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The Night Stairs

Erin Kelly

$49.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English
Harvill
07 August 2026
When schoolgirls start fainting one after the other at an elite convent boarding school, old legends twist into new scandals. From irresistible bestselling storyteller Erin Kelly comes the new compulsive thriller that will leave you craving to read more.

When schoolgirls start fainting one after the other at a convent boarding school, old legends twist into new scandals. From irresistible bestselling storyteller Erin Kelly comes the new addictive thriller that will leave you craving to read more.

'Had me hooked from page one. . . a twisty, confounding mystery' JENNIE GODFREY

'Relentlessly gripping...

Original, atmospheric, and deliciously dark' LUCY CLARKE

Centuries of tradition are coming to an end at St Cordula's school. Deputy Head, Fiona Fox, is about to preside over a controversial move to save it from ruin. But it's not easy to change things at a school this old.

Legend has it that the ghost of fifteenth-century nun, Sister Matilda, will keep St Cordula's safe. But only as long as the words 'GOD FORGIVE ME', scrawled by Matilda on a chapel staircase wall before she fell to her death, are repainted every year. The words have only been allowed to fade once, in 2002. But then, fits of vertigo spread through the pupils, and a second girl fell to her death on the night stairs. Only three people know the truth of what happened on the night of the tragedy.

Now the vertigo is back, and Fiona must stem the outbreak before it threatens St Cordula's future, or worse, another girl loses her life. But when one of her pupils begins a dangerous investigation into the past, old secrets start to twist into new scandals...

'Creates a world that pulls you in and won't let go. Deliciously dark and satisfying' JANE FALLON

'Outstanding...as much an insightful novel about female friendship and betrayal as it is a compelling mystery' JANE CASEY

'Deeply layered, beautifully penned and infinitely absorbing... a triumph' ABIR MUKHERJEE

'A stylish and utterly compulsive read from one of my favourite storytellers' RUTH WARE

'A stunning gothic thriller- beautifully-written, wise, moving, and utterly compelling. . . an absolute triumph' ALEX NORTH

'Compulsively creepy and genuinely thrilling. . . Warning- this will keep you up all night' ANNA MAZZOLA

'Like falling into a fever dream - enchanting, embroiling, and addictive. An absolute classic from the peerless Erin Kelly' SARAH HILARY

PRAISE FOR ERIN KELLY-

'So thrilling and unexpected that it made my head spin' LISA JEWELL 'Erin Kelly is supremely skilled at unusual and intelligent suspense plots' DAILY MAIL 'Original, suspenseful, and with complex characters that spring irresistibly to life on the page' LOUISE CANDLISH 'An incredibly atmospheric psychological thriller with a clever, elaborate plot' GRAZIA 'Incomparable...captivating, cleverly constructed' PAULA HAWKINS 'Magnificent' MARIAN KEYES 'A gripping tale of secrets, revenge and obsession, masterfully done' GUARDIAN 'Propulsive... atmospheric, original' GILLIAN McALLISTER 'A taut chamber-piece of psychological suspense' FINANCIAL TIMES
By:  
Imprint:   Harvill
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 240mm,  Width: 156mm,  Spine: 40mm
Weight:   750g
ISBN:   9781787305618
ISBN 10:   1787305619
Pages:   400
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  ELT Advanced ,  Primary
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

Erin Kelly is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose, The Burning Air, The Ties That Bind, He Said/She Said, Stone Mothers/We Know You Know, Watch Her Fall, The Skeleton Key and The House of Mirrors, as well as Broadchurch- The Novel, inspired by the award-winning TV series. The Poison Tree became a major ITV drama and was a Richard & Judy Summer Read. He Said/She Said spent six weeks in the top ten in both hardback and paperback, was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier crime novel of the year award and selected for both the Simon Mayo Radio 2 and Richard & Judy Book Clubs. The Skeleton Key was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller and was selected as a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. Born in London in 1976, Erin lives in north London with her husband and daughters.

Reviews for The Night Stairs

Had me hooked from page one. . . a twisty, confounding mystery -- Jennie Godfrey, author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS Nobody builds a world quite as believable as Erin Kelly. And no one can tear it down quite so deliberately too. The Night Stairs is another captivating, fiendishly clever thriller with blindsiding twists -- John Marrs, author of DEAD IN THE WATER I’ve loved each of Erin Kelly’s novels – but The Night Stairs is my new favourite. The richly evoked setting of St Cordula’s convent school becomes a playground for malaise and madness, in this relentlessly gripping psychological thriller. Original, atmospheric, and deliciously dark -- Lucy Clarke, author of THE HIKE Outstanding...peeling back the layers of respectability and tradition in a Catholic girls' school to reveal incense-bitter truths. Atmospheric and expertly crafted, this is as much an insightful novel about female friendship and betrayal as it is a compelling mystery...Erin Kelly is one of the absolute best in the business. -- Jane Casey, author of THE SECRET ROOM Wonderful and original novel. . . intelligent, nuanced and immersive, as well as intricately plotted, with a deeply convincing cast of characters and an extraordinary depiction and understanding of teenage girls. The twists are powerful. . . -- Claire Kendal, author of MAKE YOU MINE I was utterly absorbed by this chilling and immersive thriller. The plot is intricate, the twists are head-spinning, the setting is so vivid I can still walk around it in my mind, but what I loved most of all were the perfectly painfully rendered characters. -- Holly Seddon, author of 59 MINUTES Reading The Night Stairs is like falling into a fever dream – enchanting, embroiling, and addictive. An absolute classic from the peerless Erin Kelly -- Sarah Hilary, author of THE DROWNING PLACE Erin Kelly is the master of the immersive thriller and The Night Stairs is a wonderful example of her ability to weave multiple timelines, characters and mysteries together to tease, challenge and ultimately entertain the reader...Writing with wit and devastating accuracy Kelly reminds us of how a tension filled adolescence can so easily tip into horror -- Sinead Crowley, author of THE BELLADONNA MAZE The Night Stairs is a stunning gothic thriller: beautifully-written, wise, moving, and utterly compelling. Erin Kelly is one of our very best writers, and her latest novel is an absolute triumph -- Alex North, author of THE MAN MADE OF SMOKE This taut gothic suspense novel kept me up late frantically turning pages. It's a thoroughly twentieth-century take on dark academia...Kelly has written another chilling and perceptive novel that's a must-read -- Chris Bridges, author of SICK TO DEATH


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