Mandy is a gorgeous creation, a character so warm and vivid you half wish you could take her out for a drink . Dawson is good at delineating class, particularly as it manifested itself in the '70s, when the clenched '50s and the new world of the '60s were still in a fight to the death: every detail is perfect, from children's toys to mealtimes . it's impossible to tire of Mandy, or of Neville, the West Indian man with whom she falls in love - Observer, Book of the DayThis book is in a class of its own . A glimmeringly intelligent, vital and compassionate exploration of nature,nurture and female desire, it also taps a deep vein of anger and sorrow at the fate of innumerable abused andmurdered women. Timely, devastating and superbly realised. - Daily Mail[Jill Dawson] specialises in telling the secret underbelly of well-known stories. Her new novel The Language of Birds is . poignant and heartbreaking.

- CosmopolitanIn this gripping, fictional retelling, the nanny is the centre of the story . This dazzling novel combines the pace of a thriller with moving, poetic writing. - Good Housekeeping Book of the MonthAddictive and moving - Emerald StreetJill Dawson explores the [Lucan] case from the nanny's perspective, bringing her to life as a fictional yet vivid character. And, in the process, she takes on the British class system, misogyny and domestic violence. Even though we know the tragic ending, the novel is curiously uplifting. - Radio TimesI loved it. It's a brilliant riposte to all the Lucan myth-making that has developed over the years - so moving and so righteously angry.Glorious and exquisitely written.

And - for a book that takes one of the most famous murders of the 20th century as its inspiration - astonishingly full of life and joy.