We Begin at the End: Crime Novel of the Year Award Winner 2021

Description

'A beautifully written mystery, packed with unforgettable characters' - JANE HARPER 'An accomplished and moving story of crime, punishment, love and redemption' - GUARDIAN For fans of Jane Harper's The Dry comes a powerful novel about the lengths we will go to keep our family safe. This is a story about good and evil and how life is lived somewhere in between. Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer. Now, he's been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend, and sister of the girl he killed. Duchess Radley, Star's thirteen-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin - and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but also the whole town. Murder, revenge, retribution. How far can we run from the past, when the past seems doomed to repeat itself?

Chris Whitaker is the award-winning author of Tall Oaks and All The Wicked Girls. Both books were published to widespread critical acclaim, with Tall Oaks going on to win the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award. Chris lives in Hertfordshire with his family. Follow Chris on Twitter @WhittyAuthor

'Magnificent . . . an instant classic, a West Coast Where the Crawdads Sing . . . a special, vital novel. I'm grateful to have read it' - A J FINN 'A magnificent crime novel. It deserves to win a hatful of awards. A BIG hat. Consider me a major fan' MARK BILLINGHAM 'So beautifully written' - LYNDA LA PLANTE 'A gorgeous, crystalline novel' - JEANINE CUMMINS, author of AMERICAN DIRT 'A stunning and heartbreaking book - will keep you gripped until the last moving page' - CLAIRE MCGOWAN 'An exceptionally beautiful and accomplished crime novel' - ALI LAND 'An absolute masterclass in crime writing and story-telling' - JO SPAIN