July Girls

'EXTRAORDINARY. SHOCKING, YET SUBTLE, THE MENACE DRIPS OFF EVERY PAGE . . . AN ALMOST UNBEARABLY GOOD READ' Caz Frear, Sunday Times-bestselling author of SWEET LITTLE LIESEvery year, on the same night in July, a woman is taken from the streets of London; snatched by a killer who moves through the city like a ghost. Addie has a secret. On the morning of her tenth birthday, four bombs were detonated across the capital. That night her dad came home covered in blood. She thought he was hurt in the attacks - but then her sister Jessie found a missing woman's purse hidden in his room.Jessie says they mustn't tell. She says there's nothing to worry about. But when she takes a job looking after the woman's baby daughter, Addie starts to realise that her big sister doesn't always tell her the whole story. And that the secrets they're keeping may start costing lives . . .MORE PRAISE FOR THE JULY GIRLS:'I loved Phoebe Locke's last book, but this one is even better. Stunningly original with a protagonist you'll love' Jane Fallon, author of FAKING FRIENDS'A corker. Twisty and haunting' C. J. Tudor, author of THE CHALK MAN'Phoebe Locke has knocked it out of the park once again with THE JULY GIRLS. Atmospheric and beautifully written, it really is stunningly good' Cass Green, author of IN A COTTAGE IN A WOOD'Chilling, gripping and unputdownable, with a wonderful protagonist - a must-read this summer' Karen Hamilton, author of THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND'A stunningly original coming-of-age thriller . . . A triumph!' Emily Gunnis, author of THE GIRL IN THE LETTER

A cracker. I loved The Tall Man, and The July Girls is even better , I adored The July Girls. Against a backdrop of heat, poverty and terrorism, Phoebe Locke vividly conveys a city stalked by a serial killer. Her protagonist - a ten-year-old girl called Addie - is brilliantly drawn. As the years pass, and she grows older, the tension ratchets up to an almost unbearable level. Beautifully written, not a word out of place, this deserves to be the summer's breakout hit, The July Girls is an extraordinary novel that gets under your skin from the very first page. Shocking, yet subtle, the menace drips off every page, making it an almost unbearably good read. Such an intricate, absorbing story that more than delivers on its knock-out premise (and boy, is it a knock-out!), Superb. Atmospheric, dripping in blood and summer sweat. It's one of those truly unputdownable thrillers, I have just ripped through The July Girls in less than twenty-four hours - what an absolute corker of a novel! I love how Phoebe's characters are so beautifully written, and her talent for building the suspense . . . had me gripped from the first page to the last. I can't wait to see what she does next

Phoebe Locke is the pseudonym of full-time writer Nicci Cloke. She previously worked at the Faber Academy, and hosted London literary salon Speakeasy. She lives and writes in Cambridgeshire.Phoebe Locke is the author of two psychological thrillers, THE TALL MAN and THE JULY GIRLS.