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White Lies
Zoe Markham
‘A wonderful edge of your seat thriller that will have you guessing all the way to the end.’ – Carrie on GoodreadsA haunting YA thriller you won't be able to put down, White Lies is a boarding school story – with a shockingly dark twist.Everybody hurtsFor Abigail, a new school could be the fresh start she so desperately needs. With her parents in the army and her sister Beth too far away to run to, she knows this year needs to be different. She's never been part of the cool crowd and for the first time Abby wants to fit in. And all it takes is just one little white lie…because some truths are too painful to share.Everybody liesBut at Cotswold Community College, Abby isn't the only one with a past she'd rather forget. And when she stumbles across a closely-guarded secret, Abigail realises that her one little white lie could reveal everything she’s worked so hard to hide…What readers are saying about White Lies'I LOVED this one… there is a dark edge to the narrative, a scary feel to some of the events and just that little *something* that touches you on an emotional level when reading that grips you utterly… Add in some truly spooky and dark dealings, a touch of inspiration and a killer twist that I never once saw coming and you have an imaginative, clever and intelligent thriller that just happens to be in the Young Adult market. Pish to that, its better than any one of 150 girl books you might read this year or did last…' – Liz Loves Books‘The book was a easy and fast read that was layered with suspense making it captivating and gripping that I had to finish it and know what was happening. I thought I had it all figured out… but after reaching the end, I realized how wrong I was. It is an eerie mystery slash slightly horror story that plays with your mind and imagination.’ – Joy on Goodreads‘I couldn't put it down and it was short enough for me to whizz through… I still couldn't believe the unbelievable dark twist that this book took. It was so gripping and surreal that I'm still captivated by it! I loved the writing style of this author and it's made me incredibly eager to read more books by Ms. Markham.’ – Connie on Goodreads‘This is a mystery story with some hints of horror that really plays with your mind, especially when you think you’ve got it all figured out. It sets you on edge and makes you really question what is going on – if you’re a fan of the Red Eye series or just general horror/thriller books then this one’s for you!’ – Maia and a Little Moore‘This wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing to catch my attention was Zoe's writing style. Every word seemed to flow with the next making me want to keep reading. Zoe does an incredible job of bringing the character's alive.’ – Rosalie Reyes's review on Goodreads
Everybody hurts
For Abigail, a new school could be the fresh start she so desperately needs. With her parents in the army and her sister Beth too far away to run to, she knows this year needs to be different. She’s never been part of the cool crowd and for the first time Abby wants to fit in. And all it takes is just one little white lie…because some truths are too painful to share.
Everybody lies
But at Cotswold Community College, Abby isn’t the only one with a past she’d rather forget. And when she stumbles across a closely guarded secret, Abigail realises that her one little white lie could reveal everything she’s worked so hard to hide…
Praise for Under My Skin (#ulink_9361b391-6c08-5bf3-af83-f88d22c820d4)
‘It’s a wonderful take on the often fractious relationship between teens and their parents, beautifully transmitted by Markham.’ – Jack Croxhall
‘In a nutshell, if you like young adult books then read this, if you like zombie books then read this and every kind of book in between you need to read this.’ – Random Redheaded Ramblings
‘A brilliant story this – addictive, dark, compelling and very clever. I read it fast, one of those books that hooks you in and won’t let go.’ – Liz Currently Loves
‘Read this book! If you’re at all a fan of anything YA, Gothic and/or Frankenstein then you will love the story of Chloe. Started reading this at 12.15a.m. and didn’t put it down until I was finished.’ – Fi on Goodreads
‘A great Gothic YA that will appeal to adult readers as well’ – Rosee on Goodreads
Also by Zoë Markham (#ulink_6c41ef2a-95f1-594b-a100-18d00cd19a26)
Under My Skin
White Lies
Zoë Markham
Copyright (#ulink_35515d17-5bce-5781-b7b8-7fefbbf14a25)
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2016
Copyright © Zoë Markham 2016
Zoë Markham asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
E-book Edition © June 2016 ISBN: 9781474045001
Version date: 2018-09-20
ZOË MARKHAM
Having recently pulled off a dramatic escape from the rat race, Zoë now spends her days endlessly monkeying about with words.
In a tiny, tumbledown bungalow in the wilds of West Oxfordshire she creates, destroys, giggles maniacally and cries dramatically whilst consuming epic amounts of builder’s tea and trying to keep the cats off the keyboard.
Her husband has learned to ignore her fictional delusions, but her five-year-old son still thinks they’re pretty cool, and often offers helpful advice – usually involving dragons.
Find out more about Zoë at her website: www.zoemarkhamwrites.com (http://www.zoemarkhamwrites.com)
With many thanks to Victoria and Rhea for helping Abby find her way.
For Tigerlilly, who always understands, and always texts me back.
Contents
Cover (#u0d6dedf1-6a0a-5bf7-bb39-a7ea577f5516)
Blurb (#ue46ac3a8-ff82-549e-8002-71ed919edd3a)
Praise (#u5384bd6a-c106-502f-b7e2-9dce89f06396)
Book List (#u5c621ed7-cdc7-573f-9c8c-88cb9d24e056)
Title Page (#u8b5db07b-a81c-538d-9230-722337e01351)
Copyright (#ufc120fe8-20d7-5783-b27e-9de4b91c6b6d)
Author Bio (#u16fdc4e5-7241-5ae9-b4f6-114d8df5e634)
Acknowledgement (#u12878c91-7f6e-5bdf-82dc-619772b80b8a)
Dedication (#u0ed2bd53-1eeb-533e-8210-61759af076a1)
Inside: Day One (#u7db6c8e1-fd17-51ff-b84c-a6138031f34f)
Chapter One (#ua0c03fa5-7725-59dc-addb-1b79951d5369)
Chapter Two (#u8e6e8bd4-4a2b-55f1-a487-e9d7f8688d20)
Chapter Three (#u8c7f21b2-8232-5089-b11f-c0f975153b8b)
Chapter Four (#u4dd49ac0-13a3-5c4f-8b6a-cd8561fc3e46)
Chapter Five (#uffc6c5fc-1987-5159-a1a2-ba1c7d04adc7)
Chapter Six (#u62bb8a97-9b97-5b27-956e-640bf4b294d5)
Inside: Day Two (#ud9d32517-6145-58f1-abf8-44cc7aa17d44)
Chapter Seven (#u1de1d9c8-fca0-5c27-8f1f-a32635f9d851)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Inside: Day Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Inside: Day Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Inside: Day Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Inside: Day Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Endpages (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Inside (#ulink_e513c8c3-ed00-5d31-a479-473abd2495d5)
Day One (#ulink_e513c8c3-ed00-5d31-a479-473abd2495d5)
I don’t think I meant to kill her.
I probably would’ve been OK with hurting her. I didn’t want her dead though. I’m not a complete psycho. And however much I might have hated her, I wouldn’t have wanted to go to prison. Or to end up in here.
The problem is, I didn’t not want her dead.
They said I was contradicting myself, but I’m just being honest. I would never have actually set out to kill her. It’s just that I maybe wouldn’t have been all that bothered if someone else had.
Anyway, what would I know about killing someone? I’m just a kid.
‘So was she,’ they said.
In the end I just closed my eyes and waited to wake up.
But I never did.
She’s dead and I’m in here and I’m scared to death of what happens next.
Chapter One (#ulink_7947846f-98a8-5ac1-8df2-d9b15c026287)
I saw it as soon as we turned off the motorway. The sun lit up the old building like some kind of celestial spotlight, turning it into something straight off a postcard. The satnav politely suggested that Mum make a U-turn. I couldn’t help thinking it might be on to something: that turning up as the nervous new girl at my fifth school in five years was going to be one more ‘fresh start’ than I could handle. Turning around and heading back in the opposite direction didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
