The Family Friend

Author: Claire Douglas

Crime & mystery

Published on 2 July 2026 by Penguin Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 400 pages
128 x 197 x 29 | 274g

THE NAIL-BITING NEW THRILLER FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'A chilling story of legacy, memory and buried evil. I was absorbed from the first to last page.' ELLY GRIFFITHS

'Claire Douglas is a class act - she never, ever disappoints' LISA JEWELL When Imogen inherits a country house near Bath, she thinks it’s a mistake. She last saw its owner, reclusive artist Dorothea Roe, sixteen years ago, during a tragic summer which she’s never forgotten.

But a chance discovery in the study leads Imogen to believe Dorothea left her a secret message. And when rumours begin to swirl that Dorothea was murdered, she suspects that the house might not be the life-changing gift she thought.

Who would want to kill Dorothea?Could it be tangled up in Imogen’s own dark family history?And what if Imogen is now the one in danger?