Ketchup Clouds by Anabel Pitcher
Published by Indigo, 2012

A teenage boy dies in a tragic accident and Zoe blames herself completely. She is fifteen, consumed by guilt that she can’t share, and sees herself as a murderer.

When a visiting nun to Zoe’s school tells her and her classmates about prisoners on death row, Zoe begins corresponding with Stuart Harris who is awaiting execution for the murder of his wife.

This is the start of Zoe’s release from the enormous guilt she feels. Writing to Stuart, she uses a pen name and a fictional address so she is free to divulge her enormous secret. She tells her story in the only way she can - in letters to this man in prison in Texas. The letters provide an honest, and sometimes humourous picture of her life, including her family, first love and friendships.

This is a gripping thriller which is funny, frightening and sad all at once. Just as Pitcher’s first award-winning novel My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, it has guilt at its core.