<p><i>Fragile</i> is absolutely STUNNING' - Marian Keyes, author of <i>Grown Ups</i><br><br> 'Sarah Hilary has always known how to chill her readers – <i>Fragile</i> dials the chill factor up to 11' - Val McDermid, author of <i>The Wire in the Blood</i><br><br> <b><i>Fragile</i> is a modern Gothic psychological thriller with a contemporary twist on the classic novel <i>Rebecca</i> from award-winning and critically acclaimed writer Sarah Hilary.</b><br><br> <b>Everything she touches breaks . . .</b><br><br> Nell Ballard is a runaway. A former foster child with a dark secret she is desperately trying to keep, all Nell wants is to find a place she can belong.<br><br> So when a job comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the opportunity with both hands.<br><br> But her new lodgings may not be the safe haven that she was hoping for. Her employer lives by a set of rigid rules and she soon sees he is hiding secrets of his own.<br><br> But is Nell's arrival at the Villas really the coincidence it seems? After all, she knows more than most how fragile people can be – and how easily they can be to break . . .<br><br> <b>Further praise for <i>Fragile</i>:</b><br><br> '<i>Fragile</i> is absolutely STUNNING, the dreamy atmosphere couples with Nell's carnal love for Joe put me in mind of Barbara Vine . . . [Sarah Hilary is] an <b>astonishingly gifted</b> writer, with an almost scalpel-like ability to dissect human motivation and convey it deliciously devoid of sentimentality. I was GRIPPED by <i>Fragile</i>, it took me into a whole other world and <b>I was sorry to leave it</b>' - Marian Keyes, author of <i>Grown Ups</i><br><br> 'Perfectly plotted, <b>beautifully written modern Gothic</b>. Timeless, tense and tender, <i>Fragile</i> will worm it's way deep into your heart, just as the characters insinuate themselves into each other's lives. <b>I absolutely loved it</b>' - Erin Kelly, author of <i>He Said/She Said</i><br><br> 'Beautifully crafted, <b>smart and unsettling</b> – a dark river of a book, with a chilling undertow' - Mick Herron, author of <i> Slow Horses</i><br><br> 'A dark,<b> mesmeric</b> fever-dream of a book' - Ruth Ware, author of <i>The Woman in Cabin 10</i><br><br> 'Beautifully written modern gothic. I took my time with this, savouring it – the tone of Sarah Hilary's writing is unique to her: exploring society and human nature in a sensitive, engrossing way. <b>Ingenious, original and brilliant</b>' - Will Dean, author of <i>Red Snow</i><br><br> <i>'</i><b>Extraordinary</b> . . . an immersive psychological thriller that plunges us into an underworld of emotional and physical exploitation. <b>There are shades of Highsmith</b> . . . Brilliant stuff' - Andrew Taylor, author of <i>The American Boy</i> and <i>The Ashes of London</i><br><br> <i>'Fragile </i>is a fever dream. A nightmarish slant on the world delivered expertly and with heart. Tension like cold steel. Characters you won't forget. <b>Sarah Hilary is a modern-day Highsmith</b>.' - Steve Cavanagh, author of <i>The Thirteen</i><br><br> 'A beguiling thriller of considerable ambition and ingenuity, <b><i>Fragile</i> marks Sarah Hilary as a twenty-first century du Maurier</b>, a writer who plunges the depths of human nature, finding the darkest, most deviant corners, but also the fleeting hopes and brittle aspirations. This is a <b>truly outstanding</b> work of modern gothic.' - Eva Dolan, author of <i>Between Two Evils</i><br><br> 'Highly original, <b>beautifully written</b>' - Sharon Bolton, author of <i>Now You See Me</i><br><br> 'Sarah Hilary has created a beautifully written<b> modern Gothic masterpiece</b>, so full of intrigue and mysteries layered upon mysteries that the unravelling may well shred your nerves, in the best way possible' - Liz Nugent, author of <i>Skin Deep</i><br><br> 'The writing is so <b>elegant</b>, so <b>restrained</b>, that it brings to mind Patricia Highsmith. <i>Fragile</i> is a very fine, and very creepy psychological thriller.' - Lucy Atkins, author of <i>Magpie Lane</i><br><br> 'A <b>gorgeously written</b>, tense and atmospheric novel. Sarah Hilary peels back the layers of mystery so skillfully that it was impossible to look away for a moment.' - Gytha Lodge, author of <i>She Lies in Wait</i></p>