A Lesson in Cruelty

A Lesson in Cruelty is a lesson in craftmanship. A dizzyingly satisfying page-turner and an exploration of redemption and damnation. Harriet Tyce at her best!

Sarah Pinborough

Dark, twisted and utterly nerve-jangling, A Lesson In Cruelty is a sharply structured thriller that left me breathless.

Lucy Clarke

A shocking, provocative, standout thriller. A Lesson In Cruelty is Harriet Tyce at her twisting, wicked, razor-sharp finest.

Chris Whitaker

An edge-of-your-seat thriller and a brilliant, furious meditation on the modern prison system. Harriet Tyce's eye for people - their foibles, missteps, and cruelties - is sharp as a blade.

Abigail Dean

Inventive, chilling and utterly compelling, A Lesson in Cruelty is in the very top tier of psychological thrillers and further cements Harriet Tyce's place amongst the great British crime writers.

M. W. Craven

A brave and affecting novel which is dark as night and not afraid to explore the depths of the human experience. The strands of the story come together in a satisfying and tragic fashion, that makes you think about how we punish people and why we always judge women so much more harshly than men.

Araminta Hall

Perfect plotting, utterly brilliant.

B.A. Paris

Superb, twisty plotting that's sure to keep readers guessing until the very end

Femi Kayode

I absolutely loved it and devoured it whole in one day. So suspenseful and clever of course, but such great characterisation and real heart.

Laura Marshall

An imaginatively told (and very bingeable) thriller.

John Marrs

Compulsive, dark and smart, A Lesson in Cruelty delivers on every level. Justice, revenge and punishment are meted out and questioned throughout this twisty, terrifying thriller with a heart.

Gilly Macmillan

A deliciously sinister tale of revenge and redemption, with heart-in-mouth tension and head-spinning twists. This is Tyce at her spine-tingling best.

Ellery Lloyd

Absolutely page turning

Louise Hare

Excellent, gripping, chilling, clever

Trevor Wood

Thought provoking and intense, these three cleverly interlocking stories come together in a tense and intriguing finale. I raced through it!

Sam Holland

Mysterious and beautifully-constructed with an electrifying pace and dark undercurrents, A Lesson in Cruelty is a white-knuckle, gripping read.

Heather Critchlow

The scale of this book! A finely drawn jigsaw of characters, stunning prose and a harsh critique of the crushing power wielded by a few. I gasped aloud at the finish - a denouement that will blow you away. A triumph.

Rachel Wolf

Compelling, sinister and powerful, A Lesson In Cruelty gripped me from the first page.

Caroline Hulse

Superb writing, twisty intriguing plot. Wolfed it down.

Emma Curtis

A cunningly crafted masterpiece of a thriller. Tyce weaves a trio of threads together so effortlessly that when the explosive end hits, it hits like a freight train.

Robert Rutherford

Another brilliant psych thriller from Tyce, an absolute master of the slow reveal. A Lesson in Cruelty explores themes a culpability, imprisonment and innocence. Her characters are beautifully portrayed and the book is full of Tyce's tell-tale spiky women.

Niki Mackay

A Lesson in Cruelty is a masterclass in the dark art of plotting. A propulsive read that crafts a scintillating and vivid story out of characters that gnaw and claw from the page. This is a great crime novel, and the chills last long after the final page is turned. Absolutely stunning.

Janice Hallett

Head-turning and page-turning. If you haven't read any of Harriet's books, make it a 2024 goal to do so.

Belfast Telegraph

The interwoven stories in this psychological thriller come together to make a book you read with your heart in your mouth.

i paper

A shocking read

That's Life magazine

So twisty

Crime Monthly

A Lesson in Cruelty starts with riveting drama and doesn't let up throughout. It is an exciting, tension-filled novel that leaves the reader breathless. Its impact is astonishing.

My Weekly

Tyce's denouement pulls things together skilfully and surprisingly.

Sunday Times

Expertly crafted with that chilling sense of dread

The Sun

A novel of ideas which is also a gripping mystery-thriller is something difficult to bring off, but Tyce has managed to do just that.

The Scotsman

Chilling

Sunday Post

A dizzying ride into the unknown and a meticulous puzzler with a daring final twist.

Crime Time

Tyce expertly explores the psychological turmoil of these damaged characters, building suspense as the puzzle pieces satisfyingly slot into place.

Culturefly

Dark and tense

Woman's Weekly