Sophie Ward is an actor and writer. Her debut novel, Love and Other Thought Experiments, was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020.
The Schoolhouse is taut, gripping and intensely moving right until the very last page. I truly couldn't put Sophie Ward's beautifully written novel down -- Susannah Wise, author of This Fragile Earth The Schoolhouse is a real 'stand-out-from-the-crowd' book, with an absorbing plot from the get-go; part detective novel, part taut, cerebral thriller . . . A masterful rendition of the tensions and realities of human resilience and emotional frailty -- Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh A tense, taut drama that questions how childhood trauma affects adult behaviour -- Joanne Finney * Good Housekeeping * Ward proves she can construct a compelling, fast-moving narrative (with an extended action-packed denouement). What's best about her novels, however, is her gift for bringing characters to life, which means that whether her writing is disconcertingly strange or, as here, treads at times on over-familiar territory, it always delivers a real emotional impact. * The Telegraph * A taut, moody, intelligent thriller * The Daily Telegraph * Very creepy and very enjoyable -- Susie Goldsbrough * The Times *