Acknowledgments

There are many people I will thank for their faith and support.

A massive thank you goes to my agent, Luigi Bonomi. You have been my rock throughout this process, and had confidence in my writing right from those first 1000 words for the Daily Mail’s First Novel competition.

A huge thank you to my publisher, Ben Willis, and the lovely team at Bonnier Books for seeing something special in this dark tale of a strange girl with macabre interests. Thank you for keeping me on track and for your guidance in helping me to create a better book.

Thanks to Peter James for the coolest early review!

To the Rubery Past Facebook page, to its administrators and members whose photographs, information and reminiscences of The Village have been crucial to corroborating my own history and memories while writing the book.

Thank you to retired DCI Carl Flynn for answering my often random questions.

Many thanks to David Carson for your friendship, and your recollections of our shared time at the same school and area have been invaluable.

Special thanks goes to my three graces, my dearest friends: Jackie Harvey for always knowing that this would happen and whose faith and friendship I couldn’t do without; to Shelagh Brady, my first and constant reader, who loved Ava and DS Delahaye right from the start; and to Sally – my champion and guardian angel. You are all beloved and appreciated.

Thanks to my sister, Claire – always.

And the most exuberant thanks goes to my husband Steve and my son Joe for giving me the patience, time and space to write and just get on with it. With your love and support, these are the best gifts.