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Decades of evil have gone unchecked. Until now… A nail-biting crime thriller about desperate families, with a police detective you will love and a final twist that will break your heart.
‘An utterly believable and chilling tale of the abuse of the vulnerable … it has an intelligence and emotional heft that sets it above the usual crime novel’ A. K. TURNER
A young psychiatrist is found beaten to death in the Essex woods close to a summer camp for young patients suffering from eating disorders. The camp is run by the charismatic Professor Sir Ned Chesham, hailed as a miracle worker, but the murder of one of his team throws a spotlight on his work and the ‘special girls’ under his care.
DI Grace Fisher investigates, but she is pulled from the case to head up a Metropolitan Police review into a cold case involving Chesham himself. Was that original investigation bungled – or deliberatey buried?
As Grace exposes the full extent of the lies, grooming and gaslighting that led to the young doctor’s murder, she uncovers the terrible damage done to Chesham’s ‘special girls’ – and the danger they are still in.
What people are saying about THE SPECIAL GIRLS:
‘A brave and harrowing novel’ SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
‘An utterly believable and chilling tale of the abuse of the vulnerable … it has an intelligence and emotional heft that sets it above the usual crime novel’ A. K. TURNER
A young psychiatrist is found beaten to death in the Essex woods close to a summer camp for young patients suffering from eating disorders. The camp is run by the charismatic Professor Sir Ned Chesham, hailed as a miracle worker, but the murder of one of his team throws a spotlight on his work and the ‘special girls’ under his care.
DI Grace Fisher investigates, but she is pulled from the case to head up a Metropolitan Police review into a cold case involving Chesham himself. Was that original investigation bungled – or deliberatey buried?
As Grace exposes the full extent of the lies, grooming and gaslighting that led to the young doctor’s murder, she uncovers the terrible damage done to Chesham’s ‘special girls’ – and the danger they are still in.
What people are saying about THE SPECIAL GIRLS:
‘A brave and harrowing novel’ SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
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Reviews
Plenty of suspense and gripping, instructive writing about real people facing impossible, often tragic predicaments. This is an excellent crime novel, warmly recommended
An intelligent, sophisticated police procedural with a completely believable central character and a strong moral core. Emotional and hardhitting, highly recommended
An unusual police procedural . . . beautifully written, full of interesting insights, and atmospherically set
Combines attention to detail with compassionate intelligence
Full of well-handled forensics and the brooding atmosphere of the Essex coast
There are plenty of twists to this compelling and compassionate tale, but it's the sensitivity with which Isabelle Grey handles the legacy of harm that gives the story its beating heart
Isabelle Grey never loses sight of the impact on victims in this brave and harrowing novel
A penetrating analysis of Stockholm Syndrome with a notably filmic sensibility
An utterly believable and chilling tale of the abuse of the vulnerable. Beautifully crafted, it has an intelligence and emotional heft that sets it above the usual crime novel. The best DI Grace Fisher yet
