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  ‘It’s okay now,’ he told her.

  Kat banged the doll a few more times, then set it down. Tentatively, keeping her face pointed at the ground, she crawled across into his lap. She curled against his chest, and pain rocketed through to his spinal cord, but he didn’t give a damn. All he cared about was her head tucked beneath his chin.

  ‘Look at me,’ he said gently.

  She didn’t move.

  ‘Honey, look at me.’

  Slowly, she lifted her eyes.

  He said, ‘It’s okay now.’

  And then she was sobbing, screaming, pulling his shirt and pounding her fists against his collarbone. He held her, grunting against the pain, his forehead pressed to hers, rocking her. It was gray with dusk, and still he sat, aching, legs splayed out awkwardly before him, holding her as she quieted, holding her until the only movement was the shuddering of her breath moving through her, holding her, holding her, holding her.

  Acknowledgements

  Several experts took time to offer valuable guidance on matters medical, logistical, editorial, and tactical. Thanks to Kristin Baird, M.D., John Cayanne, Philip Eisner, Tyler Felt, Marjorie Hurwitz, Missy Hurwitz, M.D., Don McKim, James Murphy, Bret Nelson, M.D., Andrew Plotkin, Emily Prior, and Maureen Sugden. Any flaws in the book are due not to them but to the author’s inherent obstinacy.

  Thanks to my supportive and untiring representatives: attorneys Marc H. Glick and Stephen F. Breimer, and agents Rich Green, Aaron Priest, and the irrepressible Lisa Erbach Vance. Incisive (and patient) editor Keith Kahla and my crew at St. Martin’s – including but certainly not limited to publisher Sally Richardson, Matthew Baldacci, Jeff Capshew, Tara Cibelli, Kathleen Conn, Ann Day, Brian Heller, Ken Holland, Loren Jaggers, Sarah Madden, John Murphy, Matthew Shear, Tom Siino, Martin Quinn, and George Witte. Additionally, I’d like to acknowledge David Shelley, Daniel Mallory, and rest of the UK Sphere contingent, as well as my other publishing partners around the world. Also my Rhodesian ridgeback, Simba, present for the vast majority of the keyboard’s rattling.

  And Delinah, there for me every day with a smile that, ten years later, I still feel in my hip pocket.

  I SEE YOU

  Gregg Hurwitz

  ‘Tough, true, well-written, and memorable as hell . . .’ James Patterson

  When bestselling thriller writer Andrew Danner wakes up in a hospital bed with no idea how he got there, he is horrified to be told that he is responsible for the murder of his ex-fiancee.

  In the resulting celebrity trial, Drew is exonerated on the grounds of temporary insanity caused by a recent brain tumour. But he still has no idea if he did kill Genevieve, and is desperate to find out. Haunted by what appear to be his bizarre night-time actions, Drew is shocked when another woman is discovered dead, murdered in the same way as Genevieve.

  Trying to clear his name and understand what’s happening to him, Drew enlists the help of a tame forensic scientist, a sympathetic detective, his staunch friend Chic who has helpful underworld connections, and an over-confident teenager. Can Drew discover what really happened that night and unmask the real killer?

  ‘A thrilling, mind-bending journey, it is also deeply humane and beautifully written. You’ll turn the final page with profound regret’ Dennis Lehane

  978-0-7515-3977-6

  WE KNOW

  Gregg Hurwitz

  ‘The breathtaking pace of this thriller is set from the opening scene’ Sunday Telegraph

  A good job, a decent flat in Los Angeles, a quiet life – Nick Horrigan has finally put his traumatic past behind him. Or so it seems, until a SWAT team smashes into his place in the middle of the night. Still in pyjamas, he’s dragged outside to a waiting helicopter. He’s told that a terrorist has seized control of a nuclear power plant and is threatening to blow it up . . . unless he can talk to Nick.

  Flown into a deadly intrigue, Nick is charged with a dangerous secret, one that will take him from the dark alleys of the city to behind the scenes of a Presidential race. As he rockets toward the truth, peeling back layer after layer of lies and deception, only one thing is certain: the long-buried secret, tied to the traumas of his own past, threatens his life at every turn.

  ‘This tight thriller begins explosively, keeps up the suspense, and the denouement truly delivers’ Best

  978-0-7515-3977-6