Listed for the Orange Prize for Literature, 2005

Long ago. A man digging at midnight, his shirtfront wet with blood. He is hiding the terrible secret that will shape the future for Valerie and her unlikely nemesis Miss Potts.
Betty Potts, who longs to return the great house in her care to its former grandeur.
It so happens that Annie knows all the answers, but what use can she make of them? Annie knows she must hide her flashes of sudden useless insight, especially from Alethea, her new friend with the glamorous past.
With Valerie in her power, Betty can throw out the Sixties formica and the nasty nylon carpets. But how far is she prepared to go?
It So Happens: a gothic tale of crime, blackmail, redemption and the importance of soft furnishings.

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By the prize–winning author of Indefinite Nights, Patricia Ferguson

"Quirky, full of delicious black humour. The writing is consistently lively, fluent and often very touching."

Margaret Forster

"A real gem of a novel. All the characters are so well drawn, and the elements of the supernatural handled with just the right amount of spookiness. Gripping, immensely readable, funny, humane and about precisely the kind of aspirations and misunderstandings an intelligent reader longs for."

Amanda Craig