The Girls from Alexandria

Set against the glamorous backdrop of 20th century Alexandria, Carol Cooper's The Girls from Alexandria is equal parts contemporary mystery and historical fiction: a re-coming of age story about family, identity, and homeland.Memories are fragile when you are seventy years old. I can't afford to lose any more of them, not when remembering the past might help with the here and now.Nadia needs help. Help getting out of her hospital bed. Help taking her pills. One thing she doesn't need help with is remembering her sister. But she does need help finding her.Alone and abandoned in a London hospital, 70-year-old Nadia is facing the rest of her life spent in a care home unless she can contact her sister Simone... who's been missing for 50 years.Despite being told she's 'confused' and not quite understanding how wi-fi works, Nadia is determined to find Simone. So with only cryptic postcards and her own jumbled memories to go on, Nadia must race against her own fading faculties and find her sister before she herself is forgotten.PRAISE FOR THE GIRLS FROM ALEXANDRIA'A compelling, multi-layered read-equal parts funny, frank and sinister.' -Fiona Valpy, author of The Dressmaker's Gift'An intriguing novel, where memory loss and confusion, sensitively treated, combine to add suspense.' -Margaret Mountford, chair of The Bailey's Prize for Fiction 2016'Wonderfully written, with shades of Elizabeth is Missing, The Girls from Alexandria is a sweeping story about family, secrets and the meaning of ''home''. I was completely charmed.' -Fiona Lucas, author of The Last Goodbye'An evocative read about family, choices and how life often doesn't go to plan.' -The Sun'Elegant, beautifully written, strikingly original.' -Reader Review'Brilliant! Powerful and thought-provoking.' -Reader Review