She Lies in the Vines

An atmospheric novel about our obsession with true crime

By: Benjamin Stevenson

Narrated by: Nicholas Osmond

Four years ago Eliza Dacey was brutally murdered. Within hours, her killer was caught. Wasn't he?

So reads the opening titles of Jack Quick's new true-crime documentary. A skilled producer, Jack knows that the bigger the conspiracy, the higher the ratings. Curtis Wade, convicted of Eliza's murder on circumstantial evidence and victim of a biased police force, is the perfect subject. Millions of viewers agree.

Just before the finale, Jack uncovers a minor detail that may prove Curtis guilty after all. Convinced it will ruin his show, Jack disposes of the evidence and delivers the finale unedited: proposing that Curtis is innocent.

But when Curtis is released, and a new victim is found bearing horrifying similarities to the original murder, Jack realises that he may have helped a guilty man out of jail. And, as the only one who knows the real evidence of the case, he is the only one who can send him back....

©2018 Benjamin Stevenson (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

"Outstanding...an absorbing thriller told with heart and wit. Morality and ambition clash on a journey full of twists as [this] takes readers from the cut-throat media landscape to a sleepy town full of secrets." (Jane Harper, best-selling author of The Dry and Force of Nature)

"A hugely-original premise, a guilt-ridden protagonist, a plot that won't lie down. A great debut." (Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands)