Katerina Diamond - The Angel

Published by Avon

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The News Building

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2017

Copyright © Katerina Diamond 2017

Katerina Diamond asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of 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, down-loaded, 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.

Source ISBN: 9780008209131

Ebook Edition © September 2017 ISBN: 9780008209148

Version 2019-03-01

‘Diamond is the master of gripping literature.’

The Evening Standard

‘A terrific story, originally told. All hail the new queen of crime!’ Heat

‘A web of a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. This formidable debut is a page-turner, but don’t read it before bed if you’re easily spooked!’ The Sun

‘A page-turner with a keep-you-guessing plot.’

Sunday Times Crime Club

‘Diamond neatly handles a string of interlocking strands.’ Daily Mail

‘This gem of a crime novel is packed with twists until the last page.’ Closer

‘A deliciously dark read, Katerina Diamond keeps her readers guessing throughout as she leads us on a very secretive, VERY twisted journey … everything I was expecting from a well-written, pacy thriller.’

Lisa Hall, author of Between You And M e

‘A dark, twisting tale that won’t fail to captivate.’

Mint Velvet

‘Wow, I thought The Teacher was fantastic but The Secret is on another level. Was gripped all the way through and kept me guessing as the story unfolded.’

NetGalley Reviewer

‘Another grim and gory spider’s web from Katerina Diamond – closely following on from The Teacher and not letting up on the twists and turns.’

Goodreads Reviewer

‘An impeccable novel with nail biting chapters … Katerina Diamond deserves the title of Queen of Crime, because I’ll be damned if anyone writes novels like she does. 5* doesn’t do this book justice.’

The Brunette Bookshelf

‘Has the feeling of a nightmare come to life …’

Lovereading

‘The suspense is literally out of this world.’

Compelling Reads

‘A dark and twisted tale that had me gasping in fear.’ Handwritten Girl

To Oliver,

Work hard and stay out of prison. Love Mum x

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise for Katerina Diamond

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

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

By the same author:

About the Publisher

The snow had clogged the driveway and most of the village too. Since the morning, it had been relentless even though the news had only predicted a mild flurry. Martina looked outside at the road; it was thick with it, crisp and untouched; an idyllic prison. The neighbour’s Christmas tree was abandoned by the bins. The binmen had refused to take it week after week, but belligerent old Murray left it there as a point of protest. Even the rubbish looked pretty when it was covered in snow.

She wondered how long she had before the baby woke up. He would be hungry when he did and she was out of formula. Her husband was trapped at work and she couldn’t be without the formula when Jamie woke up. There would be no going to the shops; she doubted most of them were even open.

Martina threw another log on the fire; even though it wasn’t cold inside the house, she loved the feeling of security the flames gave her. The fire kept her company when she was alone, when the baby was asleep. Her husband had been stuck at work more times than she could remember; since she had had the baby she was almost certain he was having an affair. She was always aware that she was a trophy wife in the first place and she had lost her sparkle in the last year or so; pregnancy had almost destroyed her and post-partum depression was finishing the job. She just hadn’t expected it to be this hard, this lonely. She picked up the red Bakelite phone she’d got for Christmas and dialled the neighbours.

Charlie and Sophia had been their next-door-but-one neighbours for the last three years and in that time they had become close. Martina and Sophie had gone through their pregnancies together.

Charlie answered the phone.

‘Hi Charlie.’

‘Martina? Is everything all right?’ His voice was a whisper.

‘Sorry, did I disturb you?’

‘No, it’s just Soph has the flu, she’s asleep and I don’t want to wake her up.’

‘Oh, I was just wondering if you had any formula I could borrow, I’m all out and when bub wakes up I’m going to be in trouble.’

‘Yeah we have an extra tin … I’ll bring some over … hang on.’ His voice tailed off.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Just thinking I should probably bring the little ’un with me, Soph’s in no condition to deal with him.’