A propulsive, emotionally layered suspense novel about two women linked by a romance scam—and by their shared hunger to be seen. 

In Dublin, Carmel has built what appears to be a fulfilling life: a successful career, a comfortable home, three grown sons. Yet a year after her husband’s death, she finds herself alone in a way she never expected. The shape of her days has changed, and the future she once imagined has quietly slipped away. Then, on a dating site, she meets a widower living in London. What begins as a distraction soon becomes the brightest part of her day—a source of comfort, excitement, and possibility. For the first time in years, Carmel allows herself to imagine love again. 

Hundreds of miles away in London, Lisa lives a precarious life shaped by past family trauma. She divides her days between caring for her mentally unstable sister and helping those failed by England’s broken class system. Smart, sharp, and resourceful, she understands the lengths people will go to for a second chance at hope—and will do whatever she can to make ends meet. 

As the lives of the two women begin to converge, Annie Macmanus unfolds a gripping story of love and deception. Moving between Dublin and London, privilege and instability, The Fox is a novel about grief, self-invention, and the distance between people in an age of constant connection. 

TARGET CONSUMER
- For readers of The Guest, All Fours, and I Have Some Questions for You who are drawn to psychologically astute fiction about identity, loneliness, desire
- For readers of female-centered literary fiction that explores emotional isolation, reinvention, and the complexities of contemporary relationships with wit, intelligence, and moral ambiguity.
- For fans of Emma Cline, Lisa Taddeo, Kiley Reid, Raven Leilani, and Melissa Broder who appreciate sharp social observation, complicated protagonists, and emotionally charged storytelling.
- For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng who seek nuanced explorations of family, intimacy, and the forces that shape our lives.
- For book clubs looking for a provocative, highly discussable novel about grief, motherhood, loneliness, modern dating, and the risks of opening oneself to love again.
- For readers of contemporary Irish fiction that combines literary sophistication with page-turning momentum and unforgettable characters.

KEY SELLING POINTS
- Thematically rich yet binge-readable, The Fox delivers what readers crave: complicated women, moral dilemmas, and emotional truth, all packaged in a story that is impossible to put down.
- It’s a breakout, conversation-sparking, “you have to read this so we can talk about it” kind of novel—one that cements Annie Macmanus as a major contemporary storyteller.
- A sharp, timely exploration of modern intimacy and digital-age romance, examining the exhilaration and vulnerability of trusting a stranger with your heart.
- Features a brilliantly realized protagonist whose intelligence, anxiety, longing, and contradictions make her both deeply relatable and impossible to forget.
- Explores female desire in midlife with unusual candor and emotional precision, offering a perspective still rarely represented in contemporary fiction.
- A moving portrait of a family reshaping itself after loss, capturing the complicated bonds between a mother and her adult children with warmth, humor, and insight.
- Set in contemporary Dublin, the novel offers a vivid portrait of modern life, balancing social observation, psychological depth, and emotional suspense.