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‘Gripping, tense and moving’ Claire McGowan
‘A page-turner of a thriller’ Saskia Sarginson
‘I was absolutely gripped from the first page to the last’ Karen Dionne
Clare and Lorraine have been friends since college and trust each other with their lives. So when Lorraine, a single mother, needs a much-needed night away without her children, she calls on Clare and her husband Sam to look after them. They’re godparents – what could go wrong?
While Clare and Sam believe the children to be asleep, the unimaginable happens and Clare finds baby Theo lifeless in his room. The police are called. Statements are taken. But the biggest nightmare for any parent is about to spiral out of control.
Because a lie has been told. An enormous and terrible one.
Out of Clare, Sam and Lorraine, one of them isn’t telling the truth . . .
The gripping and emotional new thriller from the Richard & Judy Book Club and international bestselling author of The Guilty One.
Praise for Lisa Ballantyne:
‘Gripping and emotionally charged’ Clare Mackintosh
‘Unsettling and compulsive’ Rosamund Lupton
‘Tense’ Sunday Times
‘Moving, insightful’ Guardian
‘Emotionally intense’ Richard & Judy Book Club
‘Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling’ Lee Child
‘Grips like a vice’ Daily Mail
‘Thought-provoking and clever’ Gilly Macmillan
‘Tense; moving’ Rachel Abbott
‘A page-turner’ Daily Express
‘I couldn’t get this book out of my head’ Jenny Colgan
‘Outstanding’ Daily Record
‘A page-turner of a thriller’ Saskia Sarginson
‘I was absolutely gripped from the first page to the last’ Karen Dionne
Clare and Lorraine have been friends since college and trust each other with their lives. So when Lorraine, a single mother, needs a much-needed night away without her children, she calls on Clare and her husband Sam to look after them. They’re godparents – what could go wrong?
While Clare and Sam believe the children to be asleep, the unimaginable happens and Clare finds baby Theo lifeless in his room. The police are called. Statements are taken. But the biggest nightmare for any parent is about to spiral out of control.
Because a lie has been told. An enormous and terrible one.
Out of Clare, Sam and Lorraine, one of them isn’t telling the truth . . .
The gripping and emotional new thriller from the Richard & Judy Book Club and international bestselling author of The Guilty One.
Praise for Lisa Ballantyne:
‘Gripping and emotionally charged’ Clare Mackintosh
‘Unsettling and compulsive’ Rosamund Lupton
‘Tense’ Sunday Times
‘Moving, insightful’ Guardian
‘Emotionally intense’ Richard & Judy Book Club
‘Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling’ Lee Child
‘Grips like a vice’ Daily Mail
‘Thought-provoking and clever’ Gilly Macmillan
‘Tense; moving’ Rachel Abbott
‘A page-turner’ Daily Express
‘I couldn’t get this book out of my head’ Jenny Colgan
‘Outstanding’ Daily Record
Reviews
This tense psychological thriller focuses relentlessly on the way its characters cope as stress piles up and the mess deepens
Thrilling . . . so tense
Grips like a vice
A compelling and emotional read with convincing characters that stayed in my head. Lisa Ballantyne deals with a difficult and controversial subject in a sensitive and thoughtful way
Dark, intelligent, suspenseful
Thought-provoking, brave and challenging, this book is an unsettling and compulsive read
One of the most readable, emotionally intense novels of the year
A page-turner with real emotional depth
A powerful, rich read: it's a page-turner of a thriller, raising urgent moral questions, and yet at the same time, at its heart it's a tender, emotional exploration of friendship and love. I couldn't put this beautifully crafted, beautifully written book down; and the complex, flawed characters stayed with me for a long time. I loved it.
Thought-provoking
Thought-provoking and clever
Gripping, tense and moving
Tense, unsettling
As compelling as it is heart-breaking, a beautifully crafted story of unspeakable tragedy that tests the characters' relationships to their limits. I was absolutely gripped from the first page to the last. Highly recommended!
Moving, insightful
I couldn't get this book out of my head. It kept me up all night and guessing the whole way through. I loved it
Praise for Lisa Ballantyne:
A gripping and emotionally charged story. Just brilliant
A tense and moving story that I will remember for a long time
Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling
