Claire Allan - Apple of My Eye

Published by AVON

A Division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019

Copyright © Claire Allan 2019

Cover design © Henry Steadman 2019

Claire Allan 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 ebook 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.

Source ISBN: 9780008275082

Ebook Edition © July 2019 ISBN: 9780008328764

Version: 2018-12-20

‘Amazing. I read it in one go.’

Marian Keyes

‘Utterly addictive! Literally couldn’t put it down all day! Compulsive, twisty, tense. And LOVED the ending.’

Claire Douglas

‘A powerful and emotional psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and leave you breathless.’

C.L. Taylor

‘SUCH a good read! It made me feel so uncomfortable, but I still kept gobbling up the pages.’

Lisa Hall

‘ Her Name Was Rose is heck of a read! It’s a psychological thriller with a heart; it’s taut, emotionally challenging and, unlike so many thrillers, each twist and turn is here because it deserves to be and not for the sake of it.’

John Marrs

‘An exciting debut that I couldn’t put down, Her Name Was Rose got under my skin in a way I wasn’t expecting. An intriguing and menacing page turner.’

Mel Sherratt

‘The depth of characterisation and its fast pace is what makes Her Name Was Rose stand out as a thriller. It had me hooked until the end.’

Elisabeth Carpenter

‘A tight and twisted tale with a set of seriously complex characters – kept me guessing right ’til the end. This is going to be one of 2018’s smash hits.’

Cat Hogan

‘All I can say is wow! Such a great concept, expertly delivered to keep you turning the pages. This book toys with the reader until the last page. Trust me, this will be THE book of 2018!’

Caroline Finnerty

‘A brilliantly paced, intriguingly plotted and thoroughly enjoyable story. One of the best psych thrillers I’ve read this year.’

Liz Nugent

‘I devoured it in a couple of days. Claire Allan managed to maintain an unsettling sense of unease that started at the very beginning and didn’t let up at all.’

Elle Croft

‘A superior psychological thriller with an intriguing set-up, a flawed heroine and some great twists. Recommended!’

Mark Edwards

‘Claire Allan’s transition into crime writing is seamless. Her Name was Rose brings all the emotional heft and depth of characterisation her readers would expect, but with a taut, menacing plot line. A compulsively thrilling read from start to finish.’

Brian McGilloway

‘Mesmerizing to the point of complete distraction. I was totally engrossed in this book.’

Amanda Robson

‘I loved it. The plot is twisty and the issues being dealt with here are big scale but told beautifully through Emily. Her envy and confusion is so real as to be palpable and of course, all too relatable. Creepy and weepy.’

Niki Mackay

In memory of my grandmother, Mary McGuinness, who raised ten children with a fierce love and pride and who always had time and love in abundance for every one of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Especially the bookworms x

The king said, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said: ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.’

The Judgement of Solomon – 1 Kings 3:16–28

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise for Claire Allan

Dedication

Epigraph

Prologue: Louise

Chapter One: Eli

Chapter Two: Eli

Chapter Three: Eli

Chapter Four: Louise

Chapter Five: Eli

Chapter Six: Eli

Chapter Seven: Louise

Chapter Eight: Eli

Chapter Nine: Eli

Chapter Ten: Louise

Chapter Eleven: Eli

Chapter Twelve: Eli

Chapter Thirteen: Eli

Chapter Fourteen: Louise

Chapter Fifteen: Eli

Chapter Sixteen: Eli

Chapter Seventeen: Louise

Chapter Eighteen: Eli

Chapter Nineteen: Eli

Chapter Twenty: Louise

Chapter Twenty-One: Eli

Chapter Twenty-Two: Eli

Chapter Twenty-Three: Louise

Chapter Twenty-Four: Eli

Chapter Twenty-Five: Eli

Chapter Twenty-Six: Louise

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Eli

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Eli

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Louise

Chapter Thirty: Eli

Chapter Thirty-One: Eli

Chapter Thirty-Two: Louise

Chapter Thirty-Three: Eli

Chapter Thirty-Four: Eli

Chapter Thirty-Five: Louise

Chapter Thirty-Six: Angela

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Angela

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Angela

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Louise

Chapter Forty: Angela

Chapter Forty-One: Angela

Chapter Forty-Two: Louise

Chapter Forty-Three: Angela

Chapter Forty-Four: Angela

Chapter Forty-Five: Louise

Chapter Forty-Six: Angela

Chapter Forty-Seven: Angela

Chapter Forty-Eight: Louise

Chapter Forty-Nine: Angela

Chapter Fifty: Angela

Chapter Fifty-One: Angela

Chapter Fifty-Two: Louise

Chapter Fifty-Three: Angela

Chapter Fifty-Four: Eli

Chapter Fifty-Five: Louise

Chapter Fifty-Six: Eli

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Eli

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Eli

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Angela

Chapter Sixty: Louise

Chapter Sixty-One: Angela

Chapter Sixty-Two: Eli

Chapter Sixty-Three: Eli

Chapter Sixty-Four: Angela

Chapter Sixty-Five: Louise

Chapter Sixty-Six: Eli

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Louise

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Eli

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Angela

Chapter Seventy: Angela

Chapter Seventy-One: Eli

Chapter Seventy-Two: Angela

Chapter Seventy-Three: Eli

Chapter Seventy-Four: Angela

Chapter Seventy-Five: Eli

Chapter Seventy-Six: Angela

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Eli

Epilogue: Eli

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

By the same author

About the Publisher

As soon as I saw her I knew that she didn’t deserve to be a mother. She was squeezed in behind a table in the café, her face pale, drawn. She rubbed her stomach for the briefest of seconds, as if it were something she’d just remembered she was expected to do. Act the part of the happy mum-to-be; rub your expanding stomach, push it out, flaunt your fecundity to the world.