everything can change in a heartbeat …
A multigenerational, female-led thriller, and a terrifying conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the British Government.
Six months ago, in an English hospital, a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth. Since then there have been more tragedies, and now the country is in turmoil. The government is clamping down on people’s freedoms. The prime minister has passed new laws granting authorities sweeping powers to monitor all citizens. And young pregnant women have started going missing.
As a midwife, Emma is determined to be there for those who need her. But when her seventeen-year-old daughter Lainey finds herself in trouble, this dangerous new world becomes very real, and both women face impossible choices. The one person who might help is Emma’s estranged mother Geraldine, but reaching out to her will put them all in jeopardy …
The Hush is a new breed of near-future thriller, an unflinching look at a society close to tipping point and a story for our times, highlighting the power of female friendship through a dynamic group of women determined to triumph against the odds.
‘Foster highlights the resilience and power that women possess.’
THE AUSTRALIAN
The Hush: the idea for the story
Wow, where do I start with this one?! This book slowly developed around my interest in how mothers are often represented (i.e. misrepresented and underrepresented!) in dystopian fiction with young adult heroines, and it became a long-term project and the subject of my PhD work. It’s no coincidence that I was drawn to writing mother and daughter stories as I becoming a mother to my two girls made me ask all sorts of questions about my identity and the kind of mother I wanted to be.
The Hush: the publishing story
The Hush had a long road to publication - I kept having to put it aside to meet other book contract deadlines, and then I ended up changing publishers in order to publish the story in the way I wanted to. It also ended up coming out during Covid, which made it very tricky to promote (and dystopia isn’t the best subject matter for a time when people are very anxious already). Nevertheless, it has been optioned for TV by Clark Peterson and his LA company Story and Film Inc., and so I’m keeping everything crossed that these beloved characters make it to the screen.
For purchase links and more about the book, visit my website.