Poppy

It’s February 1982. Poppy is terminally ill and lies dying in a London hospital writing letters to her unborn children. When the twins are born, Frank comes first. Harry follows clutching Frank’s ankle and it’s been that way ever since. Poppy doesn’t pull through and the twins’ Father, Saul, is in prison for life.

Fast forward two decades and the twins’ are trying to cope with a football banning order when their lives head for another massive change. Barrington, Frank and Harry’s guide and counsellor, isn’t getting any younger – nor is Uncle Jake, Saul’s older brother who brought the twins up.

One Sunday morning, Paula and her nephew Hugh come across Harry unconscious in Richmond Park. Days later, local journalist Martin is interviewing Kat, a midwife, for the London newspaper he works for. While over hearing their conversation detailing child birth, Frank connects with his Mum for the first time and he knows that his life will never be the same again. After Saul finds himself in a Purgatory of sorts, the twins leave Frank’s flat on a South London estate to take a make-or-break trip to Land’s End in Cornwall. Meeting Kat makes Frank realise he needs to kick Harry off his ankle. Similarly, Harry must be upfront with Frank about how things have progressed with Hugh. Being away from the concrete and stress of the Capital to the serene beach where their Mum’s ashes were scattered over two decades previously creates the backdrop for a twist in the plot that no-one sees coming.

"Poppy is a visceral, though-provoking, masterpiece. Otton’s raw emotional writing will keep you turning the pages to its blistering conclusion."

Mark Worrall author of This Damnation and Blue Murder.