Snap decisions can be fatal . . . On a stifling summer's day, eleven-year-old Jack and his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come back and rescue them. Jack's in charge, she said. I won't be long. But she doesn't come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is changed for ever. Three years later, mum-to-be Catherine wakes to find a knife beside her bed, and a note that says- I could have killed you. Meanwhile Jack is still in charge - of his sisters, of supporting them all, of making sure nobody knows they're alone in the house, and - quite suddenly - of finding out the truth about what happened to his mother. But the truth can be a dangerous thing . . . PRAISE FOR BELINDA BAUER- 'Belinda Bauer has shifted the boundaries of what makes a truly gripping, terrifying thriller. Imagine Thomas Harris crossed with Kate Atkinson and you still won't be close . . . will leave you breathless.' Daily Mirror 'Her thrillers are always compelling, always original, always brilliant. I will rush to read anything she writes.' Mark Billingham 'Belinda Bauer is a marvel. Her novels are almost indecently gripping and enjoyable.' Sophie Hannah 'Bauer's victims are so beautifully illuminated . . . you sense their fears oozing off the page.' Daily Express 'Bauer sees deeper than most into people's emotions.' The Times 'One of the leading names in crime fiction.' Stylist