The Girls: The gripping Richard and Judy Book Club pick - Hardcover

"Lisa Jewell’s characters are so real that I finish every book half-expecting to bump into one of them. Modern, complex, intuitive, she just goes from strength to strength." (Jojo Moyes)

"An engaging and atmospheric read, Lisa beautifully conjures up the half-child half-adult lives of young teenagers." (Jane Fallon)

"Oh but I loved this book – a magical garden right in the centre of the city, a long, hot summer simmering away, a group of young teens, lurching between boredom and passion and ripe for their lives to start. And at its centre a dark and disturbing mystery that keeps you turning the pages long into the night. Lisa Jewell is the most compassionate storyteller. She writes with such lightness of touch, yet her books pack a powerful punch. A stunning, beautiful, mesmerising book that everyone will be reading this summer." (Tamar Cohen)

"I was utterly gripped from the start... basically a great read." (Irish Independent)

"Another winner. Beautiful writing, believable characters, a pacy narrative and dark secrets combine to make this a gripping read." (Daily Mail)

"A dark, propulsive thriller about teenage relationships, family secrets and dysfunctional parenting." (Metro)

"[Lisa Jewell] is moving into fascinating, more complex psychological territory with each book" (Jojo Moyes)

"A dark, compelling story." (Woman & Home)

"Full of twists and turns." (Prima Review)

"A compelling read." (Good Housekeeping)

Dark secrets, a devastating mystery and the games people play: the gripping new novel from the bestselling author of The House We Grew Up In and The Third Wife.

You live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses.

You’ve known your neighbours for years and you trust them. Implicitly.

You think your children are safe.

But are they really?

Midsummer night: a thirteen-year-old girl is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden square. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?

Utterly believable characters, a gripping story and a dark secret buried at its core: this is Lisa Jewell at her heart-stopping best.