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The Heights

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Our House comes a nail-biting story about a mother's obsession with revenge

About The Book

There is nothing as powerful as a mother’s love. But will Ellen’s put her whole family in danger?

‘I didn’t read The Heights, I inhaled it’ LISA JEWELL

Ellen Saint is just your average mum. Devoted to her family, she’s no different from any other mother who wants the best for her kids. But when her teenage son Lucas brings a new friend home, cracks start to appear in Ellen’s perfect family life.
Kieran Watts isn’t like Lucas. He’s rude, obnoxious and reckless, and Ellen can only watch in despair as her son falls deeper under his influence.
Then Ellen’s whole world implodes and she embarks on an obsessive need to get revenge.


There is nothing you won’t do for your children – even murder . . .


'Compelling, unexpected and beautifully written' JANE FALLON

‘Tense, provocative and devastatingly powerful’ TM LOGAN

'There’s nothing quite so chilling as the roar of mother tiger love. Louise Candlish had my heart in my throat. Dizzily dark. Dangerous. Deadly' JANE CORRY

'The Heights has everything you could possibly wish for – tragedy, obsession, revenge and, yes, love. Another finely-crafted masterpiece from Louise Candlish' BA PARIS

About The Author

(c) Neil Spence

Louise Candlish is the internationally bestselling author of fifteen novels, including The Other Passenger, The Heights, and Our House, which won the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. It is now a major four-part TV drama starring Martin Compston, Tuppence Middleton, and Rupert Penry-Jones, available to stream on CBC Gem. Louise lives in London with her husband and daughter. Connect with her on Twitter @Louise_Candlish, Facebook @LouiseCandlishAuthor, and Instagram @LouiseCandlish.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (August 5, 2021)
  • Length: 448 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781471183485

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Raves and Reviews

'It twists and it turns and it twists again. The Heights by Louise Candlish is the very definition of a “just one more chapter” novel. I devoured it. And it’s full of such great writing about the ferocity of maternal love'

– Hannah Beckerman, author of If Only I Could Tell You

‘Impossible to resist, impossible to predict, impossible to put down… this is an author at the top of her game’

– Erin Kelly, author of Watch Her Fall

'There’s nothing quite so chilling as the roar of mother tiger love. Louise Candlish had my heart in my throat. Dizzily dark. Dangerous. Deadly'

– Jane Corry, author of The Lies We Tell

'No one creates middle-class characters we love to hate quite like Louise Candlish. I’d expected her to do this, and to provide a great sense of place, and twists that would have been rifling through the book to see how they’d been done. What I wasn’t expecting was that this thriller of obsessive revenge and intense parental grief would tug at my heartstrings. Smart, addictive, twisting, surprising. Highly recommended'

– Sarah Vaughan, author of Little Disasters

‘This psychological thriller that is a perfect example of its type’

– Times Crime Club

‘Candlish’s latest, thoroughly compelling thriller shows off her trademark mix of smartly observed London life, crafty twists and unreliable, but all-too-believable characters’

– Mail on Sunday

‘A woman glimpses a man on a roof terrace. Strange thing is, she knows he’s dead. And she knows because she killed him… From the award-winning author of Our House'

– The I

‘The Heights explores maternal love and how ferocious it can be, as well as dealing with grief and revenge, showing how these emotions can become blurred. Admittedly, Ellen is a hard character to like, but writer Louise Candlish skilfully makes the reader empathise with her feelings. Stylish and sinister, this is a dark tale with a punch to the ending’

– Sunday Express

‘When Ellen’s son Lucas befriends troubled teen Kieran, her instinct to keep her child safe intensifies. But within months, Lucas’s life has been destroyed. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between Ellen and Kieran, as she strives for revenge. But we soon wonder if there’s another side to the story'

– Woman’s Weekly

‘A dizzying read with some wicked plot twists, this is a story you won’t put down!’

– My Weekly

'The Heights has everything you could possibly wish for - tragedy, obsession, revenge and, yes, love. Another finely-crafted masterpiece from Louise Candlish'

– BA Paris

‘Tense, provocative and devastatingly powerful. I loved Our House but I think The Heights might be even better’

– TM Logan

'A beautifully written tale of destructive obsession and revenge, with Louise’s trademark killer twist'

– Mark Edwards

'Compelling, unexpected and beautifully written'

– Jane Fallon

'Another very clever corker of a book from Candlish . . . As with her recent hits, Candlish uses architecture as a thrilling backdrop and skewers the vanities and vulnerabilities of complacent middle-class types and what they are capable of when faced with protecting their territory. We all know people like these characters – she couldn’t possibly be talking about us. Could she?' Daily Mail

‘Dangerously dark and grippingly tense, this will keep you guessing with its brilliant twists and turns’ Heat

'Stylish and sinister, this is a dark tale with a punch to the ending' S Magazine

‘An edge of the seat read' Closer

‘A roller-coaster read’ Bella

‘When Ellen’s son Lucas befriends troubled teen Kieran, her instinct to keep her child safe intensifies. Ellen’s gut feeling is right as, within months, Lucas’s life has been destroyed. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between Ellen and Kieran, as she strives for revenge. Told through Ellen’s own heart-breaking account, you soon wonder whether her point of view is accurate, or if there’s another side to the story. A real nail-biter' Woman & Home

'This story of revenge, love and fear – and what justice really means – is a sure-fire hit' Fabulous

‘A gripping read!’ Yours

'This multi-layered thriller has everythign you want in a great read: tension - you're never sure who is telling the truth - emotion - as you put yourself in Ellen's shoes - and an unravelling of the plot that is both satisfying and scary. Wonderful' Belfast Telegraph

'Another helping of twisted suburban noir at its fiendishly finest' Lancashire Evening News



'A vertigo-inducing plot to make your head spin… a devilish chiller' Saga

'Another great read from the bestselling author Louise Candlish… Twists and turns that will leave you breathless until the final page' Hello

‘Quite breathtakingly brilliant, this slow-burning thriller about the power of a mother’s love will keep you hooked' Real People

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