Head of Zeus

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The Scorched Earth: the gripping new thriller from the crime fiction bestseller

by Rachael Blok

Nothing stays buried forever...

'A blistering mystery' Erin Kelly
'Supremely atmospheric' Daily Mail
'Gripping and original' Clare Empson

Two years ago, Ben Fenton went camping for the night with his brother Leo. When Ben woke up, he was drenched in blood, and his brother had gone. Days later, Ben was facing a charge of murder.

Ben's girlfriend, Ana Seabrook, has always maintained Ben's innocence. And now, on the hottest day of a sweltering heat wave, a body has been unearthed in Ana's village. A body that might be Leo's.

DCI Jansen is sure that Ana has something to hide. Will her secrets stay buried forever? Or can Jansen bring them to light?

Praise for Rachael Blok:

'A blistering mystery; the dark secrets lurking in the short summer shadows kept me turning the pages long into the night' Erin Kelly

'You will suspect everyone in this unbearably tense tale of betrayal and revenge' A.S. Hatch

'Poetic writing with an eerie suspense that builds with each page' Nikky Mackay

'Beautifully told, the stifling heat and tension crackle through every page' Victoria Selman

'This atmospheric tale of guilty secrets revealed during a scorching summer is twisty, evocative and suspenseful' Roz Watkins

'Assured and compelling... The author is as deft about human relationships as she is about creating an increasingly foreboding atmosphere' Elly Griffiths

Head of Zeus * Crime Fiction

14 Nov 2019 * 416pp * £4.99 * 9781788548021

REVIEWS

'You will suspect everyone in this unbearably tense tale of betrayal and revenge'

AS Hatch

Breathtaking prose... Gripping and original'

Clare Empson

'A blistering mystery; the dark secrets lurking in the short summer shadows kept me turning the pages long into the night'

Erin Kelly

'Poetic writing with an eerie suspense that builds with each page'

Niki Mackay, author of I, Witness

'This atmospheric tale of guilty secrets revealed during a scorching summer is twisty, evocative and suspenseful'

Roz Watkins

'Beautifully told, the stifling heat and tension crackle through every page'

Victoria Selman, author of Blood for Blood

'An engrossing and twisty procedural'

Sunday Times Crime Club

Blok has an elliptical, poetic stye that treats the narrative... A powerful, eventful novel that depicts grief as a pit "so deep and wide that there's no climbing out". The dizzying heat comes off the page'

The Times

'This atmospheric novel is a slow burn – but well worth it'

Heat

'[A] scorchingly good thriller'

Sunday Mirror

Underlines [Blok's] exceptional ability as a storyteller... Gripping, twisty and immensely satisfying, this confirms Blok's talent'

Daily Mail

'A most ingenious version of the revenge tragedy'

The Tablet

Deeply foreboding and utterly compelling... Blok skilfully rachets up the tension... An emotionally charged thriller that plays on the tragic humanity of its characters'

Irish Times

'This atmospheric and at times almost unbearably tense tale of guilty secrets, betrayal and revenge is twisty, evocative and suspenseful. It is beautifully told, with the stifling heat helping to further build the tension which crackles through it. Blok's writing is increasingly assured and compelling and she is as deft about human relationships as she is about creating an increasingly foreboding atmosphere with a steady ratcheting up of suspense as she switches timelines and perspectives'

Crime Review

Author

Rachael Blok

Rachael Blok grew up in Durham and studied Literature at Warwick University. She taught English at a London Comprehensive and is now a full-time writer living in Hertfordshire with her husband and children. Her thrillers Under the Ice, The Scorched Earth and Into the Fire have been widely acclaimed. Visit rachaelblok.com

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