Helen Monks Takhar - Precious You

‘A chilling, addictive read.’

Woman & Home

‘Dark, disturbing, compulsive. I was genuinely terrified reading this.’

Adele Parks

‘An incredibly addictive thriller that examines women in the workplace, ageism, and the clash of generations.

It’s creepy and unnerving, with observations that are often dead-on. A breath-taking debut.’

Samantha Downing

‘A deliciously dark, addictive and twisted page-turner.’

Alice Feeney

‘Guaranteed to start the mother of all office fights between Generation X and millennials, Monks Takhar’s enjoyably poisonous debut updates All About Eve for our image-obsessed age.’

The Independent

‘A taut, sharply written thriller about two women and their toxic obsession with one another. Sexy, scary and satirical, [it’s] a cat-and-mouse tale on steroids.’

The Bookseller

‘What a debut! Twisty, explosive, and hugely compelling, with hints of Gone Girl … Excellent.’

Will Dean

‘A hypnotic dance of obsession, gaslighting and revenge that doesn’t let up until its final unnerving reveal.’

People

‘Monks Takhar tackles workplace dynamics, aging, feminism, mental illness, and the hotly debated generation gap, all within the framework of a tightly plotted revenge thriller. A wickedly sharp first novel.’

Kirkus starred review

‘Twisted, dark and shocking. Absolutely terrific.’

Jo Spain

‘A slick, fast paced, compelling novel that asks genuine questions. I loved it and was hooked from beginning to end.’

Kate Hamer

‘An intergenerational clash between two women, played out to a shocking finale. Nail-biting.’

Harriet Tyce

‘Audacious, dark and smart, with one of the most shocking scenes I’ve read in a while.’

Phoebe Locke

‘Supremely twisted and completely riveting.’

Katie Lowe

‘Disturbing, zeitgeisty and twisted, Precious You will make you second guess everything and change the way you look at your colleagues forever.’

Phoebe Morgan

‘A brilliant, butt-kicking romp through the Gen X/Millennial clash and the horrors of cutthroat corporate life. I couldn’t put it down.’

Alex Marwood

‘A brilliantly twisted tale. LOVED it.’

Lisa Hall

‘What a wild ride. I’m obsessed with it! I felt so seen, so many times. This book, while SO twisted and dark, will resonate with many, many women.’

Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

‘A twisty, thrilling story about two women who can’t seem to decide whether they love or hate the other. Sharply observed and wickedly fun.’

Anna Pitoniak

‘Scarily, addictively dark. My mouth was hanging open for the last third of the book. Wow – what a brilliant read!’

Cressida McLaughlin

‘If you like dark and twisted thrillers with venom in their veins, add this to your wishlist!’

Anita Frank

‘A brutal beauty – twisted, terrifying, pitch-perfect storytelling that gets under your skin. WOW.’

Miranda Dickinson

‘Deliciously dark, gorgeously written; an absolute powerhouse of a debut!’

Emma Cooper

‘OMG! Loved the twisty-turning end. I couldn’t put it down.’

Josie Lloyd

‘A thrilling, wicked, thought-provoking book every woman should read.’

Roxie Cooper

‘[A] dark and disquieting debut … Monks Takhar delivers an excruciatingly tense slow burn that’s rife with twists that shock and devastate.’

Publishers Weekly

‘ Precious You promises to be one of the best!’

CrimeReads

‘ Gossip Girl meets Single White Female . One to add to your reading list.’

Northern Soul

‘Messed up and BRILLIANT.’

Liz Loves Books

HELEN MONKS TAKHARhas been working as a journalist, copywriter and magazine editor since 1999, having graduated from Cambridge. She began her career in financial trade newspapers before writing for national newspapers including The Times and The Observer . Originally from Southport, Merseyside, she lives in Stoke Newington with her husband and two young children. Precious You is her first novel.

Helen Monks Takhar

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 2020

Copyright © Helen Monks Takhar 2020

Helen Monks Takhar 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 © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008340162

Version 2020-05-27

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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008340148

For Danny, Mohinder and Zora

Snowflake generation

noun

informal, derogatory

The generation of people who became adults in the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations.

COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY. COPYRIGHT © HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS

‘Oh, little snowflakes, when did you all become grandmothers and society matrons, clutching your pearls in horror at someone who has an opinion about something, a way of expressing themselves that’s not the mirror image of yours, you snivelling little weak-ass narcissists?’

BRET EASTON ELLIS

‘There is no one with a greater sense of entitlement than a millennial.’

WWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UKARTICLE, ‘MILLENNIAL FURIOUSLY RANTS ABOUT HOW MUCH EASIER LIFE WAS FOR HIS PARENTS’

‘A lot of offensive stuff is happening. Why should people not be offended? People are offended but they’re using that feeling of being offended to bring about change. Things are so dire sometimes that it’s necessary. If I want to carve out a safe space, why shouldn’t I?’