Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Agency for your belief when I needed it most.
Anna Baggaley, Sarah Reader and everyone at Mira Ink for your ceaseless support, editorial advice and general love for my little Monster
All my family, friends and early readers—my sister Penny Skuse, Matthew Snead, Laura Myers, Di Toft, Rachel Leyshon and Barry Cunningham. Thank you for all your advice and encouragement.
Hestercombe House and Gardens—a constant inspiration to me. This time round, Bathory School in the flesh.
Connie Bowler—for your very helpful reminiscences about boarding school life.
Judy Wasdell—for having a dog who habitually sniffs out spines.
All the UKYA book bloggers who follow me on social media and regularly spread the word about my books.
As always, a soundtrack of artists helped me knit and unpick this book every step of the way: Aiden, Alice in Chains, Gabrielle Aplin, Avicii, The Bangles, The Beatles, Birdy, Eminem, 5 Seconds of Summer, Foo Fighters, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Ellie Goulding, The Heavy, Hole, Keane, Jay-Z, Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana, Paramore, Rage Against the Machine, Royal Blood and Slipknot.
And to anyone who has screwed me over, rejected me or even just mildly pissed me off in the last thirty-odd years—you helped too. A lot.