Table Of ContentADVANCE PROOF COPY
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PRAISE FOR C.L. TAYLOR
‘Claustrophobic and compelling.’
Karin Slaughter
‘Smart, packing a punch to the heart, and dark
in all the right places.’
Sarah Pinborough
‘Terrifying . . . this brilliant book stayed with me long after
I finished the last page.’
Cass Green
‘Highly original – kept me utterly enthralled.’
Liz Nugent
‘Twisted, unbearably tense, and a shock ending.’
C.J. Tudor
‘The Missing has a delicious sense of foreboding from the first
page, luring us into the heart of a family with terrible secrets
and making us wait, with pounding hearts for the final,
agonizing twist. Loved it.’
Fiona Barton
‘Fans of C. L. Taylor are in for a treat.’
Clare Mackintosh
‘Black Narcissus for the Facebook generation, a clever
exploration of how petty jealousies and misunderstandings can
unravel even the tightest of friendships. Claustrophobic, tense
and thrilling, a thrill-ride of a novel that keeps you guessing.’
Elizabeth Haynes
‘A gripping and disturbing psychological thriller.’
Lucy Clarke
‘As with all her books, C.L. Taylor delivers real pace, and it’s a
story that keeps calling the reader back – so much so that I
read it from cover to cover in one day.’
Rachel Abbott
‘A dark and gripping read that engrossed me
from start to finish.’
Mel Sherratt
‘Pacy, well written, and anxiety-inducing.’
Lisa Hall
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‘A compulsive read.’
Emma Kavanagh
‘Kept me guessing till the end.’
Sun
‘Haunting and heart-stoppingly creepy, The Lie
is a gripping rollercoaster of suspense.’
Sunday Express
‘A rollercoaster with multiple twists.’
Daily Mail
‘5/5 stars – Spine-chilling!’
Woman Magazine
‘An excellent psychological thriller.’
Heat Magazine
‘Packed with twists and turns, this brilliantly tense
thriller will get your blood pumping.’
Fabulous Magazine
‘Fast-paced, tense and atmospheric, a guaranteed bestseller.’
Mark Edwards
‘A real page-turner . . . creepy, horrifying and twisty.
You have no idea which characters you can trust, and the result
is intriguing, scary and extremely gripping.’
Julie Cohen
‘A compelling, addictive and wonderfully written tale.
Can’t recommend it enough.’
Louise Douglas
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See what bloggers are saying about
C.L. TAYLOR . . .
‘My eyes were simply glued to the page, I couldn’t tear them away!’
The Bookworm’s Fantasy
‘An intriguing and stirring tale, overflowing with family drama.’
Lovereading.co.uk
‘Astoundingly written, The Missing pulls you in from the very
first page and doesn’t let you go until the final full stop.’
Bibliophile Book Club
‘Imaginative, compelling and shocking –
The Fear is a highly engrossing read.’
The Book Review Café
‘The Fear is a dark tale of revenge and just when you
think you know where the story’s going,
the author takes you by surprise!’
Portobello Book Blog
‘[The Missing] inspired such a mixture of emotions in me and
made me realise how truly talented you have to be to even
attempt a psychological suspense of this calibre.’
My Chestnut Reading Tree
‘Tense and gripping with a dark, ominous feeling that seeps
through the very clever writing . . . all praise to C.L. Taylor.’
Anne Cater, Random Things Through My Letterbox
‘C.L. Taylor has done it again, with another
compelling masterpiece.’
Rachel’s Random Reads
‘In a crowded landscape of so-called domestic noir thrillers,
most of which rely on clever twists and big reveals,
[The Missing] stands out for its subtle and thoughtful
analysis of the fallout from a loss in the family.’
Crime Fiction Lover
‘When I had finished, I felt like someone had ripped my heart
out and wrung it out like a dish cloth.’
By the Letter Book Reviews
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‘The Fear is a gripping, fast-paced read.’
The Book Whisperer
‘The Missing has such a big, juicy storyline and is a dream read
if you like books that will keep you guessing and take on plenty
of twists and turns.’
Bookaholic Confessions
‘Incredibly thrilling and utterly unpredictable! A must read!’
Aggie’s Books
‘A gripping story.’
Bibliomaniac
‘It’s the first time I have cried whilst reading.
The last chapter [of The Missing] was heart-breaking
and uplifting at the same time.’
The Coffee and Kindle
‘Another hit from C.L. Taylor . . . so cleverly written and so
absorbing that I completely forgot about everything else
while reading it. Unmissable.’
Alba in Book Land
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C.L. Taylor is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her
psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in
the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages,
and optioned for television. Her 2019 novel, Sleep, was a
Richard and Judy pick. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her
partner and son.
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By the same author:
The Accident
The Lie
The Missing
The Escape
The Fear
Sleep
For Young Adults
The Treatment
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C.L. TAYLOR
Strangers
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Published by AVON
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
A Hardback Original 2020
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020
Copyright © C.L. Taylor 2020
C.L. Taylor asserts the moral right to be identified
as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-00-822246-8 (HB)
ISBN: 978-0-00-822107-2 (TPB)
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
Typeset in Sabon LT Std 11.25/14.5 pt by Palimpsest Book Production Limited,
Falkirk, Stirlingshire
Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publishers.
This book is produced from independently certified FSC™ paper
This book is produced from independently certified FSC™ paper
to ensure responsible forest management.
to ensure responsible forest management.
For more information visit: www.harpercollins.co.uk/green
For more information visit: www.harpercollins.co.uk/green
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To Kellie Turner
My favourite Aussie
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