A Lesson in Cruelty: The propulsive new thriller from the bestselling author of Blood Orange

(Hardback)

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WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU PAY FOR THE PERFECT LIFE

**The jaw-dropping new thriller from Sunday Times and Kindle #1 bestseller Harriet Tyce**

'Harriet's best so far.' Sophie Hannah

'Nothing short of unputdownable. One of the best openings I've read in forever.' Alex Michaelides

'A dizzyingly satisfying page-turner.' Sarah Pinborough

'Sizzlingly addictive' Heat

They say you can't always get what you want. But you can take it.

Anna wants a fresh start. She doesn't believe she deserves it, but after three years behind bars she has finally paid her dues. Most of them, anyway.

Lucy craves the attention of the only man she can't have, her alluring Oxford professor. He's married - not for the first time. Maybe she should be next in line

Marie the recluse has been locked up for too long. She's not ready to be free, but some rules are meant to be broken.

Everyone wants a perfect life. But not everyone is prepared to take it.

Unless someone decides to teach them a lesson.

Praise for Harriet Tyce:

'Utterly compelling... I couldn't put it down' Lisa Jewell

'A classy thriller with complex and compelling characters' Clare Mackintosh

'A triumphant encore [...] intriguing, well-written and addictive' Sara Collins

'Totally addictive - I was gripped' Sophie Hannah

'Gripping' Daily Mail

'Twists that keep you frantically turning the pages' Sunday Mirror

'Impossible to put down' Independent

Reviews

One of the best openings I've read in forever. I devoured it. * Alex Michaelides *
A Lesson in Cruelty is Harriet Tyce's darkest book yet. It's twisted and compelling and completely unpredictable. The shocks kept coming right up to the final pages. * Lisa Jewell *
A juicy, sophisticated, layered and intelligent read for the crime fiction connoisseur. Harriet's best so far. * Sophie Hannah *
A Lesson in Cruelty is a lesson in craftmanship. A dizzyingly satisfying page-turner and an exploration of redemption and damnation. Harriet Tyce at her best! * Sarah Pinborough *
Dark, twisted and utterly nerve-jangling, A Lesson In Cruelty is a sharply structured thriller that left me breathless. * Lucy Clarke *
A shocking, provocative, standout thriller. A Lesson In Cruelty is Harriet Tyce at her twisting, wicked, razor-sharp finest. * Chris Whitaker *
Superb, twisty plotting that's sure to keep readers guessing until the very end * Femi Kayode *
Compulsive, dark and smart, A Lesson in Cruelty delivers on every level. Justice, revenge and punishment are meted out and questioned throughout this twisty, terrifying thriller with a heart. * Gilly Macmillan *
A deliciously sinister tale of revenge and redemption, with heart-in-mouth tension and head-spinning twists. This is Tyce at her spine-tingling best. * Ellery Lloyd *
Absolutely page turning * Louise Hare *
Excellent, gripping, chilling, clever * Trevor Wood *
Thought provoking and intense, these three cleverly interlocking stories come together in a tense and intriguing finale. I raced through it! * Sam Holland *
Mysterious and beautifully-constructed with an electrifying pace and dark undercurrents, A Lesson in Cruelty is a white-knuckle, gripping read. * Heather Critchlow *
Compelling, sinister and powerful, A Lesson In Cruelty gripped me from the first page. * Caroline Hulse *
Superb writing, twisty intriguing plot. Wolfed it down. * Emma Curtis *
A cunningly crafted masterpiece of a thriller. Tyce weaves a trio of threads together so effortlessly that when the explosive end hits, it hits like a freight train. * Robert Rutherford *

Author Bio

Harriet Tyce grew up in Edinburgh and studied English at Oxford University before doing a law conversion course at City University. She practised as a criminal barrister in London for nearly a decade, and subsequently completed an MA in Creative Writing - Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. She lives in north London. Her first novel, Blood Orange, published in 2019 to huge critical acclaim and her second and third novels The Lies You Told and It Ends at Midnight have both been Sunday Times bestsellers. A Lesson in Cruelty is her fourth novel.