*** WINNER OF THE BATH NOVEL AWARD *** 'A tense, unsettling and emotionally engaging whydunnit' - SOPHIE HANNAH 'Gritty, tense, and superbly plotted' - HARRIET TYCE 'A complete triumph. an intelligent and deeply satisfying thriller' - ELIZABETH HAYNES ________________________________________ TWO BOYS LOVED HER. BUT WHICH ONE KILLED HER? On a dark night two years ago, teenagers Rob and Paige broke into a house. They beat and traumatised the occupants, then left, taking only a bracelet. No one knows why, not even Luke, Rob's younger brother and Paige's confidant. Paige disappeared after that night. And having spent her life in children's homes and the foster system, no one cared enough to look for her. Now Rob is out of prison, and probation officer Wren Reynolds has been tasked with his rehabilitation. But Wren has her own reasons for taking on Rob as a client. Convinced that Rob knows what happened to Paige, and hiding a lifetime of secrets from her heavily pregnant wife, Wren's obsession with finding a missing girl may tear her family apart... This beautiful and compelling thriller is perfect for readers of Harriet Tyce, Sophie Hannah and Lisa Jewell. ________________________________________ 'Superb. A rare combination of stunning twists and exceptional prose' - DAVID JACKSON 'Immersive and compelling, authentic and raw' - S.E. LYNES 'A mesmerising tale. One of the rising stars of crime fiction' - TREVOR WOOD

Winner of the Bath Novel Award, this is an immersive and heartrending thriller, set in the world of the foster system and forgotten children

About the Author
Kate Simants spent years as an investigative undercover journalist for Channel 4 and the BBC; her investigations into children's homes were the inspiration for A Ruined Girl. She was shortlisted for a CWA Debut Dagger for her first novel Lock Me In and won the UEA Literary Festival scholarship to study for an MA in Crime Fiction. She lives near Bristol with her family.

Reviews
A tense, unsettling and emotionally engaging whydunnit that grips from the first page -- Sophie Hannah, The Sunday Times bestselling author of HAVEN'T THEY GROWN
Gritty, tense, superbly plotted and the run up to the end left me breathless and a bit of an emotional wreck. It's really good -- Harriet Tyce, Richard and Judy bestselling author of BLOOD ORANGE
A complete triumph. An intelligent and deeply satisfying thriller with such vivid characters it's impossible to believe they aren't real -- Elizabeth Haynes, author of INTO THE DARKEST CORNER
Superb. A rare combination of stunning twists and exceptional prose makes it the perfect read -- David Jackson, author of THE RESIDENT
'Layer upon layer of secrets, making for a perfectly paced page-turner. Past and present are woven together beautifully, and all tied up in an ending that I genuinely did not see coming' -- Robert Scragg, author of WHAT FALLS BETWEEN THE CRACKS
'Immersive and compelling, authentic and raw' -- S.E. Lynes, bestselling author of THE WOMEN
'It has everything you want from a novel - the grimy realism of the best crime, and the perfectly executed twists of the best psychological thrillers' -- Dominic Nolan, author of AFTER DARK
'Assured, gripping and with a twist I did not see coming... fantastic' -- James Delargy, author of 55
'A mesmerising tale of justice and redemption which will have you spellbound. Simants displays a poetic eye for detail which will quickly establish her as one of the rising stars of crime fiction' -- Trevor Wood, author of THE MAN ON THE STREET



Book Information
ISBN 9781788166980
Author Kate Simants
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Viper
Publisher Profile Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 260g
Dimensions(mm) 194mm * 126mm * 26mm