Every place has its ghosts. Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, has more than most.

17 years ago, its inhabitants were hit by tragedy when a school bus veered off the road and everyone on board drowned. Everyone, that is, except Joseph Ashe. His miraculous survival has haunted him and the town ever since.

Now a Detective Sergeant in the local police, Joe is called to the scene of a brutal and apparently inexplicable crime. The whole town is spooked, but Joe’s new boss, DI Laurie Bower, more used to inner-city police work, has no time for superstition. She just wants to find the very real killer who has left no trace and apparently had no motive.

Joining forces, Joe and Laurie work to uncover the secrets of Edenscar, both past and present.

But when you dig up the dead, expect to get your hands dirty…

PRAISE FOR SARAH HILARY:

‘An astonishingly gifted writer’ MARIAN KEYES

'A master of her craft… she makes the words sing' ANN CLEEVES

'Sarah Hilary writes beautifully and unflinchingly' PETER JAMES

'Hilary is my drop-everything writer; always original, always bang-on psychologically, always gripping' ALEX MARWOOD

'Sarah Hilary has always known how to chill her readers' VAL MCDERMID

‘A master of her craft. In every book she makes the words sing’ – Ann Cleeves

The last thing she remembers is standing outside the empty house. One she was employed to pack, ready for removal. Her job is her life. It is her compulsion to take care of an owner’s precious possessions, to do whatever it takes to help them move on. Now she is cold, dirty, damp, trapped in its cellar with no chance of escape, miles from anywhere. His prisoner.

And then he returns.

Her captor believes she holds the answers to why a young girl was murdered a year ago. He refuses to let her go until she reveals her secrets. But he doesn’t know she has hidden depths, and an anger she works hard to control.

The battle lines are drawn. They are the only two people who can solve the mystery of the dead girl. But when the truth is revealed, whose life will shatter?

* * *

Praise for Sarah Hilary:

‘Nail-biting, heart-wrenching stuff’ – Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key

‘A mesmerizing story of family and community, secrets and lies. Psychologically rich and captivatingly told’ – Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me

‘‘It’s strange and compelling, and no one else could have written it’ – Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses

‘A master of her craft. In every book she makes the words sing’ – Ann CleevesThe last thing she remembers is standing outside the empty house. One she was employed to pack, ready for removal. Her job is her life. It is her compulsion to take care of an owner’s precious possessions, to do whatever it takes to help them move on. Now she is cold, dirty, damp, trapped in its cellar with no chance of escape, miles from anywhere. His prisoner.

And then he returns.

Her captor believes she holds the answers to why a young girl was murdered a year ago. He refuses to let her go until she reveals her secrets. But he doesn’t know she has hidden depths, and an anger she works hard to control.

The battle lines are drawn. They are the only two people who can solve the mystery of the dead girl. But when the truth is revealed, whose life will shatter?

* * *

Praise for Sarah Hilary and Black Thorn:

‘Nail-biting, heart-wrenching stuff . . . has the atmosphere and drama of a modern-day du Maurier novel’ – Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key

‘A mesmerizing story of family and community, secrets and lies. Psychologically rich and captivatingly told’ – Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me

‘‘It’s strange and compelling, and no one else could have written it’ – Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses

‘An astonishingly gifted writer’ – Marian Keyes

‘Immersive, claustrophobic, unbearably tense and quite brilliant’ – Ann Cleeves

How much do you really know about the people next door?

Blackthorn Ashes was meant to be their forever home. For the first six families moving into the exclusive new housing development, it was a chance to live a peaceful life on the cliffs overlooking the Cornish sea, safe in the knowledge that it had been created just for them.

But six weeks later, paradise is lost. Six people are dead. And Blackthorn Ashes is left abandoned and unfinished, its dark shadows hiding all manner of secrets.

One of its surviving residents, exiled to a local caravan park in the wake of the tragedy, is Agnes Gale, an autistic woman trying to survive the fallout with her family. She is determined to find out the truth about what happened. Even if that truth is deadlier than she could have ever believed possible . . .

With a compelling, diverse cast of characters, and moving back-and-forth between time periods with an increasingly pervasive sense of unease, Black Thorn is perfect for book clubs and fans of Belinda Bauer.

‘A creepy and atmospheric tale, beautifully and sensitively written’ – The Guardian

‘This one’s a real cracker’ – Crime Fiction Lover

Readers love Black Thorn:

‘Grips so hard you can’t stop reading’

‘Clever, haunting and beautifully written’

‘An author that never puts a foot wrong’

‘An astonishingly gifted writer’ Marian Keyes

Blackthorn Ashes was meant to be their forever home. For the first six families moving into the exclusive new housing development, it was a chance to live a peaceful life on the cliffs overlooking the Cornish sea, safe in the knowledge that it had been created just for them.

But six weeks later, paradise is lost. Six people are dead. And Blackthorn Ashes is left abandoned and unfinished, its dark shadows hiding all manner of secrets.

One of its surviving residents, Agnes Gale, is determined to find out the truth about what happened. Even if that truth is deadlier than she could have ever believed possible . . .

Praise for Black Thorn:

‘In Black Thorn a small piece of the world collapses – metaphorically, literally and emotionally. This novel is immersive, claustrophobic, unbearably tense and quite brilliant’ Ann Cleeves

‘Nail-biting, heart-wrenching stuff. Black Thorn has the atmosphere and drama of a modern-day du Maurier novel. Sarah Hilary’s uncanny ability to make readers not just see through her characters’ eyes but feel through their skin is unparalleled’ Erin Kelly

‘A mesmerizing story of family and community, secrets and lies. Psychologically rich and captivatingly told‘ Megan Abbott

‘Exudes a tightly-controlled menace that ratchets up to full-blown claustrophobia as the pages turn. A book that oozes under your skin from the opening sentence’ Vaseem Khan

‘Brilliant. Taking a really deep dive into some dark spaces that Sarah brings vividly to life, it’s wonderful and unlike anything else I’ve read lately‘ Mick Herron

‘Multi-layered, unexpected, and carrying a strong emotional punch, Black Thorn is refreshingly different. Sarah Hilary is an exceptionally gifted writer’ Sharon Bolton

‘An absolute master of her craft. Beautiful writing. This book is fascinating on so many levels. Not your run-of-the-mill thriller. A haunting captivating book‘ Imran Mahmood

‘An *extraordinary* book. Beautifully written, densely plotted, with an uncanny insight into the best and worst of family relationships’ Emma Flint

‘A stunning, haunting and often moving novel. I loved it’ Anna Mazzola

‘Sarah Hilary has done it again with this tale of toxicity in all its forms. Excellent writing and tight plotting on top of shifting sands make Black Thorn an unforgettable read with the most sympathetic protagonist I’ve read in years’ Liz Nugent

‘Sarah Hilary is a writer with all the gifts: character and psychology, language and one-more-chapter suspense. In twisting, turning, ever-changing Black Thorn, she shows us how very easily the wrong people can turn paradise into hell on earth‘ Lucie Whitehouse

‘Chilling‘ – Val McDermid, author of The Wire in the Blood

Fragile is a modern Gothic psychological thriller with a contemporary twist on the classic novel Rebecca, from award-winning and critically acclaimed writer Sarah Hilary.

Everything she touches breaks . . .

Nell Ballard is a runaway.

A former foster child with a dark secret she is desperate to keep, all Nell wants is to find a place she can belong.

So when a position comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the opportunity with both hands.

But her new lodgings may not be the safe haven she was hoping for. Her employer has secrets of his own and lives by a rigid set of rules she must abide by.

But is Nell’s arrival at the Villas really the coincidence it seems? After all, she knows more than most how fragile people can be – and how easy they are to break . . .

Further praise for Fragile:

‘Perfectly plotted, beautifully written modern Gothic. I absolutely loved it‘ – Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said

‘Beautifully crafted, smart and unsettling‘ – Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses

‘A dark, mesmeric fever-dream of a book’ – Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10

‘Ingenious, original and brilliant‘ – Will Dean, author of Red Snow

‘Extraordinary‘ – Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy and The Ashes of London

‘A modern-day Highsmith‘ – Steve Cavanagh, author of Thirteen

‘A truly outstanding work of modern Gothic’ – Eva Dolan, author of Between Two Evils

‘Highly original, beautifully written‘ – Sharon Bolton, author of The Split

‘A beautifully written modern Gothic masterpiece‘ – Liz Nugent, author of Skin Deep

‘So elegant, so restrained‘ – Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane

‘A gorgeously written, tense and atmospheric novel’ – Gytha Lodge, author of She Lies in Wait

‘Sarah Hilary has always known how to chill her readers – Fragile dials the chill factor up to 11′ – Val McDermid, author of The Wire in the Blood

Fragile is a modern Gothic psychological thriller with a contemporary twist on the classic novel Rebecca from award-winning and critically acclaimed writer Sarah Hilary.

Everything she touches breaks . . .

Nell Ballard is a runaway. A former foster child with a dark secret she is desperately trying to keep, all Nell wants is to find a place she can belong.

So when a job comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the opportunity with both hands.

But her new lodgings may not be the safe haven that she was hoping for. Her employer lives by a set of rigid rules and she soon sees he is hiding secrets of his own.

But is Nell’s arrival at the Villas really the coincidence it seems? After all, she knows more than most how fragile people can be – and how easily they can be to break . . .

Further praise for Fragile:

‘Fragile is absolutely STUNNING, the dreamy atmosphere couples with Nell’s carnal love for Joe put me in mind of Barbara Vine . . . [Sarah Hilary is] an astonishingly gifted writer, with an almost scalpel-like ability to dissect human motivation and convey it deliciously devoid of sentimentality. I was GRIPPED by Fragile, it took me into a whole other world and I was sorry to leave it‘ – Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups

‘Perfectly plotted, beautifully written modern Gothic. Timeless, tense and tender, Fragile will worm it’s way deep into your heart, just as the characters insinuate themselves into each other’s lives. I absolutely loved it‘ – Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said

‘Beautifully crafted, smart and unsettling – a dark river of a book, with a chilling undertow’ – Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses

‘A dark, mesmeric fever-dream of a book’ – Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10

‘Beautifully written modern gothic. I took my time with this, savouring it – the tone of Sarah Hilary’s writing is unique to her: exploring society and human nature in a sensitive, engrossing way. Ingenious, original and brilliant‘ – Will Dean, author of Red Snow

‘Extraordinary . . . an immersive psychological thriller that plunges us into an underworld of emotional and physical exploitation. There are shades of Highsmith . . . Brilliant stuff’ – Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy and The Ashes of London

‘Fragile is a fever dream. A nightmarish slant on the world delivered expertly and with heart. Tension like cold steel. Characters you won’t forget. Sarah Hilary is a modern-day Highsmith.’ – Steve Cavanagh, author of The Thirteen

‘A beguiling thriller of considerable ambition and ingenuity, Fragile marks Sarah Hilary as a twenty-first century du Maurier, a writer who plunges the depths of human nature, finding the darkest, most deviant corners, but also the fleeting hopes and brittle aspirations. This is a truly outstanding work of modern gothic.’ – Eva Dolan, author of Between Two Evils

‘Highly original, beautifully written‘ – Sharon Bolton, author of Now You See Me

‘Sarah Hilary has created a beautifully written modern Gothic masterpiece, so full of intrigue and mysteries layered upon mysteries that the unravelling may well shred your nerves, in the best way possible’ – Liz Nugent, author of Skin Deep

‘The writing is so elegant, so restrained, that it brings to mind Patricia Highsmith. Fragile is a very fine, and very creepy psychological thriller.’ – Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane

‘A gorgeously written, tense and atmospheric novel. Sarah Hilary peels back the layers of mystery so skillfully that it was impossible to look away for a moment.’ – Gytha Lodge, author of She Lies in Wait