Black Thorn: A slow-burning, multi-layered mystery about families and their secrets and lies

From Sarah Hilary, winner of Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year and author of Fragile, this is a slow-burn psychological mystery set against the abandonment of an exclusive housing development – and devastation of the families that lived there . . .

'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

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’

© 2023 Macmillan (Audiobook): 9781035004331

Release date

Audiobook: 13 July 2023