A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB FAVOURITE

AN INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON

''Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling'' Lee Child

''Grips like a vice'' Daily Mail

''Compulsive'' Rosamund Lupton

''Moving, insightful'' Guardian
___________

Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an eleven-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy.

As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian''s troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life.

But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her for fifteen years? And will Daniel''s identification with a child on trial for murder make him question everything he ever believed in?
___________

''One of the most readable, emotionally intense novels of the year'' Richard & Judy Book Club

''It kept me up all night and guessing the whole way through'' Jenny Colgan

''A page-turner with real emotional depth'' Daily Express

''Moving and suspenseful'' Joyce Carol Oates

''Absorbing'' Company

''Will touch your heart, even as it leaves you unsettled'' Hallie Ephron

''Outstanding'' Daily Record

*DON''T MISS LISA BALLANTYNE''S NEW THRILLER, THE INNOCENT ONE, OUT NOW*

A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB FAVOURITE

AN INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON

''Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling'' Lee Child

''Grips like a vice'' Daily Mail

''Compulsive'' Rosamund Lupton

''Moving, insightful'' Guardian
___________

Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an eleven-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy.

As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian''s troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life.

But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her for fifteen years? And will Daniel''s identification with a child on trial for murder make him question everything he ever believed in?
___________

''One of the most readable, emotionally intense novels of the year'' Richard & Judy Book Club

''It kept me up all night and guessing the whole way through'' Jenny Colgan

''A page-turner with real emotional depth'' Daily Express

''Moving and suspenseful'' Joyce Carol Oates

''Absorbing'' Company

''Will touch your heart, even as it leaves you unsettled'' Hallie Ephron

''Outstanding'' Daily Record

*DON''T MISS LISA BALLANTYNE''S NEW THRILLER, THE INNOCENT ONE, OUT NOW*