Life Number Nine

By Joe Heap

‘A beautifully written love story that travels beyond epic’ ANSTEY HARRIS, author of THE HOUSE OF LOST SECRETS

From the critically acclaimed author of THE RULES OF SEEING and WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS

Jem and Mika have never met.

Jem and Mika’s lives have intertwined, again and again, across lifetimes.

Have you ever locked eyes with a stranger and felt that you know them?

When perfect strangers Mika and Jem first meet by chance, they recognise each other – not from life, but from a shared dream. Both are wary of forming new connections and have their demons to fight: Jem is in recovery from a near-fatal accident, and Mika is undocumented and under scrutiny from the authorities.

As their dreams – or are they memories? – grow in intensity, they are forced to consider the possibility that they have known and loved each other over and over, across the centuries. Will they find happiness together this time?

Moving from present-day London through eras and across continents, LIFE NUMBER NINE is an epic literary achievement and a groundbreaking love story.

Author: Joe Heap
Format: Hardback
Release Date: 13 Feb 2025
Pages: 416
ISBN: 978-0-00-847502-4
Joe Heap was born in Bradford in 1986, the son of two teachers. In 2004, he won the Foyles Young Poet award. He studied for a BA in English Literature at Stirling University and a Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University. Joe lives in London with his long-suffering girlfriend, short-suffering child, and much-aggrieved cat. Life Number Nine is his third novel.

A beautifully written love story, that travels beyond epic … This is the kind of book where you read a line and think, that's one of the best lines I've ever read. But then so's the next one, and the next. The energy of the writing is off the scale. -

Praise for THE RULES OF SEEING: -

Strikingly brilliant -

Astonishing! -

This year's Eleanor Oliphant -

Praise for WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS: -

Stunning, stunning, stunning -

Will stay with you long after you finish reading -

A thing of beauty… a triumph -