The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes

A brilliant new novel from Ruth Hogan, the author of acclaimed debut, The Keeper of Lost Things

The woman thrusts her hands into the pockets of her well-worn tweed coat, remembering with a smile a scarlet gown she wore in another life, many years ago. Almost the same shade as the scuffed, red shoes she is wearing now.

Masha's life has stopped. Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, her life has been forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Now, unable to let go of her grief, she finds solace in the silent company of the souls of her local Victorian cemetery and at the town's lido, where she seeks refuge underwater - safe from the noise and the pain.

But then a chance encounter introduces her to two extraordinary women - the fabulous and wise Kitty Muriel, a convent girl-turned-magician's wife-turned-seventy-something-roller-disco-fanatic, and the mysterious Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady with a prodigious voice – opening up a new world of possibilities, and the chance to start living again. But just as Masha dares to imagine the future, the past comes roaring back…

A book that unashamedly celebrates the small acts of everyday kindness that move and change a life. Like her bestselling debut, The Keeper of Lost Things, Ruth Hogan's second novel introduces a cast of wonderful characters, both ordinary and charmingly eccentric, who guide us through a moving exploration of the simple human connections that make life worth living.