C.L. Taylor - The Island

‘I could not put this book down and now that I’ve finished it, I am having an extreme book hangover.’

Jasmine, Netgalley

‘A gripping and cleverly written book.’

Kyle, Netgalley

‘An absolutely incredible story full of suspense, tension and mystery. I found myself racing through the pages to find out what would happen next!’

Roxanne, Netgalley

‘C.L. Taylor is one of my go-to authors and The Island is one of her best. A gripping page-turner with a true escape factor.’

Suzanne, Netgalley

‘You are in for a real treat with this book, it gave me the chills reading it. Captivating and tense… This must be my favourite one of her books yet, it will be hard to top it.’

Hannah, Netgalley

‘Read this book and you won’t be disappointed.’

Diane, Netgalley

‘A gripping read, heart stoppingly scary at some points, but I couldn’t put it down.’

Jackie, Netgalley

‘It’s YA with Cally’s thriller twist. It was fantastic and the ending I didn’t see coming at all!’

Kimberley, Netgalley

C.L. TAYLORis a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. Her 2019 novel, Sleep, was a Richard and Judy pick. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son.

Young Adult Fiction:

The Treatment

Adult Fiction:

The Accident

The Lie

The Missing

The Escape

The Fear

Sleep

Strangers

C. L. TAYLOR

ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2021

Copyright © C. L. Taylor 2021

C. L. Taylor 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.

Ebook Edition © January 2021 ISBN: 9780008240608

Version 2020-12-15

This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:

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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008240592

To my niece Rose Taylor

Cover

What readers are saying about The Island

About the Author

Also by C. L. Taylor

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Acknowledgements

Extract

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

About the Publisher

She’s dead. She said she’d never leave me but she did. She said she’d never love anyone as much as she loved me. She said I was her everything. She said a lot of things and none of them were true.

She’s dead.

And she’s a liar.

JESSIE

Life would be so much easier if I were a psychopath. I’d be charming, manipulative and a pathological liar. I also wouldn’t be wondering what Danny, Honor, Jeffers, Meg and Milo are talking about on the other side of the pool, their faces cast in shadow, the Thai night sky a black blanket above them. And I definitely wouldn’t be convincing myself that they’re talking about me. Even if they were, I wouldn’t care. But the biggest advantage of being a psychopath, by a mile, would be lack of empathy. Life doesn’t hurt as much if you stop caring.

‘Who’s up for a swim?’ Honor, who’s been intertwined with Danny on a sun lounger for the last hour, wriggles out of his grasp and stands up. She slips off her flip-flops, strips off her T-shirt and wriggles out of her shorts. It’s dark and the surface of the pool is still and calm, striped with the reflected glow of the hotel and dotted with candlelight. Honor dives in, barely making a splash. She pulls her arms through the water, blonde hair streaming behind her.