Time Being

by Jude Cook

When Laura Cameron, a philosophy professor at a London university, is found dead in a bizarre echo of the Reeva Steenkamp case, the questions are myriad. Her friend and colleague, Esther Luck, is as shocked as everyone else.

But Esther knows more than she's letting on. After two years battling ovarian cancer, her notions of what makes life worth living, of what her future holds, have changed utterly. Held in a tense web of intrigue between Laura's widower Jack, her ex Michel, and her conventional family, Esther is given the chance of new life on borrowed time as the mystery of Laura's death deepens.

What follows is an exploration of guilt, mortality, freedom, time and the brilliant and beautiful puzzle of being alive.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 7, 2026

About the author

Jude Cook lives in London and studied English literature at UCL. His first novel, BYRON EASY, was published by William Heinemann of Random House in 2013. He has written for the Guardian, the Spectator, Literary Review, New Statesman, TLS, the i-Paper, Review 31and 3AM Magazine. His essays and short fiction have appeared in The Stockholm Review, The Moth, The Tangerine, The Honest Ulsterman, The Mechanics’ Institute Review, Structo, Storgy, Litro, Long Story Short and Staple magazine. In 2017, he was longlisted for the Pin Drop RA short story award, and in 2018 shortlisted for Leicester Writes Short Story Prize, and longlisted for the Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award. He is an editor for The Literary Consultancy, and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Westminster. His second novel, JACOB’S ADVICE, will be published by Unbound in August 2020.