A haunting, hypnotic and enticing novel of grief and desire, by one of Australia's finest, most assured novelists. Three years ago, Shelley's lover, Conrad, died in a surfing accident. Now, still in a state of subdued grief, Shelley has just moved into an old Victorian terrace in Paddington with David, her new partner, trying for a new beginning. At home one morning, Shelley discovers a door to a small intriguing room, which is not on the plans. There is a window, a fireplace and a beautiful chandelier. But nothing else. When Shelley meets a man who seems to be Conrad's uncanny double, the mysterious room begins to dominate her world, becoming a focus for her secret fantasies and fears, offering an escape which also threatens to become a trap. A waking dream of a novel, HOLD is spellbinding, sensual and unsettling. 'A novelist with a commanding talent' The Monthly 'I loved every gorgeous, spooky word of it, and was blown away by its poetry. An intimate, complex and gripping portrait of grief, it's truly brilliant.' Ceridwen Dovey, author, Only the Animals 'Accomplished … emotional refined and contained' The Australian 'Absorbing and easy to read … [Tranter] displays fine control of pace in this quiet, elegant story… Hold might seem, superficially, to be a simpler novel than its two predecessors; it has fewer moving parts, is shorter, with a much smaller frame of focus. Nonetheless, it is less substantial in length only, and feels somehow more mature, more assured, and more finely wrought than either The Legacy or A Common Loss.' Sydney Review of Books
