Paperback: 352pp
Published: Lightning (April 2025)
ISBN: 9781785634178
Words Fail Me
Frances McKendrick
£9.99
A therapist’s job is to listen, not to get involved. Unless…
‘A dark and startling tale of righteous vengeance’
VAL McDERMID
‘Complex, timely and full of compassion’
IAN RANKIN
When Jane – smart, funny, fortyish – says she’s a school counsellor, people assume it’s all about exam stress. If only.
Her teenage clients include Vaishali, who hates the perfect curves that draw the attention of adult men; Fraser, who cares devotedly for his mother but hurts his girlfriend by confusing real life with porn; and George, a trans boy who suffers from acute anxiety.
Harbouring terrible secrets from her own youth, Jane struggles to contain the anger these stories arouse in her. It’s only when she starts counselling her colleague Kass, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse whose trauma is resurfacing, that her thoughts turn to revenge…
Moving, entertaining and revelatory, Words Fail Me is a gripping page-turner, with a compelling mystery at its core and a hair-raising climax, which also shines a revealing light on contemporary adolescent agonies.
OUT APRIL 2025. AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
Extracts
Tomorrow, on what, according to the Met Office, is shaping up to be a gloriously warm September day, I will die so that you can live. There’s something almost elegant about that, don’t you think?
Extracts
Tomorrow, on what, according to the Met Office, is shaping up to be a gloriously warm September day, I will die so that you can live. There’s something almost elegant about that, don’t you think?
Oh, I know, if we were having this conversation for real, you would argue that you live just fine thank you very much, you cheeky bitch; but that’s not really true, is it? Yes, you exist, as you have done since you were five, when he started hurting you. But existing is not the same as living. You’d say that no therapist in their right mind would give up their life for the sake of a client– it’s not even a thing! And I’d reply that no, I don’t suppose it is, but don’t worry, nobody will make the connection between us, and my death won’t, I imagine, make the papers.
You’d cast up the maxim that I trotted out in your (and every client’s) first-ever session – therapists don’t save people; they help people to save themselves – asserting that what I’m about to do makes me a bad one, and I’d say yeah, fair enough, but that’s hardly relevant given that tomorrow I’m meeting my maker.
Then, incredulous, but still curious despite yourself, you’d regard me with those pale blue eyes and chew on your lip a little before breaking out in a wavering smile and asking: you’re not serious, are you?
And I’d say, of course I am, because you, Kass, have to live.
quotes
‘A startling read that unfurls from a therapist’s casebook into a dark tale of righteous vengeance’
Val McDermid
‘Fascinating, complex and sometimes controversial – timely, relevant and filled with compassion’
Ian Rankin
‘What a remarkable book. Beautifully written, full of insight, compassion, wisdom and righteous anger’
Marisa Haetzman (one half of crime-writing duo Ambrose Parry)
‘Brilliant’
Ruth Padel
‘This insightful and absorbing novel explores the human condition through a therapist’s lens, giving rare glimpses into the demands and impact of the therapeutic process. Both a compelling psychological study and a moving reflection on the power of words and actions, Words Fail Me is a truly captivating read’
Angela Jackson
‘An incredible debut that takes you deep into the secret lives of a school therapist and her troubled teenage patients. Gripping, beautifully written, and full of priceless insight into a world forever hidden from most of us, Words Fail Me is the rare novel that will enlighten you even as it entertains you’
Simon Stephenson
‘I loved this amazing novel for its fluent style and engrossing thriller plot but most of all for its penetrating, empathetic insight into trauma and mental health – especially teenage mental health and the forces that impact on it, including misogyny and sexism in their many guises’
Malcolm Chisholm, former Scottish Office minister and MSP
‘Totally original and compelling – I raced through it’
Liz Trenow
reviews
‘Frances McKendrick’s fiction debut could not be more timely, foregrounding the impact of social media on the lives of teenagers today. It’s at once a compassionate exploration of the human condition through a therapist’s lens and a dark tale of revenge’
‘As well as exploring themes of trauma and mental illness, Words Fail Me gives us a glimpse into the complexities of being a therapist. The book is so immersive because we get Jane’s internal monologue the whole way through – her flashbacks interspersed with case studies and patient logs. I’ve been sufficiently therapised that I found it very relatable from the other side. There is so much lived experience at the heart of the book, and we root for each of the young people we meet, whose wit and humour comes across absolutely beautifully’
Len Pennie, The Arts Mix, BBC Radio Scotland
‘A really gripping thriller’
‘Words don’t fail me: this is a zeitgeisty, intriguing and involving novel’
‘Very timely given all the talk that’s been created from the Adolescence series… I flew through this. It’s quite different to anything I’ve read before and I thoroughly enjoyed it’
extras
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Frances McKendrick
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