The Guilty One

A little boy was found dead in a children's playground. . .

Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an eleven-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy.

As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian's troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life.

But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her for fifteen years? And will Daniel's identification with a child on trial for murder make him question everything he ever believed in?

Winner of Richard & Judy Book Club 2012 (UK)
Short-listed for Edgar Awards 2014 (UK)
Long-listed for Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2013 (UK)

“Wow! I finished this late yesterday afternoon at the beach...This is a really good legal thriller. I like the way the chapters alternated in time. This doesn't always work, sometimes confusing, but the author Lisa made it happen and did it very well”

[a] moving, insightful debut . . . It's easy to see why this caused such a stir at Frankfurt last year. If it isn't this year's Before I Go To Sleep, I'll eat my laptop - The Guardian

One of the most readable, emotionally intense novels of the year, and a debut one at that. Lisa Ballantyne pulls off the key writer's trick of getting us to care about the characters; by the end of the first chapter, you will be comprehensively on the hook - Richard from Richard and Judy?s Book Club, Autumn 2012 Pick

This is an outstanding work of fiction, and the real crime would have been if the talent of Lisa Ballantyne had never been discovered - Daily Record

Thought provoking, brave and challenging, this book is an unsettling and compulsive read - Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of Sister and Afterwards

Fast-paced and emotionally charged, we were tearing through it well into the night. Keep a tissue handy - you'll be a wreck by the end - Emerald Street

A mature, gripping book you'll be desperate to tell your friends about - Big Issue (Scotland)

The Guilty One will touch your heart even as it leaves you unsettled - Hallie Ephron, author of There Was an Old Woman

Lisa Ballantyne was born in Armadale, West Lothian, Scotland and was educated at Armadale Academy and University of St Andrews. She spent most of her twenties working and living in China, before returning to the UK in 2002, to work in Higher Education. She lives in Glasgow; this is her first novel.

A little boy was found dead in a children's playground... Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an eleven-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy. As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian's troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman who adopted him and whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life. But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her for 15 years? And will Daniel's identification with a child on trial for murder make him question everything he ever believed in? Deeply psychological and suspenseful, The Guilty One is already an international phenomenon and one of the most talked-about books of the year.

A little boy was found dead in a children's playground. . .Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an eleven-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy.As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian's troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life.But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her for fifteen years? And will Daniel's identification with a child on trial for murder make him question everything he ever believed in?

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