CWA Dagger Award - The Secretary

The teachers thought they knew her. They were wrong...

A page-turning and deeply compulsive psychological thriller about a school secretary and how dangerous it can be to make enemies at the school gates. For fans of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and The Rumour by Lesley Kara.

When single mum Ruth has a brief fling with Rob, she's mortified to discover that he lied to her. He lied to her, because he's married. Worse still, he's the husband of Janine, head of the PTA at the primary school where Ruth works as secretary, and when the truth of their fling is discovered, Ruth suddenly has a lot of enemies at the school gates.

Threatening texts begin to arrive, rumours abound and the staff room becomes hostile. But when it also starts to affect her son, a student at the school, Ruth realises you can do anything if you convince yourself it's for the sake of your child.

Even murder.

'An addictive page-turner . . . Highly recommended!' Samantha Tonge

'Mind blown! The end was a triumph, absolutely brilliant!' Rona Halsall

'Gripping and powerful! A fantastic read!' Lauren North

'Fast paced and intriguing. I loved The Secretary' Victoria Selman

'School run revenge at its best' Jacqueline Ward

'I couldn't put it down - a gripping read' Mary-Jane Riley

'A well-plotted, twisty-turns tale . . . [A] page turner' Barbara Copperthwaite

'So clever. Reading it as a mother, you can't help but question yourself throughout: Would I do that? Would I go that far?' Laura Pearson