The Barbecue at No.9

Jennie Godfrey

$50

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Hutchinson Heinemann
12 February 2026

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

The second novel from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things

'From the very first page I was in awe. I LOVED it.' MARIAN KEYES

'A delicious and irresistible story. An utter treat.' RACHEL JOYCE

'Gripping, suspenseful, moving, perfectly constructed' SOPHIE HANNAH

FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS . . . It's the summer of 1985 and the residents of Delmont Close are preparing a neighbourhood barbecue to watch the biggest music event in history- Live Aid. A day like no other that will end having reached millions and changed the lives of all who attend.

House-proud Lydia Gordon, whose idols are Princess Di and Delia Smith, is determined to put on a show that will impress everyone - with her posh garden and state-of-the-art television and her sweet husband and two children, Hanna and David.

But as the guests flood into number nine, so do all of the secrets that have been kept in the close.

Rita, a new neighbour from Australia, is hoping for a fresh start but harbours a shocking event in her past; Steve, a young Falklands veteran, battles his own demons; and Mr Wilson is surely too good-looking to ever be trusted.

But as the hours count down to the last performance of the night, it's Lydia who faces the heart-breaking truth that her immaculate home and flawless family might not be so perfect after all.

And if each of their neighbours is guilty of hiding something, so are the Gordons at number nine ...

By: Jennie Godfrey
Imprint: Hutchinson Heinemann
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781529155013
ISBN 10: 1529155010
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 12 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jennie Godfrey was raised in West Yorkshire in a mill-working family and her debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things, was inspired by her childhood there in the 1970s. In 2020, Jennie gave up her corporate career to build a life around books. She is now a writer and part-time bookseller who lives, and writes, in the Somerset countryside.

Reviews for The Barbecue at No.9

From the very first page I was in awe. I LOVED it. Jennie Godfrey has such an incredible gift for characterisation -- Marian Keyes Set against the backdrop of Live Aid, and covering everything from Jammy Dodgers to Queen, this is a delicious and irresistibly good-hearted story about ordinary lives and the dark secrets that lie behind the net curtains. What emerges is a plea for facing the things of which we are most afraid, even if it requires the help of a bowl of Twiglets. An utter treat. -- Rachel Joyce Gripping, suspenseful, moving, perfectly constructed - and every bit as good as, if not better than, its stonkingly successful predecessor, The List of Suspicious Things -- Sophie Hannah