A creepy and atmospheric tale, beautifully and sensitively written.
THE GUARDIAN
A mesmerizing story of family and community, secrets and lies. Psychologically rich and captivatingly told.
MEGAN ABBOTT
Sarah Hilary is a writer with all the gifts: character and psychology, language and one-more-chapter suspense. In twisting, turning, ever-changing Black Thorn, she shows us how very easily the wrong people can turn paradise into hell on earth.
LUCIE WHITEHOUSE
An *extraordinary* book. Beautifully written, densely plotted, with an uncanny insight into the best and worst of family relationships.
EMMA FLINT
A stunning, haunting and often moving novel. I loved it.
ANNA MAZZOLA
An absolute master of her craft. Beautiful writing. This book is fascinating on so many levels. Not your run-of-the-mill thriller. A haunting captivating book.
IMRAN MAHMOOD
Nail-biting, heart-wrenching stuff. Black Thorn has the atmosphere and drama of a modern-day du Maurier novel. Sarah Hilary’s uncanny ability to make readers not just see through her characters’ eyes but feel through their skin is unparalleled.
ERIN KELLY
Multi-layered, unexpected, and carrying a strong emotional punch, Black Thorn is refreshingly different. Sarah Hilary is an exceptionally gifted writer.
SHARON BOLTON
Sarah Hilary has done it again with this tale of toxicity in all its forms. Excellent writing and tight plotting on top of shifting sands make Black Thorn an unforgettable read with the most sympathetic protagonist I’ve read in years.
LIZ NUGENT
Exudes a tightly-controlled menace that ratchets up to full-blown claustrophobia as the pages turn. A book that oozes under your skin from the opening sentence.
VASEEM KHAN
In Black Thorn a small piece of the world collapses – metaphorically, literally and emotionally. This novel is immersive, claustrophobic, unbearably tense and quite brilliant.
ANN CLEEVES
Brilliant. Taking a really deep dive into some dark spaces that Sarah brings vividly to life, it’s wonderful and unlike anything else I’ve read lately.
MICK HERRON
Sarah Hilary writes beautifully and unflinchingly.
PETER JAMES
Never Be Broken gloriously demonstrates that modern crime fiction really isn’t all about the murders.
VAL MCDERMID
If you’re not reading this series of London-set police procedurals then you need to start doing so right away … Hilary belts out a corker of a story, all wrapped up in her vivid, effortless prose. Long may Marnie Rome walk the streets of our capital.
ALISON FLOOD, GUARDIAN