It’s a wrap. They love to say that on film sets, don’t they? And when they think an upcoming release is special, maybe publishers say it too. Their marketing departments are in the habit of wrapping up advance copies as though they are presents for reviewers these days, and Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard has certainly received a royal wrapping from Corvus.
Perhaps echoing Picasso’s Blue Period, the cold imagery on the wrapping paper repeats the books cover photo and is bound in a nice blue ribbon. A blurred female face suggests dislocation and confusion.
Distress Signals is about Adam Dunne, a young man leading an almost perfect life. He’s waiting for his girlfriend Sarah to return from a business trip to Spain, but instead receives a packet containing her passport and a very ambiguous note. She merely says, “I’m sorry – S.” It turns into a mystery involving a cruise ship that Sarah may have been on, and another passenger who disappeared from the same vessel a year earlier.
You can find out more about how Adam Dunne solves his girlfriend’s disappearance when the novel goes on sale on 5 May. Watch for more news in our weekly On the Radar column featuring the latest releases, and for our review. The book is £12.99 for the paperback and £3.99 for the Kindle version, and can be pre-ordered below.
