Author Eve Smith’s best medicine 

Round & About

Eve Smith tells us about her new book The Cure ahead of her talk at Abingdon Library on 18th September as well as Wantage Literary Festival 

Autumn is the perfect time to curl up with a good book. And if you’re partial to a good thriller, Eve Smith’s latest might well send chills up your spine, especially because the story is embellished with local detail to bring it to life… 

“I first came to Oxford as a student,” Eve tells us. “I loved living in the city so when a job came up at an environmental NGO, I didn’t hesitate. My husband and I moved from London to a cottage in Hailey, where we’ve lived for the past 23 years. I write speculative thrillers, based around issues which scare me, often medical or technological advances that may have significant impacts on our lives. Oxfordshire is a treasure trove for research: there are so many science and literary events. All four of my thrillers are set here, so local readers may recognise some settings.”  

The Cure, which has been picked by The Times as a bestseller of 2025 so far, is about a scientist called Ruth who stumbles across a cure for ageing while researching the disease that killed her young daughter. Just one injection a year reverses your biological clock, guaranteeing a long, healthy life. But Ruth’s cure is hijacked by an ambitious colleague who will risk anything to cheat death. He develops a super-premium upgrade, which has catastrophic consequences. Ruth’s life is shattered… until decades later, she meets Mara, a young investigator tasked with hunting down those who made the deadly cure, and an unlikely alliance begins. 

“The idea of eternal youth has obsessed people throughout history. Huge sums of money are being invested around the world in real-life cures for ageing. So I wondered: what if we did actually discover the secret, and were able to radically extend our lives? What might the consequences be, when resources and space on our planet are already running out?”  

Now that Eve has well and truly put down roots here in Oxfordshire, she’s keen to support local businesses. “My audiobook producers are based in Oxford: Isis Audio. I was lucky enough to visit their studios, and meet the narrators. Also, local bookshops and libraries are hugely important. They really champion local authors and I would urge everyone to support them – our towns would be a lot poorer without them.  

“The Madhatter Bookshop in Burford, Jaffé & Neale in Chippie, the Wantage Bookshop, Daunt Books Summertown, Mostly Books in Abingdon, Blackwell’s and Witney Waterstones have been brilliant, as have local libraries in Abingdon, Carterton, Burford and Headington and Caper Books in East Oxford.” 

As well as her talk at Abingdon Library at 6pm on 18th September (tickets £2pp including a free welcome drink; call 01865 815 005 or email abingdon.library@oxfordshire.gov.uk) Eve will host an Against Breast Cancer fundraiser at the Dean Court in Botley on 3rd October. And at 2pm on 31st October, she’ll give a talk for Wantage Literary Festival.