*The Impossible Thing* by Belinda Bauer is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that weaves together a story of obsession, greed, and the lengths people will go to for something they deem priceless. Told across two timelines, the story follows Celie Sheppard in the 1920s-1930s and a modern-day mystery involving Patrick and Weird Nick.

In the past, Celie’s small size allows her to be lowered over a cliff year after year to collect red guillemont eggs, an act that both thrills crowds and rescues her family from poverty. While Celie’s feats are impressive, there's an underlying sadness as the birds, who initially fight to protect their eggs, eventually give up in the face of human greed. The moral complexity of these events is haunting, especially as the story evolves.

In the present-day storyline, Patrick and Nick find themselves drawn into a mystery involving one of the stolen eggs, leading them to uncover the disturbing truth behind the obsession with these precious objects. The book masterfully explores human frailty, obsession, and the madness that can arise from a pursuit of wealth, leaving the reader with a sickening sense of the damage caused by greed.

Though the narrative can be confusing at times, the puzzle pieces come together in the end, making for a rewarding and eerie read. Overall, *The Impossible Thing* offers a chilling look at the dark side of human desire, making it a powerful and memorable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm absolutely blown away by this story, based on real events.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of both text and audio versions. The audio is excellently read by Phil Dunster who got tone and pitch spot on. No melodrama and no silly voices. I really enjoyed it. In fact I enjoyed the entire thing - book, audio, story. Perfect.

I've not read any Belinda Bauer before but I was expecting something very different than a fast-paced story about egg collecting. It was brilliant.

The story is split into two timelines. Celie Sheppard isn't much loved. She is the product of an extra marital liaison that caused her father to leave the family home. She is ignored by everyone but the farmboy, Robert. That is until she persuades Robert to help her collect the valuable eggs from Bempton Cliffs, home to thousands of birds. What Celie brings up on her very first haul is a rare red guillemot egg. An egg that people will pay money for - a lot of money

The second timeline follows Patrick Fort, a neurodivergent child, and his best mate, Weird Nick (who is often quite weird despite being brilliant at Call of Duty, persuading Patrick to go along with his schemes and trying to find as many ways as possible to make money. After a terrifying raid on Weird Nick's home he tells Patrick about the bright red egg that was stolen.

The two stories run alongside each other with Celie being used to steal more eggs and Patrick and Nick trying to find the missing egg whilst trying to solve the mystery of who and why it was taken.

If I'm making it sound tame I'm telling it wrong. It's absolutely action-packed. The characters burst off the page including the sneaky egg collector, Ambler, who made my skin crawl. Both Celie and Patrick are sympathetic characters and their stories made me laugh and weep.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley, Grove Atlantic and Dreamscape Media for the audio and text advance review copies. Very much appreciated.