MEL MCGRATH is an Essex girl, co-founder of Killer Women, and an award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction.
As MJ McGrath she writes the acclaimed Edie Kiglatuk series of Arctic mysteries, which have been optioned for TV, were twice longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger, and were Times and Financial Times thrillers of the year. As Melanie McGrath she wrote the critically acclaimed, bestselling memoir Silvertown. As Mel McGrath she is the author of the bestselling psychological thriller Give Me the Child. The Guilty Party is her latest novel.
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © Mel McGrath 2019
Mel McGrath asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © March 2019 ISBN: 9780008217105
This edition 2019/05/07
‘Dark, thrilling, impossible to predict’
ERIN KELLY
‘Brilliant’
ANN CLEEVES
‘Toxic friendship at its worst. Disturbing and dark yet very compelling’
MEL SHERRATT
‘A morally-complex, haunting thriller. The prose is breath-taking. The plot, layered, tense and utterly captivating. If you’re in the market for something sublime, you could not do better than this’
IMRAN MAHMOOD
‘Gripping, haunting, unstoppable. A ruthless and savage page turner’
ROSS ARMSTRONG
‘A dark and immersive journey into the heart of a toxic friendship group and the lies they tell themselves and each other to survive. I loved it’
HARRIET TYCE
‘A psychological tour de force with a superb plot from one of the UK’s most gifted crime writers’
KATE RHODES
‘An intriguing, deftly plotted novel of unravelling friendships and dark secrets’
LIZ NUGENT
‘Honest, dark and searching. I couldn’t put it down’
ALISON JOSEPH
‘Compelling, twisty, thought-provoking, and utterly unputdownable’
ROZ WATKINS
‘Mel McGrath expertly peels back the layers of her characters’ moral self-justification to expose the ugly truth. A scorching, clever thriller’
TAMMY COHEN
For my friends – I promise that none of
these characters are based on you.
There is no greater sorrow than to know another’s secret when you cannot help them.
ANTON CHEKHOV, UNCLE VANYA
Contents