A Lesson in Cruelty

THREE WOMEN. ONE BODY. WILL THEY EVER LEARN?

The jaw-dropping new thriller from Sunday Times and Kindle #1 bestseller Harriet Tyce

'The shocks kept coming right up to the final pages.' Lisa Jewell

'Harriet's best so far.' Sophie Hannah

'Nothing short of unputdownable. One of the best openings I've read in forever.' Alex Michaelides

'A shocking, provocative, standout thriller.'Chris Whitaker

'Left me breathless.' Lucy Clarke

Anna wants a fresh start after three long years behind bars.

Lucy craves the attention of the only man she can't have, her alluring Oxford professor.

Marie has spent too long as a recluse living by someone else's rules.

When three strangers stumble upon an elaborate web of lies and the dead body at the heart of it, they will discover the true price of getting the life they desire so badly.

But will it be too late?

MORE PRAISE FOR A LESSON IN CRUELTY:

'Tyce's denouement pulls things together skilfully and surprisingly.' Sunday Times

'Expertly crafted with that chilling sense of dread' The Sun

'A dizzyingly satisfying page-turner.' Sarah Pinborough

'Utterly compelling, A Lesson in Cruelty is in the very top tier of psychological thrillers and further cements Harriet Tyce's place amongst the great British crime writers.' M. W. Craven

'Perfect plotting, utterly brilliant.' B.A. Paris

'I absolutely loved it and devoured it whole in one day. So suspenseful and clever of course, but such great characterisation and real heart.' Laura Marshall

'Compulsive, dark and smart, A Lesson in Cruelty delivers on every level.' Gilly Macmillan

'An imaginatively told (and very bingeable) thriller.' John Marrs

'Superb, twisty plotting that's sure to keep readers guessing until the very end.' Femi Kayode

'A deliciously sinister tale of revenge and redemption, with heart-in-mouth tension and head-spinning twists.' Ellery Lloyd

One of the best openings I've read in forever. I devoured it. Alex Michaelides
A Lesson in Cruelty is Harriet Tyce's darkest book yet. It's twisted and compelling and completely unpredictable. The shocks kept coming right up to the final pages. Lisa Jewell
A juicy, sophisticated, layered and intelligent read for the crime fiction connoisseur. Harriet's best so far. Sophie Hannah
A Lesson In Cruelty is whip-smart, deliciously dark, utterly compelling with gut punching twists right up until the last page. A first class thriller. I loved it! Claire Douglas
A Lesson in Cruelty is a lesson in craftmanship. A dizzyingly satisfying page-turner and an exploration of redemption and damnation. Harriet Tyce at her best! Sarah Pinborough
Dark, twisted and utterly nerve-jangling, A Lesson In Cruelty is a sharply structured thriller that left me breathless. Lucy Clarke
A shocking, provocative, standout thriller. A Lesson In Cruelty is Harriet Tyce at her twisting, wicked, razor-sharp finest. Chris Whitaker
An edge-of-your-seat thriller and a brilliant, furious meditation on the modern prison system. Harriet Tyce's eye for people - their foibles, missteps, and cruelties - is sharp as a blade. Abigail Dean
Inventive, chilling and utterly compelling, A Lesson in Cruelty is in the very top tier of psychological thrillers and further cements Harriet Tyce's place amongst the great British crime writers. M. W. Craven
A brave and affecting novel which is dark as night and not afraid to explore the depths of the human experience. The strands of the story come together in a satisfying and tragic fashion, that makes you think about how we punish people and why we always judge women so much more harshly than men. Araminta Hall
Perfect plotting, utterly brilliant. B.A. Paris
Superb, twisty plotting that's sure to keep readers guessing until the very end Femi Kayode
I absolutely loved it and devoured it whole in one day. So suspenseful and clever of course, but such great characterisation and real heart. Laura Marshall
An imaginatively told (and very bingeable) thriller. John Marrs
Compulsive, dark and smart, A Lesson in Cruelty delivers on every level. Justice, revenge and punishment are meted out and questioned throughout this twisty, terrifying thriller with a heart. Gilly Macmillan
A deliciously sinister tale of revenge and redemption, with heart-in-mouth tension and head-spinning twists. This is Tyce at her spine-tingling best. Ellery Lloyd
Absolutely page turning Louise Hare
Excellent, gripping, chilling, clever Trevor Wood
Thought provoking and intense, these three cleverly interlocking stories come together in a tense and intriguing finale. I raced through it! Sam Holland
Mysterious and beautifully-constructed with an electrifying pace and dark undercurrents, A Lesson in Cruelty is a white-knuckle, gripping read. Heather Critchlow
The scale of this book! A finely drawn jigsaw of characters, stunning prose and a harsh critique of the crushing power wielded by a few. I gasped aloud at the finish - a denouement that will blow you away. A triumph. Rachel Wolf
Compelling, sinister and powerful, A Lesson In Cruelty gripped me from the first page. Caroline Hulse
Superb writing, twisty intriguing plot. Wolfed it down. Emma Curtis
A cunningly crafted masterpiece of a thriller. Tyce weaves a trio of threads together so effortlessly that when the explosive end hits, it hits like a freight train. Robert Rutherford
Another brilliant psych thriller from Tyce, an absolute master of the slow reveal. A Lesson in Cruelty explores themes a culpability, imprisonment and innocence. Her characters are beautifully portrayed and the book is full of Tyce's tell-tale spiky women. Niki Mackay
A Lesson in Cruelty is a masterclass in the dark art of plotting. A propulsive read that crafts a scintillating and vivid story out of characters that gnaw and claw from the page. This is a great crime novel, and the chills last long after the final page is turned. Absolutely stunning. Janice Hallett
Head-turning and page-turning. If you haven't read any of Harriet's books, make it a 2024 goal to do so. Belfast Telegraph
The interwoven stories in this psychological thriller come together to make a book you read with your heart in your mouth. i paper
A shocking read That's Life magazine
So twisty Crime Monthly
A Lesson in Cruelty starts with riveting drama and doesn't let up throughout. It is an exciting, tension-filled novel that leaves the reader breathless. Its impact is astonishing. My Weekly
Tyce's denouement pulls things together skilfully and surprisingly. Sunday Times
Expertly crafted with that chilling sense of dread The Sun
A novel of ideas which is also a gripping mystery-thriller is something difficult to bring off, but Tyce has managed to do just that. The Scotsman
Chilling Sunday Post
A dizzying ride into the unknown and a meticulous puzzler with a daring final twist. Crime Time
Tyce expertly explores the psychological turmoil of these damaged characters, building suspense as the puzzle pieces satisfyingly slot into place. Culturefly
Dark and tense Woman's Weekly

Harriet Tyce grew up in Edinburgh and studied English at Oxford University before doing a law conversion course at City University. She practised as a criminal barrister in London for nearly a decade, and subsequently completed an MA in Creative Writing - Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. She lives in north London. Her first novel, Blood Orange, published in 2019 to huge critical acclaim and her second and third novels The Lies You Told and It Ends at Midnight have both been Sunday Times bestsellers. A Lesson in Cruelty is her fourth novel.

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