The snakes

Read the all-consuming story of a family whose worst sins come back to bite them from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Outcast'A menacing beautifully written novel' Guardian 'Unsettling, thought-provoking' HeatBea and Dan, recently married, rent out their tiny flat to escape London for a few precious months.

Driving through France they visit Bea's dropout brother Alex at the hotel he runs in Burgundy.

Disturbingly, they find him all alone and the ramshackle hotel deserted, apart from the nest of snakes in the attic. When Alex and Bea's parents make a surprise visit, Dan can't understand why Bea is so appalled, or why she's never wanted him to know them; Liv and Griff Adamson are charming, and rich.

They are the richest people he has ever met. Maybe Bea's ashamed of him, or maybe she regrets the secrets she's been keeping.

Tragedy strikes suddenly, brutally, and in its aftermath the family is stripped back to its rotten core, and now neither Bea nor Alex can escape... 'Both a cautionary tale and a pitch-black race-to-the-end thriller' Guardian Season's Readings 'A thrillingly good read' Elizabeth Day, author of The Party 'A twisty delight of a novel, a cracking page turner that has much to say about modern life and our attempts to find a way to navigate it, no matter where we come from' Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love