Rachel’s in trouble. She’s a ticking bomb. A couple of co-workers bullied her into stealing a radical new drug from their employer, and now it’s lodged inside her. They’re watching her like hawks and her time’s running out. John Bishop runs security for the company; as a father who once lost a teenaged daughter to an accidental overdose, his drive to hunt down the thieves and rescue their victim grows more intense with every lost minute. He can never bring his own child back. But he can save someone else’s.

Then his superiors realise that if the swallowed package bursts and Rachel dies, their secrets are kept safe and their problem goes away. Though Bishop’s on the trail, he’s an easy man to cut loose and discredit. But now he’s Rachel’s only hope.

Gallagher’s hard-boiled style is pitch perfect for the tale’s grim events, but he leavens it with dislocating moments of powerful emotion that draw the reader irresistibly to the characters. The novel packs a wallop that should make an impact on fans of both suspense and horror fiction.

Publishers’ Weekly

Gallagher has quietly become Britain’s finest popular novelist, working a dark seam between horror and the psychological thriller

Arena