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Dear Darling

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Dear Darling

By: Ella King
Narrated by: Mei Mei MacLeod
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An unforgettable novel for those who loved My Dark Vanessa, Half His Age or Gone Girl

‘A seriously impressive new talent’ CHRIS WHITAKER

'A deeply moving character study of a woman in flux’ LISA TADDEO

'Timely, devastating' LISA JEWELL

'Brave, bold, nuanced and subtle, as well as properly suspenseful and immersive' LEE CHILD

***

Dear Darling,

So begins the letter from Daniel Prior.

The man Lauren had sex with when she was fourteen years old.

The man she fell in love with, long before conversations about power and consent and #MeToo.

The man she locked away in the deepest part of her memory.

Eighteen years later, the world is changed, and Lauren, a wife and mother, is changed too.

But now, fresh out of prison, Daniel wants to meet.

And Lauren must finally confront the electricity and devastation of the man who's loved and harmed her more deeply than anyone in her life…

From bold new voice Ella King, Dear Darling cuts to the heart of some of the most complex issues of our age.

'Comparisons to My Dark Vanessa are inevitable but I like this one better' ERIN KELLY

'Raw, unflinching, and beautifully written, Dear Darling is an unforgettable novel. Absolutely incredible' ANDREA MARA

‘A blistering thriller’ NEW YORK TIMES

‘Disturbing, poignant and memorable all at once' OBSERVER

(P)2026 HarperCollins Publishers Coming of Age Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction
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Critic Reviews

‘There is nothing more intriguing to me than the desires of women and how we act when we want something that isn't good for us. Ella King's Dear Darling is delicious in its thrall to that notion whilst also being a deeply moving character study of a woman in flux’ LISA TADDEO
'Timely, devastating, thought-provoking and beautifully written' LISA JEWELL
'Brave, bold, nuanced and subtle, as well as properly suspenseful and immersive' LEE CHILD
'Raw, unflinching, and beautifully written, Dear Darling is an unforgettable novel. Absolutely incredible' ANDREA MARA
‘Tender prose that tackles the thorniest of subjects with lush writing and compassion … Comparisons to My Dark Vanessa are inevitable, but I like this one better' ERIN KELLY
‘You'll go a long way before you find tension as fraught as in Dear Darling. A feminist narrative that explores the abuse of power and its consequences. What a dark, vengeful read, and what a promising new writer’ JANICE HALLETT
‘Written in captivating prose, this is a book that probes complex issues in a way that is both timeless and very much of our age’ HARPER'S BAZAAR
‘King takes an age-old theme and makes it truly her own. It's a thriller that shimmers with nuance at every turn – absolutely brilliant’ HEATHER DARWENT
‘Ella King writes with precise, interrogating beauty, however unsettling the subject. Dear Darling is a book full of terrible human truths, but confronted with wit, empathy and understanding’ ABIGAIL DEAN
‘An unforgettable novel, challenging uncomfortable themes with a clever, fresh perspective’ CALLIE KAZUMI
‘Once again Ella King has delivered a novel, which is emotive, powerful and deeply unsettling’ LV MATTHEWS
‘An intimate and devastating portrait of the real-world consequences of abuse’ HEAT, Book of the Week
More praise for Ella King:
‘A beautiful, bewitching, unsettling and unputdownable dream of a book’ LISA JEWELL
‘A blistering thriller’ NEW YORK TIMES
‘Disturbing, poignant and memorable all at once' OBSERVER
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