Heatstroke by Hazel Barkworth BLOG TOUR #Heatstroke @BarkworthHazel @RandomTTours @headlinepg #BooksThatInspiredMe

Rachel and her daughter have never had secrets. Until now.

Lily is somewhere she shouldn't be. With someone she shouldn't be with.

Mia misses her best friend. But she let her down.

In the middle of a stifling heatwave, Rachel, Lily and Mia stand on the edge of irrevocable change. Soon, just one burning question will remain... how could they let things go this far?

A provocative debut novel for fans of My Dark Vanessa, The Push by Ashley Audrain and Megan Nolan's Acts of Desperation. 

Heatstroke by Hazel Barkworth was published in paperback on 27 May 2021 by Headline Review.

As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to welcome the author here today. She's talking about the books that inspired her to write Heatstroke.

Books that inspired me to write Heatstroke - Hazel Barkworth

I read a lot of books during the writing process of Heatstroke, as well as listening to a lot of Lana Del Rey. These are the ones that stuck with me. 

• The Girls, Emma Cline - The atmosphere this book conjures is just incredible. I didn’t know it was possible to write a book that felt like a song. The sensory details are overwhelming.  

• The End of Everything, Megan Abbott - I love Megan Abbott’s books, and this is probably my favourite. She captures the strange mix of power and powerlessness that teenage girls possess. She makes that moment in time feel so charged and magical.  

• The Innocents, Francesca Segal - I’ve read this book about eight times. It is a retelling of The Age of Innocence, one of my other favourites. Not only are the characters so delicately drawn, but the sentences are just divine. It is perfectly balanced.  

• Bad Dreams, Tessa Hadley - This short story collection is wonderfully unsettling. It takes everyday moments in people’s ordinary lives and makes them suddenly unfamiliar. I loved it.  

• Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin - I recently reread this for the first time since university, and it is remarkable. It is simply the best depiction of desire I’ve ever come across.  

• Three Women, Lisa Taddeo - I gobbled this up whilst I was editing. As an exploration of female sexuality, it is both powerful and deeply depressing.  It has such raw, intimate honesty, but also made me want to throw things.  

Hazel Barkworth - May 2021

Praise for Heatstroke

'A thrilling look at mothers and daughters, adolescence, sex, suburbia and secrets' NELL FRIZZELL

'Unsettling, challenging and utterly immersive' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'A sultry, stifling debut exploring power, consent and womanhood' COSMOPOLITAN

'Barkworth is excruciatingly good' OBSERVER

'I am addicted... dark and twisty with beautiful, poetic writing' EMMA GANNON

'Gripping and intensely atmospheric... you won't want to put this down' HEAT magazine's READ OF THE WEEK

'Stylish and sensual' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE

'Twists, turns and revelations in all the right places' EVENING STANDARD

'A stunning new voice... I couldn't tear myself away' ERIN KELLY

'Sexy and provocative' LAURA JANE WILLIAMS

'Pulls you into its sweaty interior and keeps you gripped' RENEE KNIGHT

'Compulsive, sticky and full of gorgeous writing' KIRSTIN INNES

'Read next if you loved Three Women by Lisa Taddeo' WHISTLES newsletter

Hazel grew up in Stirlingshire and North Yorkshire before studying English at Oxford. 

She then moved to London where she spent her days working as a cultural consultant, and her nights dancing in a pop band at glam rock clubs. 

Hazel is a graduate of both the Oxford University MSt in Creative Writing and the Curtis Brown Creative Novel-Writing course. 

She now works in Oxford, where she lives with her partner. 

Heatstroke is her first novel.

Twitter @BarkworthHazel

Instagram @hazelbarkworth