Phoebe Luckhurst

the-lock-in

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Kate-Atkinson

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

The hilarious and heartwarming brand new romcom perfect for fans of The Flatshare

The Back Up Man

The Lock In

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

Entertaining, endearing, and truly unique. Found myself wincing and laughing with familiarity

Emma Gannon, bestselling author of Olive

Evening Standard, 'Best New Books in 2021'

David Nicholls for millennials . . . The Lock In is a dream read: an immaculately plotted romcom which vividly captures both late teenagehood and twentysomething houseshares

A high-concept romcom that's stuffed full of belly laughs and nostalgia

Such a fun, clever, original and massively entertaining read . . . I love it, you'll love it

I LOVED this book . . . I highly recommend The Lock In if you fancy a fun summer time read

Beautifully written, warm and fun with a dose of early noughties nostalgia, The Lock In is a perfect summer read

I loved this book. Brilliantly written and so perceptive on the trials and tribulations of Generation Rent, it's also screamingly funny, deliciously nostalgic and really just a very fun time. I almost wish they'd stayed locked in for longer

An immensely readable, witty and well-crafted debut . . . a very millennial tale of love, loneliness and friendship

This will have you both cringing and crying with laughter

On one hand a feel-good, laugh out loud funny escapist read, and on another a blistering critique of twentysomethings' experience of renting in the capital

This hilarious debut will give you all the lols you need this summer. A highly relatable comedy about flatmates, hangovers and terrible landlords

Funny and compelling from page one and so well written. Such a brilliant premise and really well executed. Officially a huge fan of Phoebe Luckhurst!

Lucy Vine, bestselling author of Hot Mess

A funny, joyful hug of a book! A nostalgic, pitch perfect ode to the awkwardness and hilarity of yearning teenage years and house sharing in your twenties

Loved the concept and characters. . . it's very funny

Irresistible premise . . . addictive

The Laugh-Out-Loud Romcom Shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction

One Saturday morning a flooded kitchen leads best mates Ellen and Alexa into their attic. 
But when Ben - Alexa's date from the night before - walks in, the handle breaks, and all are trapped. 
While Ellen nurses her hangover, she watches her best friend fall for this gorgeous stranger. 
Only to come to the horrifying realisation that she knows him from somewhere. 
Frantically searching her memories, Ellen wonders: is Ben really who she thinks he is? 
And more importantly, what on earth is she going to do about it . . . ?

SHORTLISTED for the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction 
SHORTLISTED for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 
 
 AN OLD LOVE. A STUCK DOOR. AND THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE . . . 
 
THE FUNNIEST ROM COM OF THE YEAR! 
COSMOPOLITAN'S BEST NEW GOOD BOOK TO READ 
 
 
'Joyful' STYLIST 
'Hilarious' WOMAN 
'The year's most original romcom' ELLE 
'Proper laugh-out-loud stuff' FABULOUS MAGAZINE 
'Stuffed full of belly laughs and nostalgia' RED 
'A dream read' i 
_______ 
 
They'd like to be going out. 
 
Instead they're stuck in . . . 
 
Best friends Ellen and Alexa have always been close. 
 
Until one fateful morning when they get locked in their attic with hapless housemate Jack and Alexa's date from the night before, Ben. 
 
With no way out, hangovers and the hours crawling by, it seems best friends can get too close for comfort. 
 
Especially when Ellen realises she already knows Ben - perhaps rather better than Alexa does . . . 
 
Fans of Dolly Alderton, Beth O'Leary and Mhairi McFarlane will LOVE this oh-so relatable tale of love, landlords and what can happen behind locked doors 
_______ 
 
AS SEEN IN GRAZIA 
 
SEE WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT THE LOCK IN: 
 
'This will have you both cringing and crying with laughter' WOMAN'S WEEKLY 
'A funny, joyful hug of a book! ' Cressida McLaughlin 
'An immaculately plotted romcom' i 
'A hilarious debut' EVENING STANDARD 
'I LOVED this book . . . I highly recommend The Lock In' CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER 
'Funny and compelling from page one' LUCY VINE, author of Hot Mess 
'Beautifully written, warm and fun' Laura Kay, author of The Split 
'I cannot recommend this book enough!' 5***** READER REVIEW 
'Made me smile, laugh, cringe and inwardly cheer' 5***** READER REVIEW

Phoebe Luckhurst was born in London and brought up in Glasgow. She is a Senior Commissioning Editor at The Sunday Times Magazine, and has written features and interviews for the Guardian, Sunday Times Style, Elle, ES Magazine, Grazia, the Telegraph and Vogue. Phoebe has had the theme tune to The OC stuck in her head since 2003 and once almost spent her student loan on a micro-pig. She no longer shops online when drunk. 
The Lock In was her debut novel, and her second, The Back Up Man, will be published in 2023.

The Lock In

The Laugh-Out-Loud Romcom Shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction

Format:

Buy the book from:

Entertaining, endearing, and truly unique. Found myself wincing and laughing with familiarity

The year's most original romcom

Hilarious

David Nicholls for millennials . . . The Lock In is a dream read: an immaculately plotted romcom which vividly captures both late teenagehood and twentysomething houseshares

A high-concept romcom that's stuffed full of belly laughs and nostalgia

Such a fun, clever, original and massively entertaining read . . . I love it, you'll love it

**I LOVED this book . . . I highly recommend The Lock In if you fancy a fun summer time read**

**Beautifully written, warm and fun with a dose of early noughties nostalgia, The Lock In is a perfect summer read**

I loved this book. Brilliantly written and so perceptive on the trials and tribulations of Generation Rent, it's also screamingly funny, deliciously nostalgic and really just a very fun time. I almost wish they'd stayed locked in for longer

An immensely readable, witty and well-crafted debut . . . a very millennial tale of love, loneliness and friendship

About Phoebe Luckhurst

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter