The new thriller, set in the hothouse world of a ballet school, from the multi-award-winning writer Megan Abbott, 'the perfect storyteller - compelling, confounding and unconventional' (VAL MCDERMID).

'A book you will not be able to forget' MARK BILLINGHAM


Dara and Marie were trained as ballet dancers by their glamorous mother, founder of the Durant School of Dance. Since their parents' death in a tragic accident nearly a dozen years ago, the sisters have run the school together, along with Charlie, Dara's husband and once their mother's prized student. The three have perfected a dance that keeps the studio thriving.

But when a suspicious accident occurs, just at the onset of the school's annual performance of The Nutcracker - a season of competition, anxiety, and exhilaration - an interloper arrives and threatens their delicate balance.

'Slow-burning and feverish, with all the intensity of a classic American film noir' MAIL ON SUNDAY

'There's no one who captures the atmosphere of a tight-knit hothouse world, in all its feverish beauty and brutality, quite like Megan Abbott' TANA FRENCH


'Dark and juicy and tinged with horror' NEW YORK TIMES

'Abbott captures the blood, sweat, tears and rivalries behind the apparently effortless grace ... the feeling of menace grows stronger with every page' GUARDIAN


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This is simply a masterclass in great storytelling and writing, an edgy and unpredictable tale full of nuance about the violence we inflict on others and ourselves