The Impossible Thing
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Transworld Publishers Ltd
Publishing:26th Feb '26
£9.99
This title is due to be published on 26th February, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This paperback is available in other editions too:
- Hardback£16.99(9781787630970)
- Hardback - Signed Indie Exclusive Edition£16.99(9781787630970-SIE)

From the Sunday Times bestselling and Booker-longlisted author of Snap, and winner of the CWA Crime Novel of the Year, comes 'An exciting contemporary whodunnit' (Times Literary Supplement)
'Extraordinary’ ANN CLEEVES
‘Pure joy’ VAL MCDERMID
‘Solid gold’ LEE CHILD
‘Astonishing’ New York Times
*****
‘A funny, moving and beautifully written tale’ Guardian
On a summer’s evening in 1926, six-year-old Celie Shepherd is hungry and desperate and not where a six-year-old should be. Instead she is dangling from a cliff, far above the sea, reaching out to pocket an impossibly beautiful thing.
This bold theft will change the course of Celie’s life, and the lives of others.
One hundred years later, a house is ransacked. The only thing missing: a dusty case containing that same impossible thing.
What could conceivably be so important that it is stolen again and again (and perhaps yet again . . .)?
So begins this extraordinary mystery from award-winning Belinda Bauer.
A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skulduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.
Praise for The Impossible Thing
‘Enthralling, hilarious, mysterious… I thoroughly enjoyed this book’ 5-STAR reader review
'Comic, thrilling and ultimately moving' The Scottish Mail on Sunday
'This could be her best ever' LEE CHILD, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series
‘A captivating novel from one of the UK’s most talented storytellers. I loved every page of this unique mystery.’ CLARE MACKINTOSH, bestselling author of I Let You GO
‘One of the most enjoyable novels I've read in ages’ PAULA HAWKINS, bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
This highly imaginative and gloriously written novel is packed with memorable characters, most of them misfits. This is literary crime writing at its best. * Literary Review *
Extraordinary * Sunday Express *
Belinda Bauer is a genius - she can turn any idea into a solid gold, suspenseful, immersive and intriguing story. This could be her best ever. * LEE CHILD *
A unique blend of crime and history. * Gazette & Herald *
Comic, thrilling and ultimately moving. * The Scottish Mail on Sunday *
Fans of Bauer know to expect something original from this most ingenious of crime writers. . . a funny, moving and beautifully written tale of misfits and oological obsession. * The Guardian *
Intriguing . . . A perfect crime caper. * Woman & Home *
Bauer (Exit) tugs at the heartstrings in this extraordinary literary mystery that unfolds across intersecting timelines . . . It’s another winner from an impressively versatile writer. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *
Suspenseful, charming . . . [Bauer] is a sympathetic, playful writer, and she populates her book with as colorful an array of characters as you could hope for . . . Very exciting. * New York Times *
ISBN: 9781804997888
Dimensions: 198mm x 127mm x 35mm
Weight: 500g
400 pages