Don't Look Back: the life-affirming British novel about music, family and second chances - Nick Hornby's 'High Fidelity' meets Sally Rooney's 'Normal

By: Griffin, Sean Scott

When estranged siblings Liam and Patsy receive a letter from their missing mum after fifteen years of silence, they're forced together on an epic road trip across Britain to claim their inheritance-if they can reach her before it's too late.

Liam, 38, lives in the past. Stuck in his condemned council flat with only his precious 90s mixtape for company, he's been waiting for his mum Sally to walk back through the door since 2010. His younger sister Patsy, a disgraced reality TV star drowning in vodka and self-loathing, wants nothing more than to forget their family ever existed.

But Sally is dying, and she has one final gift for her children: a lottery win that could change everything. The catch? They have to travel together following clues that lead them through the faded seaside towns of their last happy family holiday, in 1996-when Britain was last "cool".

As Liam's iconic orange Golf GTI Mk2 carries them from London to the edge of Scotland, buried secrets surface and old wounds reopen. With Sally's voice guiding them through letters left at each destination, Liam and Patsy must confront the truth about why she disappeared-and whether some family bonds can ever truly be broken.

Set against the soundtrack of Britpop's greatest hits, DON'T LOOK BACK is an unforgettable story of sparring siblings, a mother's turmoil, second chances, and the music that defines us.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1919182802
• ISBN13: 9781919182803
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Rebel Yeah!
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"