Hurting Distance

Three years ago, something terrible happened to Naomi Jenkins - so terrible that she never told anybody.

Now Naomi has another secret - the man she has fallen passionately in love with, unhappily married Robert Haworth. When Robert vanishes without trace, Naomi knows he must have come to harm. But the police are less convinced, particularly when Robert's wife insists he is not missing.

In desperation, Naomi has a crazy idea. If she can't persuade the police that Robert is in danger, perhaps she can convince them that he is a danger to others. Then they will have to look for him - urgently. Naomi knows how describe in detail the actions of a psychopath. All she needs to do is dig up her own troubled past . . .

“'Thrilling'”

This is a far better-written book than any genre label might suggest. Hannah is a respected poet and uses the fascinating motif of the sundial not only to provide the reader with clues but to underline perceptions of life, time and death. It's also significant that she won a Daphne du Maurier award. Her powerful subjects of obsession with the past, and fear in the present, testify that she has made a transition to the narrative world of that iconic writer. - Independent

Sophie Hannah's LITTLE FACE startled the British thriller market a year ago, and her new book is another superbly creepy foray in the genre. The plots are brilliant - I couldn't see through this one at all. - Guardian

Poet and children's writer Sophie Hannah is proving to be equally adept at turning her hand to pscyhological thrillers. In HURTING DISTANCE, Naomi's concern for her married lover's well-being grows when his wife insists he is fine, just away. Naomi uses the story of a rape from her past to get the police to sit up and take notice. What makes this novel work so well is that more than one character has a bit of a screw loose - even the detectives on the case are grappling with some crippling personal issues - and it takes the full ride of the novel to find out who is playing whom. - Time Out

'The hurting distance in a relationship is apparently like an elastic band around your wrist that's being pulled tighter and tighter.

You know it could snap at some point, but it's a question of when. The further it goes, the more painful it is when it breaks, like most relationships seem to in Hurting Distance.

This story is thrilling from the first page... This book is not simply a whodunnit. The snappy, witty dialogue and clarity make it a thoroughly entertaining read.

I thought I had the whole book pegged after the first chapter, but how wrong I was. Pick it up, but be warned, you won't put it down.' - Birmingham Post

Sophie Hannah's LITTLE FACE startled the British thriller market a year ago, and her new book is another superbly creepy foray in the genre. Her plots are brilliant - I couldn't see through this one at all. - Guardian

Hannah's second novel is a beautifully written chiller-thriller about the after-effect of rape. It grips from start to finish - a grip which held me against my will because the sustained atmosphere of mild hysteria is hard to take . . . I couldn't put it down - Literary Review

Another success for this inventive writer. - Sunday Telegraph

A superbly creepy, twisty thriller about obsessive love, psychological torture, and the darkest chambers of the human heart. - The Times

Sophie Hannah is a best-selling, award-winning poet. She regularly performs her poetry to live audiences nationwide and abroad, and recently won first prize in the Daphne Du Maurier Festival Short Story Competition for her psychological suspense story The Octopus Nest. LITTLE FACE was her first psychological crime novel. Sophie lives in West Yorkshire with her husband and two children.

Three years ago, something terrible happened to Naomi Jenkins - so terrible that she never told anyone. Now Naomi has another secret - her lover, unhappily married Robert Haworth. When Robert vanishes, Naomi knows he must have come to harm. But the police are less convinced, particularly when Robert's wife insists he is not missing. Naomi is desperate. If she can't persuade the police that Robert is in danger, perhaps she can convince them that he is a danger to others. Then they will have to look for him - urgently. Naomi knows how to describe in detail the actions of a psychopath. All she needs to do is dig up her own troubled past . . . 'Disturbing and gripping . . . Intense and always page-turning with a collection of brilliantly delineated characters. Classy stuff' OBSERVER 'Another superbly creepy foray into the genre. Her plots are brilliant - I couldn't see through this one at all' GUARDIAN' 'One of the great unmissables of the genre - intelligent, classy and with a wonderfully Gothic imagination' THE TIMES

Three years ago, something terrible happened to Naomi Jenkins - so terrible that she never told anybody.Now Naomi has another secret - the man she has fallen passionately in love with, unhappily married Robert Haworth. When Robert vanishes without trace, Naomi knows he must have come to harm. But the police are less convinced, particularly when Robert's wife insists he is not missing.In desperation, Naomi has a crazy idea. If she can't persuade the police that Robert is in danger, perhaps she can convince them that he is a danger to others. Then they will have to look for him - urgently. Naomi knows how describe in detail the actions of a psychopath. All she needs to do is dig up her own troubled past . . .

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