There are two sides to every story - and every marriage in crisis . . .

Malcolm, bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar, and when his boss finally retires, he seizes his chance.

His wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career, but after years of trying for a baby, she's struggling to accept the idea that motherhood might not be in her future. She finds herself slipping away from both her career and her marriage. The bar is Malcolm's dream, and as she feels her youth start to fade, she wonders how to reshape her own life.

When a blizzard hits their upstate New York town on the same day that Malcolm learns some shocking news about Jess, and a regular at the bar goes missing, everyone is frozen in place for a single, pivotal week, forcing Malcolm and Jess to confront their uncertain future.

The Half Moon carefully explores a marriage in crisis, what it takes to make a life with another person, and the true meaning of family.

"An insightful, riveting study of marriage." --People From the bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes, a masterful and "absorbing" (The New York Times) novel about a couple in a small town navigating the complexities of marriage, family, and longing. Malcolm Gephardt, handsome and gregarious longtime bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar. When his boss finally retires, Malcolm stretches to buy the place. He sees unquantifiable magic and potential in the Half Moon and hopes to transform it into a bigger success, but struggles to stay afloat. His smart and confident wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career. After years of trying for a baby, she is facing the idea that motherhood may not be in the cards for her. Like Malcolm, she feels her youth beginning to slip away and wonders how to reshape her future. "A quick and impactful read that will stay with you long after you finish it" (theSkimm), The Half Moon takes place over the course of one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place. With a deft eye and generous spirit, Mary Beth Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family.

The highly-anticipated and brilliantly written new novel from New York Times bestseller Mary Beth Keane 'Best Book of 2023' in Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, People, Book Page, Literary Hub 'It's such a pleasure to sink into Keane's quietly luminous prose . . . she manages to find the extraordinary grace in our achingly ordinary world' NEW YORK TIMES'Mary Beth Keane writes to the heart of the human heart . . . I could not put this book down' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER'Prepare to lose yourself in this book' SARA COLLINS'Compelling, touching, exquisitely crafted' LIANE MORIARTY___________ There are two sides to every story - and every marriage in crisis . . . Malcolm, bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar, and when his boss finally retires, he seizes his chance. His wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career, but after years of trying for a baby, she's struggling to accept the idea that motherhood might not be in her future. She finds herself slipping away from both her career and her marriage. The bar is Malcolm's dream, and as she feels her youth start to fade, she wonders how to reshape her own life. When a blizzard hits their upstate New York town on the same day that Malcolm learns some shocking news about Jess, and a regular at the bar goes missing, everyone is frozen in place for a single, pivotal week, forcing Malcolm and Jess to confront their uncertain future. The Half Moon carefully explores a marriage in crisis, what it takes to make a life with another person, and the true meaning of family.___________ **An Indie Next Pick and Amazon Editor's Pick** 'Her insights into matters of the heart, longing and restlessness especially, have astonishing delicacy' US VOGUE 'Allows us to look around our own lives with respect and kindness, and is therefore a great gift' ANN NAPOLITANO 'A quietly marvellous story of dreams, disappointments and second chances, but, mostly, love' CHARMAINE WILKERSON, New York Times bestselling author of BLACK CAKE

"Mary Beth Keane, "named one of the "5 Under 35 "by the National Book Foundation, has written a spectacularly bold and intriguing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first person in America identified as a healthy carrier of Typhoid Fever.
On the eve of the twentieth century, Mary Mallon emigrated from Ireland at age fifteen to make her way in New York City. Brave, headstrong, and dreaming of being a cook, she fought to climb up from the lowest rung of the domestic-service ladder. Canny and enterprising, she worked her way to the kitchen, and discovered in herself the true talent of a chef. Sought after by New York aristocracy, and with an independence rare for a woman of the time, she seemed to have achieved the life she'd aimed for when she arrived in Castle Garden. Then one determined "medical engineer" noticed that she left a trail of disease wherever she cooked, and identified her as an "asymptomatic carrier" of Typhoid Fever. With this seemingly preposterous theory, he made Mallon a hunted woman.
The Department of Health sent Mallon to North Brother Island, where she was kept in isolation from 1907 to 1910, then released under the condition that she never work as a cook again. Yet for Mary--proud of her former status and passionate about cooking--the alternatives were abhorrent. She defied the edict.
Bringing early-twentieth-century New York alive--the neighborhoods, the bars, the park carved out of upper Manhattan, the boat traffic, the mansions and sweatshops and emerging skyscrapers--"Fever "is an ambitious retelling of a forgotten life. In the imagination of Mary Beth Keane, Mary Mallon becomes a fiercely compelling, dramatic, vexing, sympathetic, uncompromising, and unforgettable heroine.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND RADIO 2 SUMMER BOOK CLUB PICK 'The new Little Fires Everywhere . . . The perfect summer read' STYLIST 'Stunning! An absolutely brilliant, gorgeously-written novel. A must-read for our time' LISA TADDEO, author of Three Women 'Immersive and deeply moving' ANNA HOPE, author of Expectation 'I absolutely adored it' LIANE MORIARTY, bestselling author of Big Little Lies _____________ Two ordinary families. One life-changing day . . . When the Gleesons and the Stanhopes become neighbours, lonely Lena Gleeson wants a friend. But Anne Stanhope - cold, elegant, unstable - wants to be left alone. It's left to their children - Lena's youngest, Kate, and Anne's only child, Peter - to find their way to one another. To form a friendship whose resilience and love will be almost broken by the fault line dividing both families, and a tragedy that will engulf them all. A tragedy whose true origins only become clear many years later . . . When everything has fallen apart, can their children's love pull it back together again? _____________ A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN PRIMA, VOGUE, PEOPLE, ELLE AND NPR 'It's an absolute stunner, an ode to family and forgiveness that has been crafted with compassion and insight' Sara Collins, bestselling author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton 'Keane takes on one of the most difficult problems in fiction - how to write about human decency . . . a compelling case for compassion over blame, understanding over grudge, and the resilience of hearts that can accept the contradictions of love' Louise Erdrich, National Book Award winning author of The Round House 'Leaves one shaking one's head in frank admiration. A triumph' Matthew Thomas, bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves **THE HALF MOON, the new novel by Mary Beth Keane, is available to pre-order now!**

Fever casts a brilliant light over the life of a figure once described as 'the most dangerous woman in America'. Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant in turn-of-the-century New York, is headstrong and brave, a woman who has battled fiercely to better her lot in life and keep her wayward lover Alfred on the straight and narrow. She works her way up the ranks to cook for the wealthiest families in Manhattan, but leaves a trail of death and disease in her wake. When she is imprisoned in complete isolation, despite being perfectly healthy herself, she refuses to understand her paradoxical situation. Condemned by press and public alike, she is branded a murderer, but continues to fight for her freedom. Mary Beth Keane's fictional account is as fiercely compelling as Typhoid Mary herself and Keane presents us with a very cleverly wrought conundrum: was Mary Mallon a selfish monster, or was she a hounded innocent?

THE POWERFUL AND MOVING NOVEL OF NEW BEGINNINGS AND OLD FAMILY SECRETS FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ASK AGAIN, YES 'A fearless writer' LISA TADDEO 'An epic story about immigration, identity and family' Guardian 'Atmospheric, moving and brilliantly well-written' Daily Mail 'Engrossing . . . the kind of novel you simply don't want to end' Daily Express 'A beautifully crafted novel about love, loyalty, culture, family and identity' Irish Sunday Independent ______ 1960s Rural Ireland. Greta Cahill must abandon her quiet village to follow her fearless sister Johanna onto a ship bound for New York . . . It's here that she steps out of her sister's shadow and into a life of her own, rich with love, work and family. As the years pass Greta longs to revisit the past - to see her mother, to show her what she has made of herself. But she must protect a family secret, decades old. So when her children conspire to unite the worlds she's kept so carefully apart, Greta fears she could lose it all . . . A profoundly moving, compassionate story of self-discovery, The Walking People is a powerful and compelling story about our connection to the past. ______ 'A novel of great compassion and understanding . . . rich with story' JOHN BOYNE on Ask Again, Yes 'Keane's previous novel Ask Again, Yes, was on my best Books of 2019, and this is just as good. Its slow, melodic pace proves we don't always need fast action and twists' Prima, 'Best Books of March' 'The characters are so well drawn and out of the ordinary that I was quickly drawn into their story and didn't want it to end' 5***** Reader Review 'The story becomes so engrossing it grows on you with its real and engaging characters ... a very moving and original love story' Irish Examiner 'A gorgeous nostalgic family drama with real characters. Loved it' 5***** Reader Review Praise for Mary Beth Keane: 'A fearless writer' Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women 'A novel of great compassion and understanding . . . rich with story' John Boyne 'I'll read everything she writes' Liane Moriarty, author of Big Little Lies 'A writer of extraordinary depth, feeling and wit' Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion 'Immersive and deeply moving' Anna Hope, author of Expectation 'It's an absolute stunner, an ode to family and forgiveness that has been crafted with compassion and insight' Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton **THE HALF MOON, the new novel by Mary Beth Keane, is available to pre-order now!**

THE POWERFUL AND MOVING NOVEL OF NEW BEGINNINGS AND OLD FAMILY SECRETS FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ASK AGAIN, YES 'An epic story about immigration, identity and family' Hannah Beckerman, Guardian 'The characters are so well drawn and out of the ordinary that I was quickly drawn into their story and didn't want it to end' 5***** Reader Review 'A gorgeous nostalgic family drama with real characters. Loved it' 5***** Reader Review ______ 1960s Rural Ireland. Greta Cahill must abandon her deserted village to follow her fearless sister Johanna on a ship bound for New York . . . It's here that she steps out of her sister's shadow and into a life of her own, rich with love, work and family. As the years pass, Greta longs to revisit the past - to see her mother, to show her what she has made of herself. But she must protect a family secret, decades old. So when her children conspire to unite the worlds she's kept so carefully apart, Greta fears she could lose it all . . . A profoundly moving, compassionate story of self-discovery, The Walking People is a powerful and compelling story about our connection to the past. ______ 'Keane's previous novel Ask Again, Yes, was on my best Books of 2019, and this is just as good. Its slow, melodic pace proves we don't always need fast action and twists' Prima, 'Best Books of March' 'Engrossing . . . Captures the windswept grittiness of Irish poverty as vividly as the technicolour hustle and bustle of 1960s New York. The Walking People is the kind of novel you simply don't want to end' Daily Express 'Atmospheric, moving and brilliantly well-written' Daily Mail Praise for Mary Beth Keane: 'A fearless writer' Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women 'A novel of great compassion and understanding . . . rich with story' John Boyne 'I'll read everything she writes' Liane Moriarty, author of Big Little Lies 'A writer of extraordinary depth, feeling and wit' Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion 'Immersive and deeply moving' Anna Hope, author of Expectation 'It's an absolute stunner, an ode to family and forgiveness that has been crafted with compassion and insight' Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton

Greta Cahill never believed she would leave her village in the west of Ireland until she found herself on a ship bound for New York, along with her sister Johanna and a boy named Michael Ward. Labeled a "softheaded goose" by her family, Greta discovers that in America she can fall in love, raise her own family, and earn a living. Though she longs to return and show her family what she has made of herself, her decision to spare her children knowledge of a secret in her past forces her to keep her life in New York separate from the life she once loved in Ireland, and tears her apart from the people she is closest to. Even fifty years later, when the Ireland of her memory bears little resemblance to that of present day, she fears that it is still possible to lose all when she discovers that her children--with the best of intentions-- have conspired to unite the worlds she's so carefully kept separate for decades. A beautifully old-fashioned novel, The Walking People has remarkable range and power.

There are two sides to every story - and every marriage in crisis. . .

Malcolm is a bartender at the Half Moon in Upstate New York. He has always dreamed of owning a bar, and so when his boss finally retires, he seizes his chance, despite his wife's protests.

Jess has devoted herself to her law career. After years of trying for a baby, she's struggling to accept the idea that motherhood might not be in her future. She finds herself slipping away from both her career and her marriage.

When a blizzard hits on the same day that Malcolm learns some shocking news about Jess, and a regular at the bar goes missing, everyone is frozen in place for a single, pivotal week, forcing Malcolm and Jess to confront their uncertain future.

A beautiful, unforgettable story of love and second chances, for fans of The Paper Palace, Hello Beautiful and Tom Lake.