A woman with a big secret gets a black rose every year on the same day. It’s a reminder of what she’s done and the fact that someone else will never let her forget it. On the cusp of a new life with a new love, her passport disappears and her past comes knocking on her front door. So, who’s the “bad guy” in this book? Sanderson will keep you guessing in this intelligent thriller

The Leaving Party by Lesley Sanderson proves once again why this author has very quickly established herself as a favourite of mine. I devoured this book in a single afternoon, and was virtually propelled from one page to the next in breathless anticipation. Ms Sanderson's writing is deliciously compulsive, and I cannot get enough of it.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Ava and Lena, and shifting between the timelines of 2005 and 2018, the story of two friends unfolds as Ava, in the present, prepares to leave for a new life in New York with her partner, Ben. Left behind is Lena, who will do anything for her adored best friend, and is desperate to keep her close. A shared secret from the past binds the two women, and it is one that continues to haunt Ava, and one from which she is anxious to escape. But someone is not willing to let Ava go quite so easily, and will go to great lengths to ensure that her leaving party is one she will not soon forget.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.