KETCHUP CLOUDS by Annabel Pitcher

Written as a series of letters to an inmate on death row, KETCHUP CLOUDS will draw in readers with the unique voice of the narrator and the secret she promises to reveal to her reader.  Author Annabel Pitcher presents the quirky Zoe in a way that makes her endearing to readers so they will want to keep turning pages to follow her story to its bittersweet conclusion.


Zoe lives in England, and after recently hearing a nun speak at her school about ending capital punishment, Zoe decides to write to an inmate in a Texas prison awaiting death by lethal injection.  She learns from a helpful website that the man killed his wife but has since confessed and shown remorse for his crime.  Zoe's letters state that she is experiencing guilt for what she believes is her role in the death of a teenage boy. 


When overwhelmed by guilt, Zoe sneaks out at night to a small shed in the backyard where she composes lengthy letters to the Texas inmate.  She shares her daily experiences and gradually retells the events that led up to the tragic death of her friend.  Her parents are unaware of the role she played in his death, and as far as almost all of her other friends and acquaintances are concerned, life should be going on normally.  When the dead boy's mother begins to seek out Zoe to share her grief, Zoe's letters become more intense and spiral toward her final confession about the night of the tragedy.


Annabel Pitcher, also author of MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE, is one to watch in the future.