Published 18th June 2026 by Headline Review.
From the cover of the book:
In Ireland, Maggie has grown up hearing her mother tell her the bedtime story of The Glass Key. It's a Nordic fairytale passed down by Maggie's grandmother Anna Swan, who mysteriously left her home one stormy night years ago, never to return. Now Maggie's grandfather has died and going through his things, Maggie is shocked to discover a faded wartime letter, asking him to take in a baby. In that moment she realises that Anna Swan was a woman of many secrets.
Only by travelling to Norway and discovering the story of four brave young women whose lives were forever changed by the occupation of their tiny islands, can Maggie uncover the shocking truth about her family - and finally unlock the mystery of the glass key...
***********
County Kerry, Ireland. 2005. With a broken marriage, and failed gardening business, in her wake, Maggie Swan has returned home for the funeral of her beloved grandfather, Atticus. She has no plans to return to Dublin, and the uncertainty about what life holds for her now is clouded by her mother's determination to sell Atticus' sprawling home Hellebore House - a place where secrets lie as thick as the dust in its once stately rooms.
Maggie's grandmother, Anna Swan, left Hellebore House one stormy night in 1959, to never return. Her mother Freya, a famous author who continues Anna's tradition of telling magical Nordic fairy tales such as The Glass Key, rarely speaks of her, but Maggie has always been fascinated by the mystery of why she left that night. As Maggie begins to sift through Atticus' belongings, she comes across a wartime letter asking him to take in Anna and become her father-figure to baby Freya, which throws into question so many things she thought she knew about her family.
Maggie learns that the answers she is seeking lie in Norway, where she must go if she wants to learn the truth...
Amanda Geard is one of my favourite authors for many reasons. I adored both of her glorious previous novels, The Midnight House (2022) and The Moon Gate (2023), and my love affair with her work continues as strong as ever with this brand new gem The Glass Key.
The story unfurls in two compelling timelines: in 2015 from the perspective of Maggie, as she pursues her quest for the truth about the disappearance of Anna Swan, the grandmother she never knew; and in 1940's Norway, during the German occupation, through the voices of Anna (also known as Astrid) and Nina (custodian of the beacon on the tiny coastal island of Lysøya, with her wild younger sister Liv).
I am so excited that Amanda has chosen incredible Norway for her latest novel, a place that both fascinates me and is beloved to Amanda herself. She excels in shining an insightful light on areas of history that deserve much more attention, particularly when it comes to the underrepresented roles that women have had to play, and the plight of wartime Norway is perfect fodder for her talents.
In a way that always leaves me in awe, the timelines weave beautifully together to immerse you in storylines about love, loss, family and friendship - bleeding cleverly between atmospheric locations and objects present in both timelines, and turning on pivotal moments steeped in closely guarded secrets, yearning, motherhood, and profound grief. Her characters are complicated creatures, filled out in realistic shades of grey, and they take you on a journey that runs the gamut of emotional highs and lows, laughter and tears. I especially loved the sensitive way Amanda explores the complexities of survival and resistance in small communities during war, particularly when it comes to collaboration with the enemy - there are stars to pin your colours to... monsters to be feared too... all inspired by real events that will send you spiralling down rabbit holes. And oh, how she uses Norse fairy tales to capture your imagination, and perfectly echo her themes! Superb!
Once again Amanda threads elements of mystery through her story with accomplished style. The answers to Maggie's questions comes after many twists and turns, and I cried pretty much solidly through the final third of the novel unable to look away as past meets present in a series of breath-taking moments. The combined impact of revelations, reconciliations, and remembrances had me sobbing, not to mention more than one superbly wrought love-story - there are a few nice surprises from Amanda's previous visits to County Kerry too, and her communities are a joy.
There can be no doubt that The Glass Key stands loud and proud as one of my books of 2026. It has everything I want in a historical novel - just as I knew it would. More please, Amanda.
The Glass Key is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Headline for sending me a copy of this beautiful book.
About the author:
Born in Australia, Amanda Geard has lived all over the world, from a houseboat in London to a tiny island in Norway before settling in County Kerry in Ireland. Her debut novel The Midnight House was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection and her novels have been translated into multiple languages.
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