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About The Book

'Eerie, atmospheric' Louise Jensen
'A haunting tale of intrigue' Emily Freud
'Ruth Ware fans will eat this up' Publishers Weekly
'Intricate and impressive' Daily Mail

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, how much can you trust what you see?

When Maddy Wight is hired to ghostwrite the memoir of world-renowned cosmetic surgeon Angela Reynolds, she jumps at the chance to get her career back on track. But the deeper she digs, the more elusive the doctor becomes.

Confined to Angela’s glass-walled house in the Scottish Highlands, Maddy can’t shake the unsettling feeling of being watched. As a result, she is drawn ever closer to Angela’s enigmatic business partner Scott, whose mercurial moods change as quickly as the darkening moors outside.

Returning to London once the book is finished, Maddy is excited for their future together. But news of Scott’s death shatters the celebrations at the book’s launch party. Which is why, months later and still grieving, she is blindsided to see Scott entering a tube station just in front of her. And before she knows it, she is following him.

In this reimagining of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, jeopardy can be lurking where you least expect it…


Praise for Emma Bamford

'Powered by a subtle, ominous tension. I loved this book’ LEE CHILD
‘Paradise never felt so sinister’ RUTH WARE
‘An incredible debut’ B A PARIS
‘Suspenseful, evocative and beautifully written, I devoured it’ L V MATTHEWS
‘That most exciting psychological thriller in which the darkest dangers lurk in a suspicious mind and a guilty heart’ A J FINN
‘Gripping and pacy... A perfect summer read’ IMRAN MAHMOOD
‘A debut thriller that unfolds with the inexorable force of a nightmare’ JOHN CONNOLLY
'Had me gripped. I loved the subtle, sinister sense of tension that built through the book' BETH O'LEARY
'An amazing and evocative atmosphere of paradise that quickly turns sinister! A must summer read for all crime fans' VICKI BRADLEY

About The Author

(c) Diana Field Photography

Emma Bamford is an author and journalist who has worked for The Independent, the Daily Express, the Sunday Mirror, Sailing Today, and Boat International. She is the author of the psychological suspense novels Deep Water and Eye of the Beholder and the sailing memoirs Casting Off and Untie the Lines. A graduate of the University of East Anglia’s Prose Fiction MA, she lives in Norwich in the UK. Find out more at EmmaBamford.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (February 27, 2025)
  • Length: 400 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781398504639

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Raves and Reviews

'I really enjoyed this eerie, atmospheric mystery' Louise Jensen, author of The Intruders

'A haunting tale of intrigue with stunning, simmering prose that kept me reading into the early hours. I devoured it!' Emily Freud, author of Her Last Summer

'Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo, Bamford’s story is every bit as intricate and impressive' Daily Mail

'Eerie and tense... an unsettling thriller' Woman's Own

'Ruth Ware fans will eat this up!' Publishers Weekly

'A perilous and nuanced thriller on the dangers of the beauty industry and the lengths people will go to to get what they want... Highly recommended for fans of Vertigo and readers who enjoy the intricately plotted novels of Ruth Ware, Sarah Pearse and Riley Sager' Booklist

'There's a clever twist and contemporary logic to this story... a standout for those who love puzzling mysteries' CrimeTime FM

'An intriguing thriller' Choice

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