In the six months since the first case of a terrifying new epidemic – when a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth – the country has been thrown into turmoil. The government has passed sweeping new laws to monitor all citizens. And several young pregnant women have vanished without trace, including Lainey’s friend, Ellis.
As a midwife, Lainey’s mum Emma is determined to be there for those who need her. But when seventeen-year-old Lainey finds herself in trouble, this dangerous new world becomes very real. The one person who might help is Emma’s estranged mother, 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.
Sara Foster is a Perth based author who has written six bestselling psychological suspense thrillers including The Hidden Hours and You Don’t Know Me, both of which were voted onto the Better Reading Top 100 list. With the release of her latest novel, The Hush, Foster moves into a new direction, stepping away from domestic suspense fiction to produce a near-future, female-led dystopian thriller about a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the British government. It’s a bold, thought-provoking read in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale that is sure to appeal to readers of dystopian fiction.
The novel is set in a post COVID Britain that is suffering from food shortages, global tensions, climate change and the reverberating effects of the pandemic. While COVID is over, its effects are still felt in everyday life and the population is subject to daily testing and health screening. The British government has introduced a series of Orwellian surveillance laws aimed at restricting individual freedoms and controlling women’s reproductive rights. Citizens are forced to wear smart watches (sound familiar?) that monitor their health, track their location, spending, and even record their conversations. It’s a terrifying yet familiar look at the future, one that feels far too close for comfort.
Foster wrote The Hush as part of her doctoral studies in dystopian fiction, where she is examining the genre’s representation of maternal figures and mother-daughter relationships – something, she says, which is sorely lacking. This is not the case with The Hush. Instead, the relationship between Lainey and Emma sits at the heart of this story, as does Emma’s relationship with her own estranged mother, Geraldine. Lainey, Emma and Geraldine each make for strong, captivating female leads. Through her portrayal of these women, Foster highlights the resilience and power that women possess – both alone and when they work together.
Combining an incredible female cast with a frightening look at the near-future, Sara Foster has delivered an enthralling feminist dystopian thriller that is bound to be a huge hit. The Hush is an absolute must-read.
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