Years ago Isabel and Edward were just getting started in life when a home invader destroyed their peace. Now he's finally facing justice but just how much damage was done along the way?

Wow just wow. This is such a powerfull and deeply moving story. It takes a different look to a crime and really focuses on the aftermath. Especially when there is no instant capture. We truly see the pain and suffering that can be caused. Its heavy going at times and yet so well written. You read about cases in the press and online but never think about just how reaching a trauma like that can be. This is told by both Isabel and Edward given depth to them both. The ending was really well done and her decision about what to say in court was utterly perfect. This will have you gripped and heartbroken yet Isabel's strength does slowly shine through. A brilliant thought provoking read.

This was a deeply emotional and powerful read. The Death of Us isn’t just about a crime – it’s about the long-lasting effects that one night can have on two people’s lives. Isabel and Edward were once a strong, loving couple, but after a terrifying home invasion, everything changed. Their relationship, once full of hope, becomes strained under the weight of trauma and silence.
I really admired how Abigail Dean told the story – Isabel’s voice was especially impactful as she addressed her attacker directly. The book was tense and heartbreaking at times, but it was also beautifully written and full of emotional depth.
This story is about pain, survival, and ultimately, love. Not the perfect kind, but the raw, real kind that endures. It stayed with me long after I finished. Thoughtful, intense, and incredibly well done. Highly recommend if you’re looking for something moving and unforgettable.
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean publishes today April 10th with Hemlock Press and is described as ‘a stunning new novel from one of the most special writers of our generation'.

Edward and Isabel met quite young before either had a career or a bob to their name. Isabel had had some personal issues that Edward was aware of but it all added up to a slightly quirky personality which appealed to him. Their attraction was a slow burner as they each were in different relationships but, as time passed, they became an item, a very strong and passionate couple. They built a world together, both achieving different career successes along the way. They had plenty of friends, a lovely home and all the trappings of life that would be expected for a financially well-off couple.

Both thirty years of age, they had no children and enjoyed their independence, and most importantly they enjoyed each other. One evening their contentment was upended when an intruder invaded their home, their lives, and their marriage. Instantly changing everything they knew to be good in the world, the days, months and years that followed were extremely difficult. Their tight bond was shattered that evening. The invader had taken everything they held precious. Never caught, the police kept an open investigation. The invader gradually stepped further into the dark side, committing more brutal acts, as the world picked out the more salacious details, as revealed by the press.

Edward and Isabel tried to salvage their lives, they tried to understand, they tried to be present. They loved each other totally and completely but there was now a permanent scar ever present, an irreparable fracture, a chasm that they both looked down into.

Now in their mid-fifties, there is the court case, as the invader is finally brought forward for sentencing. We glimpse through fingers, horrified and terrified, as the full scale of what happened all those years ago are revealed. Extremely challenging scenes and heartachingly painful narratives are laid before the reader as that merciless night is laid bare. Abigail Dean speaks about her reasons for writing such a shocking novel describing Edward’s and Isabel’s relationship as ‘a decades-long love story’ and strangely enough that’s exactly what it is, albeit one permanently in the shade of a very dark shadow. Can Edward and Isabel survive their own story? Is their love, both witty and caustic, warm and resentful, gentle and harsh, strong enough to endure?

The Death of Us is a distressing read, yet among the anguish there is a beauty, a tenderness, and a passionate love story. The evolving of the characters is incredibly depicted as their lives slowly unfold over the decades. The little snippets, the intricate details, the glimpses, the tentative nature of their strained relationship is skillfully written with an expert pen, drawing the reader into their world. Disconcerting yet compelling, challenging yet powerful, The Death of Us is a very potent and emotive novel that lingers on very much after those final pages are turned. Tense. Intense. Breathtaking.

I have really enjoyed both of Abigail Dean’s previous books so my hopes were high starting The Death of Us and happily I can say that it totally lived up to and in fact exceeded my high expectations. The Death of Us is a sharp, powerful and incredibly astute examination of love, trauma, relationships and the far reaching effects of violent acts. It is an elegantly written book which covers the decades long relationship between Isabel and Edward, including the night their lives imploded after a brutal home invasion. The book cleverly delves into the trauma of this but it’s also about so much more - it’s about the tiny intricacies of why we behave the way we do and how different people react to horrifying events in a multitude of ways. Abigail Dean is absolutely an auto-buy author for me and The Death of Us proves why. Shocking and disturbing yet subtle and beautifully crafted. Highly recommended.

This was an emotionally charged read following Edward and Isobel as they deal with a life changing event. The story follows the aftermath and how their lives and the lives of those around them are affected. A great read that I would recommend.

The story:
The night the South London Invader targets Isabel and Edward, their lives are changed forever. Decades later, their attacker is finally in court to face the consequences of his terrible actions. But for Isabel and Edward, this is more than a chance for justice to be served. It is a chance for them to finally reveal everything that happened that night, and in the years that followed. Not to the court, or the eager members of the public following the story... but to each other.

My thoughts:
Abigail Dean is the bestselling author of "Girl A" and "Day One", both of which addressed very challenging topics. Her third novel, "The Death of Us" is no different, this time looking at the terrible effects of a home invasion attack on a young married couple.

The story is told from the perspectives of Isabel and Edward, who are targeted by a serial criminal known only as the South London Invader. From Edward we mainly see the events of the present, but the Isabel chapters are written as if she is speaking directly to her attacker himself, in the form of her victim personal statement. Because finally, after years of crime, the South London Invader has been found using modern DNA technology, and his court case is approaching.

This is not a who-dunnit book, nor is it a why-dunnit... Instead the author conducts an engrossing examination of the effects of a terrible crime on its victims, and they are the ones that are given a voice in this story – we don't hear from the perpetrator himself at all, beyond seeing him in the dock. I thought this was a really thoughtful way of approaching this difficult subject area, and seeing the events and its ramifications through the eyes of Isabel and Edward was at times heartbreaking, but also uplifting.

This sounds like it would be a heavy read, but in fact it is pacy, engrossing and I sped through it in just a few sittings. Alongside the obviously upsetting subject matter, we also get to see a relationship between a husband and wife that spans decades (even when they are not together), and in many ways this is a love story before it is a crime or thriller novel.

Overall, this was another brilliantly written novel from an accomplished author not afraid to tackle challenging subjects, and with believable, flawed and endearing characters. Highly recommended!

The Death of Us, by Abigail Dean
Rating: 5/5
Published: 10th April 2025
I am a huge Abigail Dean fan, because she always gives a knockout twist in her novels. The Death of Us is her best work yet - without a doubt! On a Spring night in South London, Edward and Isabel’s lives are shattered when a masked intruder enters their home and rapes Isabel, whilst Edward is frozen with terror. Their beautiful marriage is shattered that night, and they never recover from it. Years later, when the assailant is finally found and brought to justice, they must confront what happened, and face the truths that they were never able to face. It is a powerful story of experiencing and overcoming trauma, and I could not put it down. I never wanted it to end.

This was a moving novel about a couple who really loved each other, but after a dreadful home invasion attack, whether their love and marriage can survive. This was clever, with careful psychological examination of what crimes like this destroy and how they affect not only the victims, but others involved in the case too. I connected with the characters and found the journey they went very believable and authentic. I think Dean's focus on victims of crime in her novels make her books really stand out from the crowd and this is possibly the best of her work I've read so far. A compelling, moving read.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Oh My Days, this book takes the serial killer theme and puts it in a different light. We start in the present where former husband and wife, Edward and Isabel, are reunited for a very horrible reason. To give their victim impact statements at the sentencing of the serial killer who targeted them in their home decades ago. An event that was both harrowing to them at the time but which was also the catalyst for their eventual break up, and divorce.
The main theme for this book is the relationship between Edward and Isabel. This is told both in the past and the present with the timelines alternating seamlessly adding colour and clarity to each other as they progress. We watch their relationship start, blossom, get interrupted by the heinous crime, flounder, fail, and then when they meet again for the sentencing, we watch them together again.
It's very much a character driven novel, with Edward and Isabel standing out as two of the best characters I have met in a while. But, as well as these two main characters, there are a few other interesting ones herein. Mainly I am talking about other victims and what happened to them and how it affected them, in very different ways to Edward and Isabel, but also the officer in charge of the investigation and how she desperately tried to bring the killer to justice deserves more than just a cursory mention.
Obviously given the themes in this book, it's going to be a bit of an intense ride. But the author never glorifies the violence herein, I always felt safe in her hands. It's well balanced with lighter moments to offset the heavier ones so it doesn't get too dark overall.
Also due to the nature of the book and what happens, it's not a fast paced read. Its can't be. That wouldn't work. It's traumatic and raw and, given the time span between crime and punishment, the author would be doing the characters a disservice if she whizzed through it all.
All in all, a cracking addition to what is shaping up to be a well impressive back catalogue, all of which I can also recommend. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Death of Us is both brilliant and horrifying. Isabel and Edward were subject to a serial home invader in their 30s. Now in their 50s, he's finally been caught and the case is about to go to court. We hear the details through Edward talking about the events both then and now, as well as Isabel's viewpoint through a statement she intends to read to the perpetrator, and written like a letter to him. The event destroyed their lives and blew apart their marriage. For the families that followed Isabel and Edward, it wasn't just a prolonged and violent sexual assault, but murder as well, and we get to hear what it did to those people through Isabel and Edward's viewpoints as well as the victim statements in court.

Just like Abigail Dean's previous book, Day One, it focusses on the impact that a life changing event has on the characters. You both want to keep reading to find out what really happened, for example what did the attacker do to subdue Edward while Isabel was being attacked, and not really wanting to know the details of everything that happened as it's likely harrowing.

To summarise, it's awful (in a brilliant way), harrowing, terrifying and will stay with you for a long time afterwards.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for a free ARC in return for an honest review.

The Death of Us is a striking novel that continues Dean’s exploration of complex themes throughout her work in the lens of true crime.

I really love the way Dean explores the impact of trauma in her work. This was no exception with a nuanced and emotionally fraught look at the continuing impact of a horrific crime on two people. It asks difficult questions about justice, closure and vengeance with a focus on the exploitative nature that the true crime industry can sometimes have. There is such sensationalism about this case, rather than looking at the tragedy and the impact on those involved. The tone throughout is nuanced and deeply human, fractured in its messiness and therefore that much more authentic. It treads carefully but honestly, depicting trauma without gratuity. Dean makes the reader complicit in this at times but keeps the focus always on Edward and Isabel.

This is very much a character-driven narrative with these two distinct voices coming to the fore. I loved the way Dean played with the timelines here as well, slowing putting together the jigsaw pieces of their relationship and where it brought them to today. The framing device of the court case served as a stark reminder of the devastation of the case, contrasted by the deep-seated love between the two of them. It is incredibly tragic as you read the joyful start of their relationship when you know what is looming on the horizon for them. Without giving anything away, there are some stylistic choices that Dean makes that heightens this further and adds new layers to the already composite story.

The Death of Us is a multifaceted and considered narrative about the invisible scars we carry with us, love and family.

The Death Of Us captured e from start to finish!!
The book is about two people, madly in love, married, comfortable until an event changes them forever. When Isobel and Edward meet through a friend they are instantly drawn together but Edward already has a girlfriend. They phone each other almost nightly and meet up for days out. Eventually they get together and everything is near perfect until the South London Invader chooses them next. What follows is an awful attack and here is where their marriage splinters. Years later the Invader is caught and brought to trial and they are each to read a victim impact statement. Will this bring them back together or rip them further apart?
This book got to me in ways I didn’t think it would do. The way it is set out brings out the best of the storyline and the characters. I liked how raw their feelings were and by having their own chapters you got to really know them and what they were thinking and not saying. It is an emotional read and made me want to be able to bang their heads together to avoid all the heart ache. The different types of characters also helped this book and there were some real likeable ones. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next!
I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins, HarperFiction, Hemlock Press for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The Death of Us is a haunting and tragic novel. It's a slow burner that tells of the aftermath and effects of a home invasion 20 years ago. 'The South London Invader' has thanks to modern technology now been caught and the book revolves around victims Edward and Isobel as they prepare for court to give their witness statements. As we read of their lives in the intervening years you can't help but sympathise and rage with them as their story unfolds. Definitely not an easy read but one I'm glad that I did. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an early e-copy.

Wow! This book pulled me in to the story from page one, an emotional, heart breaking and a thought provoking read.
When Isabel and Edward first meet through a mutual friend, they are drawn to one another, though Edward already has a girlfriend.
The two talk on the phone regularly and meet for outings, they are meant to be together, Isabel can feel it, she thinks about Edward constantly.
They have been happily married a number of years when the South London Invader chooses them, enters their home, this violent assault is not only devastating for them both, it rips their marriage apart. Edward can’t speak of it, Isabel wants him to ask her questions, but he remains silent. Can their marriage survive the trauma?
Years later the South London Invader has been caught, they are attending his trial, they have been given the opportunity to read a victim impact statement.
The story tells of the impact the assault has had on their lives, how they have both been affected differently, you can feel Isabel’s pain as she is curled up on the bedroom floor, face down night after night. It’s a raw story, very well written, the reader can feel the tension and hurts that grow between the couple. In their pain they loss each other, but the trial throws them together again and there is hope of a new chapter.
This book will be in my top reads for 2025.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. This is my third book by Abigail Dean.

As always Abigail Dean always manages to keep me captivated all the way through, this book was a very poignant and powerful read.

I devoured Abigail Dean’s two previous novels, ‘Girl A’ and ‘Day One’, so could not believe my luck when I was gifted a free digital ARC of ‘The Death of Us’ to review for NetGalley. Thank you to the publishers too! My review is what follows.
As in her other novels, Dean meticulously charts a modern household, that of professional married couple Isabel and Edward. Successful and happily settled in South London, their contentedness is shattered when they become the victims of a brutal attacker in their own home. In the aftermath, Edward, whose timeline is in the present tense, bottles up his traumatic experiences whereas Isabel, whose points of view are delivered via victim impact statements, is keen to relive, talk about, and make sense of her trauma. Sadly, their marriage does not survive – but when Isabel and Edward meet again at the sentencing of their attacker several years later, will they be able to forge a new relationship and to finally heal the past? Slower in pace than Dean’s previous novels, this is nevertheless a book that provides lots of food for thought.

Girl A by Abigail D blew me away, so I had high expectations for her new book The Death of Us. It's a psychological thriller that centres on Isabel and Edward, a couple in love whose lives are torn apart one night by the invasion of a serial killer.

The story is told from the perspective of the characters in the current day, as they gather together to relive that nightmare as their attacker has been caught and is on trial. But as they build courage to face their assailant as witnesses in the dock, they must also face their own demons from the past as they finally share the truths of what happened that night and deal with the breakdown that happened after that fateful night.

The synopsis of the book reads, "This is a story of murder. This is a story of survival. But most of all, this is a story of love." This is a very apt description of The Death of Us, a slow-burn suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the e-ARC.

Second book I have read by Abigail Dean. For me it lacked a decent storyline and did not really grip me which is sad for a new author. Perhaps she might read some Peter James and Jeffrey Archer books and see how they include a lot of content and grip the reader. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

My thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Death of Us’ written by Abigail Dean in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Isabel and Edward are at home when a serial killer breaks in and damages their lives forever. Some years later their serial killer is caught and identified as ‘The South London Invader’, a seventy-year-old retired police officer called Nigel Wood living in Dorset. Isabel and Edward are brought together again to attend Court on sentencing to give their victim statements.

‘The Death of Us’ is a dark and sometimes distressing novel of two people whose lives are irrevocably changed by a man who remains free for the next thirty years, as it charts the effect the trauma had on them. Although well-written, it’s a slow burn that at times is confusing as to the identity of the narrator who’s speaking. It’s a depressing though thought-provoking novel not helped by my not empathising with the characters, and I’m most likely in the minority with this when I say that the story didn’t work for me. I struggled to get involved but this is my own personal opinion and I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it.

Written from the viewpoints of the main characters, Isabel and Edward, and with a dual timeline I found this totally gripping. There was a man terrorising the residents of South London and Isabel and Edward were two of his victims. This goes between how they met, the horrific incident that they were subjected to and the trial of the perpetrator. I found this to be a really interesting read that made me think about human nature and how people can experience the same trauma but deal with it so differently. This is so cleverly written and the way the main characters develop alongside the interactions they have with each other and others. Although it jumps back and forth it is easy to follow and I consumed this in one day. Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the ARC. I highly recommend reading this along with Abigail Dean’s other books.