“Strong character-driven novel from a writer with a deliciously strong, unique voice. One of the most satisfying reads I’ve had in a good while.”

Emily Smith’s You Always Come Back is one of those very rare debuts that forces you to lean over and read every single word. A family drama in the ranks of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Smith’s story follows July’s Weaver’s reluctant return to her family home after vowing never to do so. And who would blame her? The Weaver family has a sordid and heartbreaking past, culminating with the patriarch in prison for a series of murders. Smith’s writing is sublime and, in July Weaver, she pens a fierce, vulnerable, and flawed protagonist who ranks amongst the most memorable in modern-day thrillers. This is a story that will stay with me for some time.

“Emily Smith’s psychological thriller You Always Come Back is a tense, absorbing, heartbreaking, and absolutely unputdownable debut; a masterful portrait of what may well be the ultimate dysfunctional family. Smith’s quirky yet realistic characters along with her gorgeous prose grabbed me from the first page, while her expert plotting and her unique take on the challenges of escaping a less-than-perfect childhood kept me enthralled until the very end. Highly recommended!”

“Stunning and accomplished, You Always Come Back is the serial killer story we’d all love to write. Following July and her perfectly-drawn, dysfunctional family, it weaves a tale of trauma and doubt as it crosses between present day and the awful events all those years ago. Compelling and heartbreaking and more than a little bit horrific, I read it breathless for the final, desperate, conclusion.”