Eleven Liars

PRAISE FOR ROBERT GOLD‘Fast-paced and brimming with superb characters. I couldn’t put it down for a single second. Twelve stars!’LISA JEWELL‘Utterly absorbing’SHARI LAPENA‘Ominous at the beginning, breathless by the end … this is excellent hardcore suspense’LEE CHILD‘This is what every other thriller aspires to be’Reader Review ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆‘Twelve Secrets contains cliff-hangers and revelations galore. [It] is all plot, plot, plot – and, boy, what a lot it’s got’THE TIMES‘A pacey thriller full of twists and turns. You won’t be able to put Twelve Secrets down until the very end’KARIN SLAUGHTER‘A fine debut’SUNDAY TIMES (Best Crime Novels of 2022)‘This book will take over all your free time’Reader Review ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆‘Twelve Secrets is a smart, satisfying, one-of-a-kind thriller that entertained me from start to finish.’JAMES PATTERSON‘Books this good are very rare’Reader Review ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆‘Satisfyingly twisty, straight from Harlan Coben territory and surely Netflix bound’IRISH INDEPENDENT‘Twelve Secrets is rather special. So clever, so engrossing, a genuine “just one more page” kind of book’M.W. CRAVEN‘You think you’ve sussed it, but you’re completely wrong. I REALLY did not see that coming’Reader Review ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆‘Absolutely addictive. An unforgettable and nuanced cast of characters, a claustrophobic setting, and a suspenseful and chilling examination of the dark and destructive power of secrets’GILLY MACMILLAN‘A page-turner with a final revelation that satisfies by being unguessable but retrospectively inevitable’MORNING STAR‘If other thrillers could talk, they’d say when “When I grow up, I want to be Twelve Secrets”’Reader Review ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆‘What a tangled web! Brilliantly weaved and then carefully unravelled for the big revelations at the end. A totally gripping read’SUSAN LEWIS‘Fast-paced and shocking’WOMAN’S WEEKLY‘Original, unputdownable and a really great read’NELL PATTISON‘Impossible to part with until the very last page’Reader Review ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆‘A fast-paced, utterly gripping thriller – a definite twelve out of ten!’VANESSA SAVAGE‘This has to be one of the best thrillers I have ever read’Reader Review ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ CopyrightPublished by SphereISBN: 978-0-7515-8280-2All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.Copyright © 2023 Robert Gold LtdThe moral right of the author has been asserted.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.SphereLittle, Brown Book GroupCarmelite House50 Victoria EmbankmentLondon EC4Y 0DZwww.littlebrown.co.ukwww.hachette.co.uk ContentsPraise for Robert GoldTitle PageCopyrightAbout the AuthorAlso by Robert GoldDedicationPart OneThursdayChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Part TwoFridayChapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Part ThreeWednesdayChapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Part FourThursdayChapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Part FiveFridayChapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Part SixSaturdayChapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41Chapter 42Chapter 43Part SevenSundayChapter 44Chapter 45Chapter 46Chapter 47Chapter 48Chapter 49Chapter 50Chapter 51Part EightMondayChapter 52Chapter 53Chapter 54Chapter 55Chapter 56Chapter 57Chapter 58Chapter 59Chapter 60Chapter 61Chapter 62Chapter 63Chapter 64Chapter 65Chapter 66Part NineChapter 67Chapter 68Chapter 69Chapter 70Chapter 71Part TenTuesdayChapter 72Chapter 73Chapter 74Chapter 75Chapter 76Chapter 77Part ElevenWednesdayChapter 78Chapter 79Chapter 80Chapter 81Chapter 82Chapter 83Chapter 84TuesdayChapter 85Chapter 86Chapter 87Chapter 88Chapter 89Chapter 90Acknowledgements Originally from Harrogate in North Yorkshire, Robert Gold began his career as an intern at the American broadcaster CNN, based in Washington DC. He returned to Yorkshire to work for the retailer ASDA, becoming the chain’s nationwide book buyer. He now works in sales for a UK publishing company. Robert now lives in Putney and his new hometown served as the inspiration for the fictional town of Haddley in Eleven Liars. Eleven Liars is the second book in the series featuring investigative journalist Ben Harper, following the publication of Twelve Secrets in 2022. Also by Robert GoldTwelve Secrets In memory of my brother, James.And for my mum. One‘I’ve been around long enough to know when my time is up.’ THURSDAY CHAPTER 1My Uber driver gives me a dejected look in his rear-view mirror. For the past ten minutes we’ve barely moved. He points to the solid red line of congestion displayed on his map, covering the next two miles. The traffic along the river road is gridlocked. At this rate, it will take me over an hour to get from Richmond, through the village of St Marnham and on to my home in the London Borough of Haddley.I look out at the late October evening where darkness has descended. ‘Probably quicker if I jump out here,’ I say. ‘I can walk the rest of the way along the river.’ My driver raises the palms of his hands and shrugs. ‘Hopefully you can pick up a fare going in the other direction,’ is my half-hearted apology, before I open the passenger-side door and climb out.‘We will see,’ he calls wearily. I stand on the pathway and watch him turn his car in the road before he accelerates away from the west London traffic.The evening is cold and my warm breath lingers in the crisp air. I zip up my jacket and push my hands deep inside my pockets. Stepping down onto the embankment path, I feel the crunch of fallen leaves beneath my feet. The towpath leads into St Marnham, before I have to cut across the playing fields on the north side of the village and on towards Haddley Common.My phone buzzes. Flicking open the screen, its light brings a brightness to the darkened pathway. The message is from Madeline Wilson, my boss at the nation’s number one online news site. I’ve spent the last six hours with her at her home overlooking Richmond Park, finalising the script for a true-crime podcast I’m due to begin recording in a week’s time. Madeline is now messaging me with even more suggestions. That’s Madeline all over – she’s relentless, always ready with a stream of new ideas. Journalism is in her blood; her passion inherited from her father, Sam, an