The Scorched Earth

'You will suspect everyone in this unbearably tense tale of betrayal and revenge' -- AS Hatch 'Breathtaking prose ... Gripping and original' -- Clare Empson 'A blistering mystery; the dark secrets lurking in the short summer shadows kept me turning the pages long into the night' -- Erin Kelly 'Poetic writing with an eerie suspense that builds with each page' -- Niki Mackay, author of I, Witness 'This atmospheric tale of guilty secrets revealed during a scorching summer is twisty, evocative and suspenseful' -- Roz Watkins 'Beautifully told, the stifling heat and tension crackle through every page' -- Victoria Selman, author of Blood for Blood 'An engrossing and twisty procedural' * Sunday Times Crime Club * 'Blok has an elliptical, poetic stye that treats the narrative ... A powerful, eventful novel that depicts grief as a pit "so deep and wide that there's no climbing out". The dizzying heat comes off the page' * The Times * 'This atmospheric novel is a slow burn - but well worth it' * Heat. * '[A] scorchingly good thriller' * Sunday Mirror. * 'Underlines [Blok's] exceptional ability as a storyteller ... Gripping, twisty and immensely satisfying, this confirms Blok's talent' * Daily Mail * 'A most ingenious version of the revenge tragedy' * The Tablet * 'Deeply foreboding and utterly compelling ... Blok skilfully rachets up the tension ... An emotionally charged thriller that plays on the tragic humanity of its characters' * Irish Times * 'This atmospheric and at times almost unbearably tense tale of guilty secrets, betrayal and revenge is twisty, evocative and suspenseful. It is beautifully told, with the stifling heat helping to further build the tension which crackles through it. Blok's writing is increasingly assured and compelling and she is as deft about human relationships as she is about creating an increasingly foreboding atmosphere with a steady ratcheting up of suspense as she switches timelines and perspectives' * Crime Review *
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Rachael Blok grew up in Durham and studied Literature at Warwick University. She taught English at a London Comprehensive and is now a full-time writer living in Hertfordshire with her husband and children. Visit rachaelblok.com
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