The Listeners Jordan Tannahill

Fourth Estate £14.99 Schoolteacher Claire is overwhelmed and under pressure. Disturbed by an unidentified, unremitting hum, beset by headaches and insomnia and isolated from her sceptical husband and daughter, she unwisely bonds with a student and fellow sufferer, upending her entire life. Sacked from her job, she finds herself in the clutches of conspiracy theorists and a cult-like leader with dubious motives. It’s a tense if overthe-top account of a woman on the verge of losing everything.