An astonishing writer . . . tautly lyrical, and able at a stroke to fill you with cold, dark fear' Time Out

From the acclaimed writer of Luther and Hard Sun, Natural History is a work of exquisite tension

Strange things are happening in Monkeyland, the ailing Devonshire sanctuary that Patrick and his zoologist wife, Jane, took on in a bid to save their marriage. Their oldest female primate, the wise and gentle Rue, is found murdered in a corner of the compound. And a big, panther-like cat, preys around the park. It evades capture, lurking in the shadows and in the back of Patrick's mind. Private, threatening, elusive.

With Patrick's son, Charlie, having left Monkeyland in disgrace and his wife on a field trip in Zaire, Patrick is left alone with his black cat and his fears. Until one night something happens that is so shocking, so deplorable, that it rips apart everything Patrick had ever held to be true.

They say that a parent's worse nightmare is to suffer the death of a child. But what if that's not true?