‘This darkly comic novel…has the potential to become a cult classic’
DAILY MAIL
‘This isn’t a book for the squeamish or the faint-hearted … think Bridget Jones meets American Psycho’
RED
‘Filthy and funny… a compulsive read’
SUNDAY TIMES
‘You MUST read this book especially if you like your (anti) heroes dirty-mouthed, deadly dark, dark dark. I adored it’
FIONA CUMMINS, AUTHOR OF RATTLE
‘This anti-hero is psychotic without doubt… incredibly funny’
SHOTS
‘Brutal, bone-crunching, enthralling and entertaining… as brilliant as it is shocking, and marks a fascinating turning point for a young and vibrant author’
LANCASHIRE POST
‘If you like your thrillers darkly comic and outrageous this ticks all the boxes’
SUN
‘Makes Hannibal Lecter look like Mary Poppins… this is going to give me a serious book hangover’
JOHN MARRS, AUTHOR OF THE ONE
C J SKUSE was born in 1980 in Weston-super-Mare. She has two First Class degrees in Creative Writing and Writing for Young People, and aside from being a novelist works as a Senior Lecturer at Bath Spa University.
Sweetpea
In Bloom (Book 2 in the Sweetpea series)
For Young Adults:
Pretty Bad Things
Rockoholic
Dead Romantic
Monster
The Deviants
The Alibi Girl
C J Skuse
ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2020
Copyright © C J Skuse 2020
C J Skuse 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.
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Ebook Edition © January 2020 ISBN: 9780008311407
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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008311391
For my excellent friend, Laura Myers
Alibi Clock (n):
a clock which strikes one hour,
while the hands point
to a different time,
the real time being neither one
nor the other.
E. COBHAM BREWER 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Contents