An Unlikely Visitor

by Joanna Cannon, Tba (Narrator)

‘Moving, funny, compassionate and wise, An Unlikely Visitor is an astonishing achievement. Joanna Cannon is an exquisite observer of human nature. Her stories are not so much told as felt by the soul. An Unlikely Visitor made me laugh, cry and left me filled with hope’ ELIZABETH DAY

‘Joanna Cannon is a compassionate storyteller who writes about the big things with a lightness of touch. An Unlikely Visitor is an engaging mystery, magical and humane as it slowly unfurls – a perfect book for today’s world’ SARAH WINMAN

‘Joanna Cannon beautifully examines each tragic, surprising, shocking and precious moment of ordinary life. An extraordinary book, I loved it’ FERN BRITTON

Margaret thinks her time is up…

Things have been hard since her husband Derek died, and they never really got over the disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie, all those years ago.

Despite everything, they built a lovely life together… it’s just starting to feel impossible for Margaret on her own.

But maybe her time is now?

Then one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visi­tor, and together they set out to discover what really hap­pened to Jeanie.

Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story…

'Brimming with Jo's trademark compassion, insight and wry humour, An Unlikely Visitor is both a meditation on a grief, a mystery of a missing child and a powerful exploration of the human condition. Jo writes so beautifully about human frailties and her kindness illuminates every sentence. A treat of a novel' HANNAH BECKERMAN

'A novel that appears to be telling Margaret and Derek’s poignant story becomes, in Joanna Cannon’s gifted hands, a profound reflection on the human condition, and therein lie the joy and the magic… We are left marvelling at how extraordinary ordinary people can be, and what a wonder it is to live and love at all' JOANNA GLEN

Praise for Joanna

‘Emotional, sweet, funny, hauntingly sad and poignant’ SARA COX

‘Lovely, lovely, lovely… Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe’ MARIAN KEYES

‘An utter delight’ SARAH WINMAN

‘A joy and a triumph’ RACHEL JOYCE

‘Charming, wise and profoundly human’ ERIN KELLY

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Grief, Ghosts, Friendship, Love, Contemporary

Audible Audio

Published June 4, 2026

About the author

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Margaret's husband, Derek, dies, she becomes all alone in the world, because Margaret and Derek's daughter, Jeanie, disappeared when she was 11 years old and neither of them saw her ever again. For several months, she struggles to adjust but one day an unlikely visitor appears and helps her to find a new path to discover what happened to her daughter.

Joanna Cannon is absolutely exceptional at writing character and this book is chock full of them! She dissects what it is to be human, what makes us unique and individual, and fills all of her characters with all those little nuances that make each of us who we are.

Now, I will say this book is sad and it may break your heart (I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a tear in my eye at times). However, it is beautifully written, packed full of emotion and will hopefully make you realise that, despite all our flaws, ultimately the world is full of kindness.

Bravo again to Joanna for another wonderful book - she never fails! All the stars!

Thank you to Joanna and Borough Press for sending me a proof.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you have loved all an author’s earlier novels, it can sometimes make you a bit nervous about reading a new one. What if you just don’t like it as much? Well, I’m happy to say that I needn't have worried about An Unlikely Visitor: I was in safe hands with Joanna Cannon.

Now this is one of these books that you really can’t say too much about because you don’t want to spoil it for other readers. You will see from the blurb that the book is mainly about an elderly lady called Margaret. She lost her husband Derek and, as you would imagine, is finding life rather hard. They had experienced a tragic loss in their lives when their only child Jeanie vanished without trace many years ago. Somehow they had got through this time and managed to rebuild their lives. Just when Margaret is at her lowest ebb, she receives a most unexpected (and yes, unlikely) visitor and they resolve one last time to try to find out what happened to Jeanie.

The story unfolds over two different time frames. In the past, we follow Margaret and Derek through their darkest times from the day Jeanie disappears and the subsequent weeks and months as the police investigate her disappearance. My heart went out to both of them as you could sense their desperation as time went on with no sign of Jeanie. I could completely understand some of the things which Margaret did in her efforts to uncover the truth. Any mother in her situation would probably do the same.

In the present day, Margaret and her visitor uncover more clues as to what may have happened to Jeanie and grow closer to the truth. The grief that Margaret feels over the loss of her husband and, of course, the unexplained loss of her daughter was incredibly moving to read about. I have to say that Derek was a wonderful character. He was so supportive of Margaret and so loving despite his own devastation. I had a real lump in my throat at times reading about their love for each other: “when you love someone, you never leave them. Heaven, or whatever you call it, is right here, with the people you love the most.”

Joanna Cannon is so good at writing compelling stories. She draws you in with wonderful characters and intriguing mysteries that you just want to solve along with the characters. As Margaret delved deeper into the past and went out of her comfort zone to talk to her neighbours and other people from her past, it didn’t just help her but made a difference in many of their lives too.

I adored An Unlikely Visitor and I think it may be my favourite Joanna Cannon novel yet. It’s such an emotionally charged read yet is full of humour, warmth and hope. Just wonderful!

[Lydia Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goats and Sheep & Three things about Elsie are two of my favourite reads ever so I was excited to receive Joanna Canon’s latest book on Net Galley. I love her writing and the first section of this one - when Margaret loses her husband, Derek- is profoundly sad & poignant & very much resonated with the character’s grief. When her ‘unlikely visitor’ arrives and together they investigate the reasons behind Margaret & Derek’s daughter, Jeanie’s disappearance forty years before, the story does become slightly surreal and dreamlike and I have to say it lost me a bit! Still a lovely read but a bit too fantastical for me.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Natalie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comforting cosy mystery.

An unexplained child loss set against aging, grief, loss, friendship and the unimaginable pan of not knowing. The characters are wonderful and the story tragic, but the magic is in the unfolding.

A new author to me, now on my TBR list.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of advanced copy received from Netgalley

Margaret has suffered unimaginable loss between her husband Derek and daughter Jeanie. She promises Derek that she will continue to keep chugging through life but how can she when there is nothing left to live for?

Joanna did an amazing job of delving into grief by carefully peeling away layer by layer of humankind through the development of Maraget "maggie" and Derek. Maraget and Derek's relationship is the fantasy that everyone dreams of to find in a partner. They balance each other out impecably but it never felt like a "too good to be true." Joanna balanced the messiness of coping, anger, grief, love on such a delicate scale it made me want to keep on coming back from more. Although the story situates itself in sadness, I found myself emotionally invested in Margaret and Derek's journey to find the answers they have been searching for these past decades. There was a sense of heaviness without it weighing down the story. A sense of joy without it overshadowing the tragedy that had unfolded.

I am excited to keep reading other books Joanna has published thus far and those that have yet to be published as well!

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just adored this book - the story, the characters, the themes. It’s sad, yes, but it’s also full to the brim of heart and hope. It exudes all the warmth that I see from Joanna on social media, it absolutely a Joanna Cannon story and couldn’t be mistaken as being written by anyone else.

The book explores two ends of the bereavement experience; losing a child and losing a spouse after many years of marriage, and both are handled delicately and beautifully, showing both the uniqueness of each but acknowledging the similarities too.

Every single character, whether they have two or four legs, is a delight. Joanna understands people (and dogs) at a deep level and this means she can bring to life all the players in her books and make you connect emotionally with them. I think my favourite was Derek, closely followed by Majid. I also loved that there is a Lewis inspired furry character.

Now, the unlikely visitor. I didn’t for a second think it would be who it was but they are the perfect person to help Margaret unravel a decades-old mystery. This investigation added another layer of interest to the story and the journey was fantastically written, hiding the final reveal from this reader fully.

[Helen_t_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
It's been 94 days since Margaret's husband Derek died. It's also been 40 years since their beloved daughter Jeanie disappeared on her paper round, and was never seen again.

Looking back on these 40 years, Margaret realises that she has measured her life in the absence of things, rather than the presence, and the loss of Derek has hit her hard. Life feels pointless since he died. He was the scaffolding that held everything in place.

Margaret had promised him she'd keep marching on and not give up, but life without him is too hard. She just isn't the same Margaret she was before he died. So she decides she's going to stop agreeing to do things, and wants to be left alone, in peace.

But then Margaret returns home to find an unlikely visi­tor waiting for her, and together they set out to discover what really hap­pened to Jeanie. As the cover quote says: 'Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story…'

My Thoughts:
Thank you, Borough Press, for sending me a GIFTED proof of Joanna Cannon's fourth novel which comes out in June, I loved it so, so much!

I've read and enjoyed everything that the very talented Joanna Cannon has written, and this, I think, is her best novel yet....though reviewing it is so tricky! Tricky in the sense that I absolutely don't want to give anything away, and tricky because I know whatever I write I will fail to do it the justice it deserves!

The story has at its heart two of life's unimaginable and devastating life events, the loss of a child and bereavement, which Joanna Cannon handles with the utmost sensitivity, tact and compassion.

It must be such difficult path to walk. Done badly, subject matter which is emotionally affecting like this could be either crass or too much to bear. But here it is done with a quiet and deft assurance. The reader never once feels overwhelmed by grief and sadness, or deterred from reading further, because Joanna Cannon writes with the lightest touch, and a profound humanity.

As aways in her books, difficult issues like love and loss, bereavement, grief and loneliness, are presented with total understanding and with her trademark mix of a bittersweet poignancy, which blends sadness, wry humour, gentle comedy and brilliant observation.

Having set her stall out at the start of the novel, painting a moving picture of a 74 year old woman who has lost so much, the novel then picks up its skirts, 70 pages, in and heads off on a voyage of discovery, with the arrival of an unlikely and decidedly unexpected visitor. A journey which looks back to the past to solve a mystery, and grants resolution, and closure in the present.

I absolutely loved the characters of Margaret and Derek, their development is superb. They're truly couple goals. Derek is dependable, devoted, and loves to laugh at his own jokes. And Margaret? As Derek says himself, she makes everything so much better and so much easier to bear. She's valuable and necessary. If she didn't exist someone would have to invent her.

This is such a special and beautifully written story, filled with insight, understanding, joy hope and a certain sense of what I can only describe as magic. It prompts the reader to think about the big emotional issues which it presents, as much as the key points in a lifetime: the losses endured, the choices made, the paths taken.

I promise you, unless you're made of stone, you'll laugh and you'll cry, but, by the end of the novel, you'll feel a sense of satisfaction, and rightness about the way things have unfolded. It left me feeling a tad teary and wistful, but also hopeful, uplifted and satisfied. So much so, that I want to read it again, and very soon.

I can't recommend this novel to you highly enough, and I think that if you enjoy the pathos, poignancy, dry observation and wry humour of the likes of writers such as Alan Bennett, Kate Atkinson and Rachel Joyce , you will absolutely love this one, and should definitely add it to your TBR.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In life’s most intense moments, when your emotions are fierce and overwhelming, all of your senses become fierce and overwhelming too. And so you remember the smells and the textures and the sounds of that moment. All the pockets of tiny details. As if God has turned up the brightness and the contrast and the volume on everything to make sure that you’ll never forget.”

An Unlikely Visitor is the fifth novel by award-winning, bestselling British author, Joanna Cannon. In the almost four decades since the mysterious disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie left a gaping hole in their lives, Margaret and Derek Ford have tried to fill that space with activities, committees and routines, even though “it often felt artificial. Constructed out of necessity, rather than joy. What we really wanted had been snatched away, and we’d become runners-up in our own lives.”

But now, at seventy-four, Margaret is three months a widow, still very much missing Derek. “Pain takes everything from you. Your reasoning, your logic, even your ability to see clearly.” Despite encouragement from neighbours, friends and acquaintances to re-enter life, she’s no longer convinced it’s worth the effort: “We only have a limited amount of energy, but most of it we fritter away on convincing other people how well we’re doing”

But then, an unlikely visitor, and the impetus to discover what really happened to Jeanie.

Alternating narratives describe the disappearance of Jeanie Ford and its aftermath, and the steps Margaret takes, forty years on, to try to learn the truth. Cannon gives Margaret, and some of those she encounters, truly insightful observations about many aspects of life.

Musings on memories, grief, admitting to be struggling, avoiding pity, sharing confidences, self-harm, the heartbreak of the unconscious last leave-taking, guilt, the fear that misery is contagious, bullying, expectations that profound loss can be replaced, acting strong: all will resonate with any who have experienced them.

There’s a cast of the sort of people we all encounter in our day-to-day lives: busybodies who revel in the sequelae of the gossip they share, the bad news they relish delivering; the manipulative; the jealous, whose self-hatred is often directed it back at someone else; the overworked and busy; the kind-hearted; the defensive; the misunderstood, the grieving. “There was so much pain in his eyes, he looked like a completely different person. Grief can do that. It can turn you into somebody else overnight.”

The dialogue with Margaret’s unlikely visitor is often blackly funny, while many of Margaret’s observations are clever: “’This is a controlled area. No bicycles. No ball games. No loitering.’ I wonder where the bicycles and the ball games go to do their loitering now.”

Cannon is one of a select group of authors who have a talent for writing the small moments of everyday lives incredibly well, and her descriptive prose is wonderful: “The oldest part of the town is made up of an army of Georgian houses with their rigid symmetry and sash windows. Rows of identical, middle-class lives staring out beyond the glossy black railings and pale pavements.” An Unlikely Visitor is moving, thought-provoking, and quite brilliant.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins UK.

[Books By Your Bedside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and The Borough Press for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I love Joanna's books and this may be her best one yet. This is my fifth of her books (fiction and non-fiction) and they just get better with each one. She's become a go-to author and I just know I'll love whatever she writes next.

Her description of grief is so beautiful. Grief is hard to write about, even for someone who has experienced a lot of it, and she's hit the nail on the head. She's not overdone it or sensationalised it for entertainment purposes, and she hasn't hidden from the really dark parts. Not to sound like Goldilocks but it was just right I also loved how she showed the quieter parts of grief such as anger. I know that not long after my dad died, if I couldn't et the cling film out, or if I dropped the foil and it rolled across the floor, I would get so angry at him - like I would never have done it if he had been there. It's a side of grief that many people forget about.

Margaret is a wonderful protagonist. From the first page, this is her story and I instantly fell in love with her. Joanna has made every character feel very human, which I know sounds weird because of course they are human. But characters can feel very...well, like they're characters and you're very aware they're made up people in a book. But everyone in this book feels so real and familiar that you get even more invested in it.

It took a turn I wasn't expecting and actually in hindsight, it's the best turn it could have done. It worked so well, like any other route to tell the story wouldn't have been as perfect as this. (That's my clumsy way of explaining something without spoiling it).

It's got a lot more thrillery, tense bits than I was expecting and it wasn't out of place. I didn't expect it but it really worked in context. And the "Unlikely Visitor" was as far away from who I expected as possible but I won't say more for fear of spoilers.

It's split into two timelines, the now, when Margaret is a woman in her seventies, and the then when she'd just lost her daughter. I love dual timelines so that was really interesting to read.

Did I cry? Of course I did. I cry at everything. But this wasn't really a sad cry, more a cry of hope and happiness (it'll make sense when you read it, I think).

It might be a book about loss and grief and fear, and yes parts of it are sad. But she's managed to weave in such a sense of hope and love and warmth about it, so it never feels too overwhelmingly morbid. A perfect book.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Unlikely Visitor, by Joanne Cannon is an outstanding read, a story that is as profound as it is nuanced—a “so very human” exploration of how the end of one’s story might actually be a hidden beginning.

Margaret is a character who immediately breaks your heart and then slowly starts to mend it. Following the death of her beloved husband, Derek, she feels as though her “time is up.” The house is too quiet, and the air is heavy with the double grief of losing a partner and the decades-old mystery of her daughter Jeanie’s disappearance.

The story is beautifully written and illustrates the “lovely life” Margaret and Derek built together, making the current impossibility of her solitary existence feel incredibly grounded and real. It is a “sombre mood,” yes, but it’s written with such compassion that you never feel overwhelmed by the sadness.

Everything changes when Margaret returns home to find an unlikely visitor. This visitor acts as the catalyst for a journey Margaret never thought she would take. Together, they begin to knock on the doors of the past to uncover the truth about Jeanie.

What makes this book truly special is how it handles the “whimsical twist.” It’s never overstated or jarring; instead, it lightens the atmosphere and provides a sense of hope that feels earned. It’s a reminder that if you are brave enough to keep looking, you might just find a different ending to your story.

This is a “beautifully written story of grief, love, and compassion.” It’s a book that invites you to slow down and appreciate the tiny intersections of life that turn out to be the huge ones. It’s rare to find a story that deals with such heavy themes while remaining so uplifting, but Joanne Cannon has achieved exactly that.

“Margaret thought her time was up, but she discovered that life isn’t a straight line, it’s a series of doors, and sometimes you just need the right visitor to help you knock.”

This book will leave you feeling both tearful and inspired, emotional storytelling that reminds us that no matter how late the hour, there is always room for a little more love and a lot more truth. Fabulous read.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Lady Fancifull · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet (a little too much so), warm, whimsical and humorous

Cannon always has these tender qualities, as stated above, in her writing, she brings the quirky and imaginative with a lot of heart, into her characters. There are some similarities with the energy and exuberance of early Kate Atkinson, though the incisive bite of Atkinson is missing. So, at times, I can find that Cannon has got a little too soft and sweet and consciously feelgood for my tastes. So it is here.

Central character Margaret, is an elderly widow, deep in the place of despair and loss after the recent death of her beloved husband Derek. Both Margaret and Derek were no strangers to forever grief and loss, as decades earlier their only daughter, Jeanie, a quiet, thoughtful and kind young girl, had vanished without trace. This was an unsolved mystery, despite the usual media furore as the local community and police search and investigation yielded no solution, and the search for who might have taken and harmed her, went national via press and television. Neither Derek nor Margaret had ever got over this terrible event (who would?) but they had stayed together, lovingly, weathering the inevitable strains such a tragedy brings. One such being the inability to move away from the village where they had been living, and where Jeanie had been born, as somewhere, particularly for Margaret, was the feeling that somehow, somewhere, despite the passage of time, Jeanie might return. Maybe she had been kidnapped but had not been murdered?

The story of past and present is told, primarily through Margaret, but Derek’s thoughts, feelings and actions are also given space.

Primarily, Cannon’s world is of understanding, and of human beings trying to get by, in all their sometimes clumsy and inadequate ways. She is dealing with the inevitable loss which we all must face, - even if we experience no shocking or unnatural cutting short of the lives of those we care about. I think probably most readers will, early on, get some sense of where the story might be heading, and probably, the unsolved mystery.

Cannon takes a dark subject and views it through a definite glass at least half full lens

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joanna Cannon has a real talent for taking a seemingly simple premise and uncovering the emotional layers beneath it. The Unlikely Visitor is a light, easy read in terms of pace and tone, yet it carries a quiet emotional resonance that stays with you.

At the centre is Margaret, recently widowed after the death of her husband Derek. His loss stirs up a much older grief she has never been able to lay to rest: the disappearance of her young daughter, Jeanie. Joanna Cannon handles this storyline with sensitivity. The chapters touching on Jeanie’s disappearance are the hardest to read because they capture the raw, bewildering pain of a mother living with unanswered questions. The intrusion of the media, that awful press conference, the way the community reacts, and the lingering suspicion around the local misfit all feel painfully believable.

What gives the novel its emotional lift is the way Margaret revisits these events decades later. She’s not chasing drama; she’s seeking understanding. And the author allows her that space with compassion and humour. Despite the grief threaded through the story, the book remains ultimately uplifting — a reminder that healing can arrive long after the world has stopped paying attention.

It’s also refreshing to see older characters placed firmly in the spotlight. Cannon writes them with nuance, wit, and agency, and readers who loved The Trouble with Goats and Sheep will recognise her signature blend of tenderness, community insight, and quiet mystery.

I did have one very minor criticism: a couple of modern phrases momentarily pulled me out of the story, for example, a line from history about red flags; such a tiny thing, but it jarred slightly against the otherwise immersive tone.

Overall, The Unlikely Visitor is a thoughtful, comforting novel, I readily forgave the supernatural vehicle in this mystery with heart, a story about loss and resilience, and a welcome reminder that older women’s lives make for rich, compelling fiction.

[Christy fictional_traits · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘…when you love someone, truly love someone, they never really leave. No one is ever lost to you, they’re just in a different place’.

When Margaret’s husband, Derek, passes away, the loss reopens wounds suffered four decades earlier when their daughter, Jeanie, disappeared. An exhausting loneliness settles over her life, leaving her increasingly isolated and uncertain how to move forward. Although she promised Derek she would continue living the life they had built together, even the smallest routines now feel overwhelming. ‘…I began to measure my life in the absence of things, rather than the presence’.

Then one morning, a visitor appears - not only an unlikely visitor, but perhaps an impossible one - and in doing so, offers Margaret an unexpected path through both her present grief and the unresolved sorrow of her past.

‘An Unlikely Visitor’ is both a quiet character study and the gradual unravelling of a decades-old missing person cold case. At its heart though, this is a story about grief and the many ways it shapes, isolates and quietly transforms people over time.

Laden with sadness, the novel explores death, loss and loneliness with remarkable tenderness and emotional intelligence. Joanna Cannon captures the small, deeply human moments that often sit beneath grief: the routines people cling to, the memories they revisit, and the silences that grow louder for those unable to articulate their pain.

What could have felt unbearably heavy instead becomes deeply cathartic. As the mystery slowly unfolds, so too does a nuanced meditation on mourning, memory and the importance of continuing to live fully despite loss. The novel offers a compassionate and quietly hopeful perspective on love and human connection, suggesting that grief is not something we overcome, but something we learn to carry differently over time.

Thoughtful, moving and deeply humane, this is a novel best read when you are in a reflective mood and willing to sit with both sorrow and hope.

‘You never lost me in the first place. I’ve been here all along’.

[Aga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | The Borough Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

What really attracted me to this story was the exploration of loss and grief.

Margaret is 74 years old and grieving the loss of her beloved husband, Derek. When she receives a visit from a very unlikely visitor, she becomes determined to finally discover what happened to her eleven-year-old daughter, Jeanie, who disappeared one day while doing her paper round.

The story is told across multiple timelines, and while I usually enjoy that structure, here it was sometimes quite tricky to follow. What I did enjoy was Margaret’s emotional journey and her need to uncover the truth about Jeanie’s fate. The grief was handled with care, and there were moments that felt very tender and moving.

There is also an element of magical realism woven through the story, which I appreciated in parts.

What didn’t fully land for me was the portrayal of heaven and the afterlife. I understand this is the author’s interpretation, and I respect the creative choice, but personally it didn’t quite work for me. It pulled me out of the story at times, especially when the grief and mystery elements felt so grounded and emotionally strong.

I also found myself wishing we had been given a chapter from Jeanie’s perspective. I think that would have added another emotional layer to the story and made her disappearance hit even harder.

The ending was good, even if a little predictable, but it still worked for the story.

Overall, this was an interesting read with a moving premise, but for me it felt a little repetitive in places and would have benefited from tighter editing. A thoughtful story about grief, loss, motherhood, and the need for closure.

Overall, this was an interesting and thoughtful read with a moving premise, especially around grief and motherhood. However, the repetition, the slightly tricky timelines, and the portrayal of the afterlife meant it didn’t fully land for me.

For me, this is a 3.5 star read, rounded down to 3 stars.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story:
40 years ago, Margaret and Derek’s 11-year-old daughter Jeanie went missing, never to be found. Now Derek has passed away, and Margaret is finding it increasingly hard to find any enthusiasm for life.

But when an unlikely visitor turns up in her front room, Margaret is set on a path to finally uncover the truth of her daughter’s disappearance. Sometimes the truth is there to be found… But you just need some distance to be able to see it.

My thoughts:
Author Joanna Cannon is well known for her quietly heart-wrenching books, and I was excited to read her latest novel “An Unlikely Visitor”. In it, we meet Margaret, who has just lost her husband Derek to cancer and is both furious and destroyed by it. From being a hub of the community, she has withdrawn to such an extent that it seems too far to come back from.

But one day she is confronted by a visitor who pushes her to get back into the world. And not just that – they want Margaret to find out what happened to her daughter Jeanie, who disappeared 40 years ago, and was never seen again.

This is a hard book to review without giving too much away, but as Margaret digs back into the past, she also finds herself connecting with the present and those around her; only to discover that many of the answers she has been seeking are there, now she has enough time and distance from them to see them clearly.

The absolute heartbreak of her loss, and her guilt at not being a good mother (she never forgives herself for not properly noticing what her daughter was wearing the day she vanished, meaning she can’t give the police a proper description), are painful to read, and perfectly capture the devastation this event has on Margaret and Derek’s lives. Though it contains many tragedies, small and large, this is ultimately an uplifting book about love and resilience, and the final line is absolute perfection. I loved this book and recommend it wholeheartedly to all. Just make sure you have your tissues at the ready!

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s tough for Margaret these days since Derek died and the couple never get over the disappearance of their daughter Jeanie many years ago. Despite their profound loss, they do build a nice life together but these days she feels the walls are closing in as it’s just so hard. Then an unlikely visitor appears and perhaps for the first time in many, many years she can find some answers about what really happens to Jeanie.

Fellow book lovers will know exactly what I mean when I say this has been the most wonderful reading experience encompassing all the emotions. Ever since her debut novel ‘The Trouble with Goats and Sheep’, I have loved Joanna Cannon‘s books and I’m certain this will be another best seller. It’s a beautiful book which is beautifully written with genuine feeling, empathy, sensitivity and understanding of Margaret and her life. I can honestly say I truly love being in Margaret’s company for the hours it takes to read this. The author has quite simply taken an ordinary, everyday life and made it extraordinary in every possible way. It’s wonderfully written with some witty and apt turns of phrase, summing situations up to perfection. The characterisation is exemplary.

Clearly, the novel has grief at its core but it’s grief wrapped up in a mystery which evolves naturally through the writing. It’s also sprinkled with a lot of magic and some marvellously surreal moments which the author 100% makes me buy into. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, the loss of Jeanie and the living with the not knowing, the loss of lovely Derek but it’s also heartwarming and life affirming. I defy anyone not to have a tear in their eye at the end. It’s a truly poignant story written with compassion and huge imagination. Absolutely fabulous.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, HarperFiction/The Borough Press for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

We start with our main character, Margaret, as she is still coming to terms with the death of her husband Derek. Things had been hard for them since the disappearance of their daughter Jeanie. Margaret is really struggling being on her own now and has basically become a recluse, shunning most attempts from her friends and neighbours to get her going again.
Until, one day she returns home to find that she has a visitor. One whose appearance is just the nudge she needs to both try and get on with her life, and also to attempt to finally work out what happened to her daughter when she disappeared from her paper round some 40 odd years ago...
I can't say anything else about this book for fear of spoiling it. It's best to go in blind if you can and then you will be able to discover all the delights this story has to offer as the author intends.
It's a happy-sad book, and you'll know exactly what I mean by that once you actually get going. In fact, it runs the whole gamut of emotions - I laughed, I wept, I ugly cried, but I also sighed with relief at times too. It's that sort of emotional read that I need once in a while to get away from all the crime books I usually devour!
The characters are all wonderful and easy to connect to / emote with. It's hard to say too much more about them, again worried about spoilers, but there are a few surprises along the way...
As well as the emotion and grief, and humour, there is also a mystery to be solved. That of what happened to Jeanie. The author does a really great job of balancing the whole, as well as delivering a wonderful ending.
To date, I have only read one other book by this author, Three Things About Elsie, and I enjoyed that as much as I did this. In an attempt to play catch-up I have now added her other two books to my TBR. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aware that Joanna Cannon has a huge following, I acknowledge that I’m late to the party. But I’m don’t think I’ll be staying very long.

I appreciate that Cannon depicts her characters and their surroundings carefully and that she engages with horrific circumstances very sensitively. I can see from others’ reviews of ‘An Unlikely Visitor’ how she touches readers’ hearts with her tale of Margaret, an elderly woman not coping very well with the death of her husband. And who can blame Margaret? Derek has been a stalwart and loving support throughout their marriage as they try to live without their only daughter, missing from the age of eleven and with no explanation as to what happened on the terrible day when Jeanie cycled off on her paper round and never came home.

I appreciate that the author plans to allow Margaret to come to some sort of an understanding about her daughter’s story. However, because everything is predicated on such a terrible incident, I found it difficult to accept the fanciful way in which this is done. In life, sadly, there are stories of children who disappear, never to be found. There is often no answer.

Nonetheless, whilst I found myself out of tune with the plot, I recognise that Cannon often highlights elements of human behaviour very effectively, such as when Margaret thinks back to her school days and remembers that, ‘…as strange as it sounds, bullying by exclusion, with its small acts of quiet cruelty, can be more painful and even more damaging that its counterpart.’ This is a well-written novel that the author’s fans will no doubt enjoy very much.

My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollinsUK, HarperFiction for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

[Jo Bardgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unlikely visitor
By Joanna Cannon
Published by HarperCollins Publishers

Joanna Cannon gives us a beautifully written story of love, grief and patience. So many wonderful words, questions and moments of reflection that will resonate with anyone who has experienced a true love lost.

Margaret and Dericks daughter Jeanie never comes home from her paper round. That was over forty years ago now and the mystery has never been resolved. The pain and suffering has moulded their lives. Questions never answered. Closure never came. But their strength as a couple never faulted.

But life doesn’t stand still for everyone. People get on with their lives, they grow old, memories fade. But for Margaret and Derick their lives will never be the same again.

Now Margaret is widowed and has too much time to wonder, question and query about what was missed in the disappearance of her daughter all those years ago. Despite her determination to find out the truth, Margaret feels so alone, lost in her thoughts. Until one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visi­tor, her Derick, talking to her in her home. Questioning him and his presence, together they set out to discover what really hap­pened to Jeanie.

Although full of sadness, Margaret still keeps her strength and her dry humour will make you smile, punch the air with a “Yes” as she opens up her mind and her heart.
Never before have I read such pure love and compassion when your heart has been broken.
And this phrase “Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story…” made me think, brought a tear to my eye and made me reflect on my own grief. Painful as it is, life must go on for the living!

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgallery

[Helbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Unlikely Visitor centres around every parent’s worst nightmare: a missing child, and the unbearable uncertainty left behind in the wake of that disappearance. This is the third book I’ve read by Joanna Cannon and once again she manages to take enormous themes — grief, loneliness, ageing and loss — and make them feel intimate and quietly recognisable.
What struck me almost immediately was how emotional I felt in the opening pages as Margaret reflects on the dying ash tree that has to be cut down. It sounds such a small thing, but Cannon writes these moments so tenderly that they become loaded with grief and inevitability long before the larger tragedy fully unfolds.
The book deals beautifully with loss in all its forms, particularly the idea of losing a partner later in life after decades spent together. There’s something very gentle and compassionate in the way Cannon writes about older characters and long marriages — the quiet habits, irritations and dependencies that become impossible to separate from love itself.
It’s also an incredibly easy book to read, which I mean as a compliment. The prose is uncomplicated, warm and deeply relatable.
That said, at times the novel felt slightly too sweet for me. Despite the very hard-hitting themes at its centre, there were moments where the sentimentality threatened to soften the sharper emotional edges a little too much. I occasionally wanted a bit more restraint, a little more space for the darker feelings to sit without being wrapped up so neatly.
Even so, Cannon remains wonderfully observant about human vulnerability and provides a gentle reminder of the ways many people are carrying grief alongside ordinary daily life.

[Nicola Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Ford is simply going through the motions since the death of her beloved husband, Derek, and as a couple they spent 40 years in much the same state after their 11 year old daughter, Jeanie, went missing. Margaret is lonely, wondering what her life can be now she’s all alone, when she comes home to the Unlikely Visitor of the title. I’m not going to spoil for you who that visitor is and I hope nobody else does, because it leads to a most exquisite cascade of events and meetings that will hopefully help Margaret to work out a few things, not least of which is what actually happened to Jeanie.

Having read Joanna Cannon’s books before, I know that she excels at this kind of story, one of what it means to be human, taking a tale that is riddled with despair and weaving it into a touching and emotional one. I loved every bit of An Unlikely Visitor, which follows Margaret now and also takes us back to the events surrounding Jeanie’s disappearance, the two strands entwining to create a novel that is plotted to perfection.

The characterisations are just wonderful. I had this image in my mind of Margaret scurrying around, gathering information, with the presence of her visitor creating some amusing scenes. It’s not only Margaret who stands out though, every single character jumps off the page and each one feels 100% real.

Although the book has its sadnesses, it also feels really uplifting and hopeful and it was absolute joy to read. It went in a direction I couldn’t have guessed at and in different hands it might not have worked, but Cannon manages to get the balance just right, making this a beautiful, comforting and poignant exploration of loss, grief, love, family and connections. I adored it.

[Denis Wheller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forty years ago, Margaret and Derek’s daughter disappeared. Ninety-four days ago Derek died. The latter natural, the former a mystery, still unsolved. Left on her own, Margaret, now seventy-five, is naturally bereft, not just because Derek has gone, but because her lifelong fixation about the whereabouts of her daughter, Jeanie; alive, dead, kidnapped, murdered? The busy life she has created for herself over the years, to mask this constant concern, needed Derek’s support. She is sinking! And then the eponymous visitor appears and suddenly she is galvanised into action. The answer to Jeanie’s disappearance is out there. Someone knows, and when she can piece together who that someone is she will finally answer the question.
Life and Death, and what happens when the former becomes the latter, are deep questions. This story, while being a murder-mystery, beautifully explores these issues; metaphysically rather than empirically. It’s an unconventional, but evocative, book. The early chapters are Margaret’s stream of consciousness on these matters, precipitated by the aftermath of Derek’s death. Some might find it a bit too philosophical, and rather aphoristic, but the pace picks up when the visitor appears and supplies Margaret with new sources of evidence. I did solve the mystery quite early on, but that isn’t really what carries the reader through to the dénouement. That is down to the skilful writing and the emotion that it unleashes.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

[Teresa Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Unlikely Visitor
Having read The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and Three Things About Elsie I was really looking forward to reading this novel. The story revolves around Margaret. She is finding life difficult following the death of her husband Derek just 90 days ago. The couple have also never recovered from the disappearance of their daughter Jeanie many years ago.
The book also talks very movingly about the death of the tree which had provide shade and shelter and how Margaret never really recovered from its loss either. She always felt there was something missing. Margaret is slowing down, she does not seem to be able to manage all of the things she was involved with in the past and then an unlikely visitor arrives in her house and perhaps, finally, she can find the answers to questions she has been asking for so many years.
The book is an emotional roller coaster and what I find so powerful about Joanna Cannon’s writing is her ability to capture the tiny details of everyday life. You really believe in Margaret as a character and you read about her life as if she is a friend. There is genuine emotion in the writing and I love the touching details of the relationship between Derek and Margaret; such as the way in which she cannot manage to mend the fuse in the toaster because that was always Derek’s domain.
It is s poignant story which is written with humanity and compassion and yes there was a tear in my eye as I reached the end of the novel. I will be recommending this book at my various book groups and would like to thank Joanna Cannon, Harper Fiction and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following the death of her husband of many many years, Margaret feels as if 'her time is up'. She isn't coping with his absence and has all but given up doing anything, seeing anyone, doing things like replacing a fuse in the toaster plug and eating for that matter. The house is heavy and quiet without Derek and this comes on top of Margaret losing her daughter, Jeanie, some forty years earlier when the child was out on a paper round and never returned home.
Then, one day, as Margaret in the edge of giving up entirely, she comes home to find an unlikely visitor waiting for her in the living room. The reappearance of this stranger is the spark Margaret needs to revisit Jeanie's disappearance. Together they return to people who were at the centre of their lives at the time, some of whom, it turns out, knew more than they had said.
Although a story of grief and loss, the book is written with great compassion and even the occasional flashes of humour. As Margaret navigates her way though her grief and learns to open her mind to making the impossible, possible, she also embarks on a journey to solve a decades long mystery. In front of our eyes she goes from being low and depressed and to helping her neighbours and making the world a sunnier place.
Told with emotion and compassion and a very easy read despite being rooted in loss and grief and a special mention for the satisfying ending.
With thanks to the author, Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

[Daphne Sharpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1985, Margaret and Derek Ford’s daughter Jeanie, disappeared whilst doing her paper round. Despite the best efforts of the Police and the neighbourhood, she was never found.
Present day takes us to Margaret, she is now 74 and has been recently widowed. Life has lost its purpose, everywhere around her are older people, lost, forgotten by family and society, just waiting to die.
Derek wanted to move away, but she refused, how would Jeanie find them when she came back?
One day, a very unexpected visitor arrives that makes Margaret question everything about her life and this event brings about opportunities to finally find the answers she has been searching for.
A difficult book to review without giving away too much. This author always writes such warm, tender and emotional books, they are full of wry humour, empathy and compassion.
The pain of an unexpected death makes us question the whole meaning of life. This story had a profound effect upon me. I lost my daughter in law eighteen months ago, she was only 36 years old. Trying to grieve and support my son and grandchildren has been so draining, it is hard for others to express their feelings, as their life continues.
A beautifully written story, keep a box of tissues handy.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HarperCollinsUK for my advance copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review. A five star rating.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of this book is what immediately intrigued me. The narration of grief under the themes of magical realism and solving of a mystery sounded right up my alley! And the first 50% of this book had me highlighting quotes, laughing, and crying. I fell in love with the inner dialogue of Margaret, she was such an endearing character who I related to and her outlook on the world around her was so fun and powerful to read! And then the magical realism aspects came in and I devoured it, the dialogue between Margaret and Derek and how the author showed the familiarity with each other and how they naturally fell back into it, was such a bittersweet thing to read. The way grief was portrayed in this was perfect. No note absolutely perfect! There are so many quotes in this book that will stay with me.

My only issue was, the plot of solving the case of her missing daughter was like oil to water to the first half of this book. I felt like the two themes just didn’t mesh at all and the heavy tones of her investigating felt awkward against the quirkiness of the rest of the book. It felt like the author was trying to cover too much and the different plots (of the mystery and her grief of her husband passing) didn’t exactly flow together like I’d wanted. I would’ve much rather had it have been one or the other, preferably the plot of her and her husband.

And the ending felt soooo rushed and left me feeling unsatisfied with how everything was boom boom boom just info dumped on me. It could’ve been so much more emotionally satisfying, but instead it just fell flat.

The first half EASY 5 stars, the last half dropped my rating to a 3.5.

Thank you so much to netgalley and scribner for the ARC of this book

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is ten years since Joanna Cannon’s astonishing debut; The Trouble With Goats and Sheep stole the hearts of readers and made her a best selling author.
Margaret’s story begins in absence: 94 days without Derek, 40 years without Jeanie. Yet in the hands of Joanna Cannon, what could feel unbearably heavy is instead told with extraordinary tenderness and grace. Her writing always has that rare ability to hold grief up to the light without ever overwhelming the reader; there’s a softness and a humanity that feels both intimate and so real.
And then, just when you think you understand the reality of Margaret’s world, everything shifts. The arrival of the ‘unlikely visitor’ is handled magically and the story lifts, carrying both Margaret and the reader on a journey that is as hopeful as it is poignant.
The character development is wonderful. Margaret and Derek feel utterly real; their love story, woven through memory and loss, is both heartwarming and quietly devastating. There’s humour too; gentle and perfectly judged, and this brings balance to the novel’s deeper emotional currents.
This is storytelling at its most compassionate: wise, moving, and beautifully observed. It will make you smile, it will almost certainly make you cry, but above all, it will leave you with a sense of warmth and something like hope.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The story centres around Margaret, who has recently become a widow. She is lonely and sad, but also quietly determined as she tries to rebuild her life.

One day Margaret returns home to find an unexpected visitor, and from that moment the story unfolds between the past and the present as she becomes more determined to finally find out what happened to her daughter.

This is a gentle, character-driven story which I found hard to put down. I became very invested in Margaret and really wanted her to find some answers. The book includes some magical elements, which may not be to everyone’s liking. I had slightly mixed feelings about this at times, as these elements sometimes felt unusual, but I also felt they were needed for the story to work and I soon accepted them as part of the story.

The story kept me interested throughout and I was always keen to get back to reading it. I was also satisfied with the ending, which felt neatly wrapped up and fitting for the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys gentle, emotional mysteries with a touch of something a little different.

[Chris Scotland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel tells the tale of Margaret, her late husband Derek, and Jeanie, their daughter who vanished without trace 40 years ago. Now, widowed for three months, quiet Margaret doesn't think there's really a lot of time left for her, either; before Derek died, they never did discover what happened to Jeanie, though always, a lingering hope that she may one day walk back in to the family home never quite left Margaret.

The opening sequences of this story were so poignant, yet not unnecessarily embellished, as Jeanie's story is revealed and we're shown how Margaret and Derek coped in their own sad ways... Their devotion to each other shines through and they somehow live their lives for all of those 40 years.

Except, three months after her husband's death, the eponymous visitor appears at the house... And for a little while, Margaret's life becomes an adventure with a mission, and, just maybe, she'll discover what did happen all those years ago.

This story moved me on so many levels, as the mystery at the heart of these two people's lives is gradually unwrapped. It's also a story of a tree, a thing of beauty that represents all that Margaret feels she had, but lost; and of a dog which, while only appearing briefly, offers resonance and hope.

[Louise Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret thinks her time is up.... Things have been hard since her husband Derek died, and they never really got over the disappearance of their daughter, Jeanie, all those years ago. Despite everything, they built a lovely life together.... It's just starting to feel impossible for Margaret on her own. Then one day, Margaret returns home to an unlikely visitor, and together they set out to discover what really happened to Jeanie. Perhaps if you knock on enough doors, you might find another end to your story.

What a wonderful story. Margaret and Derek have the kind of relationship most couples would love to have. The disappearance of their daughter forty years ago still lies heavy in Margaret's heart.Now Derek has passed away, Margaret knows she has lost her rock in life.

This is an emotional roller coaster that has been beautifully written. I loved Margaret, she's such a lovely character. This is a difficult book to review without giving away parts of the story. I loved how the story ended. I highly recommend this book.

Published 4th June 2026

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction and the author #JoanneCannon for my ARC of #AnUnlikelyVisitor in exchange for an honest review.