Kind of Cruel: Culver Valley Crime

Sophie Hannah is a bestselling crime fiction writer and poet. Her psychological thrillers LITTLE FACE, HURTING DISTANCE, THE POINT OF RESCUE, THE OTHER HALF LIVES, A ROOM SWEPT WHITE and LASTING DAMAGE have received critical acclaim and have been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and two children. Visit Sophie's website, www.sophiehannah.com, and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/sophiehannahCB1.

[Hannah] has outdone herself with KIND OF CRUEL ... Her trademark precision-layered structure creates a multi-dimensional maze that holds at its centre a revelation which is truly hair-raising, even by Hannah's standards. -- Independent on Sunday An exploration of memory and the way trauma lives on in the present. Cool, calculating and utterly chilling, KIND OF CRUEL is another compulsive book from Hannah, to be gulped down with all the lights on and someone to grab when the sense of menace grows too great. -- Observer Like Hannah's previous multilayered thrillers, her seventh offers the unravelling of several mysteries, a rich mix of the dark and diverting, and astute portraits of women falling apart. -- The Sunday Times An audacious puzzle of a novel that is impossible to second guess ... Crime novels are often dismissed in literary circles for not being literary enough. Yet KIND OF CRUEL is exactly the intelligent, reflective and stunningly written novel that has "literary" critics swooning and judging panels lining up to reward. The fact that it has a police investigation at its heart is a plus, not a minus, and makes for one hell of a journey. -- Sunday Express KIND OF CRUEL is another compulsive book from Hannah -- Sunday Independent Ireland Hannah excels at dissecting human behaviour, and the way she describes little acts of cruelty can send real chills down the spine. -- Psychologies 'Hannah's classy psychological thrillers are known for their amazing openings and this one is a doozy ... The plot developments are often jaw-dropping and the ending is wonderfully satisfying. Another triumph for one of the very best crime writers out there.' ***** -- Heat If you have ever finished a crime novel having already correctly worked out whodunit and why and are feeling slightly disappointed and cheated as a result, allow me to introduce you to Sophie Hannah ... if you reach the end of her latest, baroquely plotted novel KIND OF CRUEL one step ahead of her, I wouldn't just be surprised but downright suspicious and sceptical too. -- Scotsman Intricately plotted and pleasingly sinister, it's guaranteed to get under the skin -- Good Housekeeping Fast-paced prose makes this a suspense-filled page-turner with a vividly unsettling atmosphere. -- The List I was looking forward to this book very much and it did not disappoint ... Again we are given insights into Simon and Charlie's relationship as the new storyline unravels its secrets. I cannot recommend this author enough - I find her books so interesting and readable. -- www.eurocrime.co.uk This taut, intelligent psychological thriller ... opens up a lot for reading groups to get their teeth into ... intensely satisfying personal read. -- New Books magazine [Sophie Hannah] has perfected the psychological thriller, always with strong female characters, and always with a high degree of edge-of-the-seat peril. -- Bookseller Expect twists and turns throughout and a satisfyingly gripping ending. I would read a shopping list if Sophie Hannah wrote it but I thought this was definitely one of her best -- Woman's Way A new thriller by former poet Hannah is always an occasion for lip-smacking anticipation. And, unlike with other examples of the genre, these are well-written, psychologically probing works ... It's chilling without the usual fireworks of violence and police chases - and better for it. -- City A.M. Sophie Hannah's well-written and intelligent psychological thrillers always chill and intrigue -- Choice magazine Just when I think I've seen everything a psychological chiller can throw at me, along comes Sophie Hannah to keep me guessing until the last page ... Hannah begins at the heart of the knot and teases out the strands; she's a princess among crime writers. -- Saga A highly original tale of warped personalities,suppressed memory, and brutal murder, this is an intelligent, accomplished and completely chilling page-turner. -- The Good Book Guide Both chilling and disturbing insights into the female psyche -- The Scotsman Books of the Year Sophie Hannah is currently one of the most prolific authors in Britain -- Stylist

'A writer of prodigious talent ... This is a jaw-droppingly assured book which sometimes feels as if there's a plot twist on every page ... This reader was left speechless with admiration ... a truly sensational book.' -- Daily Express on LASTING DAMAGE 'A remarkable novel, and an adventure to read ... A first-class whodunit that will keep you reading long into the night.' -- Scotsman on A ROOM SWEPT WHITE 'For those who demand emotional intelligence and literary verve from their thrillers, Sophie Hannah is the writer of choice.' -- Guardian 'One of the great unmissables of this genre - intelligent, classy and with a wonderfully Gothic imagination.' -- The Times 'Like Hannah's previous multilayered thrillers, her seventh offers the unravelling of several mysteries at once, a rich mix of the dark and diverting, and astute portraits of women falling apart' -- The Sunday Times Review

When Amber Hewerdine consults a hypnotherapist as a desperate last resort, she doesn't expect that anything much will change. She doesn't expect it to help with her chronic insomnia ...She doesn't expect to hear herself, under hypnosis, saying words that mean nothing to her: 'Kind, cruel, kind of cruel' - words she has seen somewhere before, if only she could remember where ...She doesn't expect to be arrested two hours later, as a result of having spoken those words out loud, in connection with the brutal murder of Katharine Allen, a woman she's never heard of ...