But Amber wasn’t sorry, or scared. She kept mocking our kiss, calling us freaks. Laughing at my detective work. Telling me that Lucy was too scared, too worried about her dad, to ever use the information I’d given her.
And now this.
There’s a flash of light in the distance. A torch? Has someone seen me, called the police? I need to get away.
A noise in the trees. Was that human? Or animal?
But there’s something I need to do before I can leave. I lower the torch, away from Amber’s face, down to her jeans.
‘Amber, I fucking know you’re here!’ A different man’s voice, angry, close. ‘And I know what you’ve been doing to me!’
I need to hurry up.
I pull the sleeve of my sweater over my hand, slide my fingers into Amber’s jean pocket. There it is. The letter; crumpled but whole. A love letter. A motive.
On my third fake profile on Instagram, Amber finally dropped her guard and accepted my follow request … A picture of Jess in a school uniform that wasn’t Lord Fred’s … I zoomed in on the crest … another photo on her grid – of an older boy holding his palm up to the lens … #sean #russ0 in the comments … and the hashtag #cutarose
I pull the letter out, scrunch it between my fingers, and run.
Gripped by The Night She Dies? Don’t miss The Ski Trip, another unputdownable thriller from Sarah Clarke. Available now!
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A Letter from Sarah Clarke
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading The Night She Dies. I really hope you enjoyed it. Before you carry on reading this letter, I want to warn you that there are spoilers.
The Night She Dies was in part inspired by my own daughter becoming an adult, and a realisation that every stage of parenting brings its own set of questions and challenges. I wanted to build this uncertainty into Rachel’s character.
How do you rate Rachel as a parent? And as a social worker? She was conflicted initially due to her job, but later pushed her principles aside to protect her family. Do you think she was right to make those choices? Or did she cross a line and lose your sympathy? She also protected her family while suspecting them of a terrible crime. Should she have been more loyal, or was it natural for her to suspect them under the circumstances? Do you think Matt’s previous charge of assault influenced her behaviour?
Amber and Jess suffered enormously as children, but responded to their trauma in different ways. Did you feel any sympathy for Amber before she died? And do you think the impact of her death on Jess’s life would be positive or negative? Sean exploited Amber, falsely accused Matt, and assaulted Caden and Rachel, but did you feel any sympathy for him?
I’d love to know what you think about all these questions. You can reach me by email at sarah@sarahclarkeauthor.com or via social media. I am on Twitter as @SCWwriter, and on Facebook and Instagram as @sarahclarkewriter. And if you enjoyed The Night She Dies, I would be very grateful if you could leave a review. It really makes such a difference.
If you like short stories, I have written one called The Morning After which you can download for free by joining my mailing list https://signup.harpercollins.co.uk/join/6n7/signup-hq-sarahclarke. You can also follow my publisher @HQstories for lots of book news and great giveaways.
Happy reading,
Sarah
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