Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Book of the Year: Pageturners. The 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association. From the bestselling author of The Man I Think I Know comes this heart- warming novel of family, friendship and human connection. 'Hubert Bird stole my heart' Beth O'Leary, author of The Flat-Share and The Switch ** 'Lovely, emotional, uplifting' Libby Page, author of The Lido 'A heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting look at isolation'Guardian In phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun and friendship. But Hubert Bird is lying. Something has made him turn his back on people, and he hardly sees a soul. So when his daughter announces she's coming to visit, Hubert faces a race against time: to make his real life resemble his fake life before he's found out. Along the way Hubert renews a cherished friendship, is given a second