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About The Book

From bestselling and award-winning author Benjamin Dean comes a dark, decadent and deadly YA thriller following the perfectly privileged lives of spoilt rich kids and the messy, murderous things they'll do to get what they want. For fans of How to Die Famous, One of Us is Lying and Five Survive.

Ten friends. One night. A classy celebration. A deranged killer. Lots of murder.


Noah and his best friends Cameron, Baby, Fliss, Griffin, Miles, Tabitha, Wim, Verity and Hugo are finally graduating from Woodthorn Academy with the world and all its promises laid out before them. To celebrate exam results day, they’re hosting a party weekend at Black Stone, an opulent country estate, for the whole school to attend. But for one night only the ten friends will have a low-key celebration – after all, it’s how the upper echelons begin their futures.

But things take a sinister turn when they find themselves in the crosshairs of a killer making one simple demand: every hour, one person must be evicted from the house or someone inside the house will die.

With nowhere to run and a killer on the prowl, choices must be made. But, as people inside the house start to go missing too, it soon becomes clear that nobody is safe. By the time morning comes, who will have survived the night? And is the killer much closer than they realised . . .

PRAISE FOR BENJAMIN DEAN:

‘A scandalous thriller.’ The Guardian

‘Benjamin Dean has written a royal triumph.’ Juno Dawson, author of Clean

‘Scandalous, funny, and deliciously compelling!’ Catherine Doyle, co-author of Twin Crowns

‘All hail this exquisitely twisty, delightfully queer mystery.’ Chelsea Pitcher, author of This Lie Will Kill You

‘A compelling thriller that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading.’ Kathryn Foxfield, author of Good Girls Die First

‘More jaw-dropping, OMG-twists than even the most salacious tabloid journalist could create.’ Erik J. Brown, author of All That's Left in the World

‘One page-burning scandal after another. Benjamin Dean is YA royalty.’ Femi Fadugba, author of The Upper World

‘A scandalous, twisty mystery that had me on the edge of my seat gasping for more.’ Kate Weston, author of Murder on a School Night

‘A twisty thriller that kept me guessing until the very end.’ Lex Croucher, author of Gwen and Art are Not in Love

‘Addictive, compelling, and utterly delicious.’ Simon James Green, author of Noah Can’t Even

About The Author

Benjamin Dean is a full-time author with a background in celebrity journalism. He has interviewed a host of glitzy celebrities and broke the news that Rihanna can't wink (she blinks, in case you were wondering). His award-winning middle-grade debut, Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow, was described as 'One of the most joyful books you'll read this year' (The Bookseller), and he's since gone on to publish The Secret Sunshine Project, as well The King is Dead and How to Die Famous for older readers. Benjamin can be found on Twitter as @notagainben tweeting about Rihanna and LGBTQ+ culture to his 10,000+ followers.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's UK (August 14, 2025)
  • Length: 368 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781398540712
  • Ages: 12 and up

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