Black Thorn

Sarah Hilary, Theakston’s Crime Novel of the year winner and author of Fragile, returns with Black Thorn, another compulsive psychological thriller, that questions how much you know about the people who live next to you . . .'An astonishingly gifted writer' Marian KeyesBlackthorn 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:‘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

In Black Thorn a small piece of the world collapses - metaphorically, literally and emotionally. This novel is immersive, claustrophobic, unbearably tense and quite brilliant, 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 in unparalleled, A mesmerizing story of family and community, secrets and lies. Psychologically rich and captivatingly told, Sarah Hilary’s Black Thorn sweeps you into its dark embrace from the start and holds you there until its final revelations, 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, Multi-layered, unexpected, and carrying a strong emotional punch, Black Thorn is refreshingly different. Sarah Hilary is an exceptionally gifted writer

Sarah Hilary’s debut novel, Someone Else’s Skin, won the 2015 Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and was a World Book Night selection. The Observer’s Book of the Month (‘superbly disturbing’) and a Richard and Judy Book Club bestseller, it has been published worldwide. No Other Darkness, the second in the series, was shortlisted for a Barry Award in the US. Her DI Marnie Rome series continues with Tastes Like Fear, Quieter Than Killing, Come and Find Me, and Never Be Broken. Black Thorn is her second standalone novel, following Fragile.