The Spotlight
a twisty, gripping summer read - how far would you go to get everything you've ever wanted?
by Nicola Martin
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Pub Date 18 Jun 2026 | Archive Date 18 Jun 2026
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) | Raven Books (UK)
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Description
Bella Mackie meets the Eras tour in this darkly compelling thriller set in the music industry. Just how far would you go to get everything you've ever wanted?
Killer tunes.
Kirby Turner is on her last chance. With her previous girlband career dead in the water alongside the band's lead singer, Hailey, she's been drifting for years. But then came the call. Arena tour. Had a last-minute dropout. Want a girl drummer. Feminist thing or something. Would be good for you.
Killer lyrics.
When she finds out who the artist is, it feels like fate. Silver might now be the most famous singer on the planet, but Kirby knows her best as Alice Taffer, her former bandmate. From before Hailey died, and Kirby was blamed, and she slid into the gutter while Alice shot towards the stars.
Killer.
It seems too good to be true that they're reunited now - and as the tour begins, and Kirby is playing in front of fans again for the first time in years, it feels like coming home. But as the music starts to bring back buried memories of that last day with Hailey, she starts to wonder: was Hailey's death really her fault? How exactly did Silver rise to the top so fast? And now that Kirby's got everything she ever wanted - what would she do to hold on to it?
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781526672513 |
| PRICE | £8.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 416 |
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 22 members
Featured Reviews
Librarian 1081599
I absolutely loved this book’ I’m not a huge murder/mystery person but I do love books about the entertainment and music industry and I found this one so compelling & instereting. Highly enjoyed! If you’re looking for a niche fast paced and suspenseful novel pick this one up! You won’t regret it
A brilliant murder mystery. Five stars. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.
Another incredible book from Nicola Martin.
We follow Kirby, a former big star as she auditions and becomes part of her ex band mates new huge tour. Kirby has done the work and is sober and trying to keep everything in her life together. Her home at the seedlings is a far cry from former stardom but in the seedlings we see who Kirby truly is (along with Terrance and her adorable dog). On the tour, things aren’t as they seem and Kirby has to face a lot of awful things that happened in the past, including the death of their other band mate years ago.
This book works on so many levels, there were parts that were guessable but there was so much that was unthinkable, leaving it a fast paced book with plenty of thrills.
Excellent read and as my second book from the author, no complaints!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this e-arc in return for an honest review.
Rachel G, Reviewer
I was certainly kept on my toes with this book. It was fabulous.
I was never entirely sure what would happen next, and I loved the various flashbacks Kirby had to the summer where Hailey died. And her sudden complete and utter conviction that it really had been murder and not just a tragic accident.
But with the internet and public constantly calling her Killer Kirby as apparently she is a prime suspect, it's up to her to try to clear her name if the fledgling popularity she is now experiencing as part of Silver's tour is to become something bigger.
History though was a way of repeating itself and there are similarities in the various stalkers that the girls have experienced.
I could never have guessed the truth of who was behind everything and was very happy to go along with whatever Kirby was suspecting or understanding at any given time.
What is also very apparent is that it is very hard to know who to trust in this, and there is much suspicious behaviour afoot!
This is now the second of Nicola Martin's books that I have read and I have been incredibly impressed with both of them, and will certainly be on the look out for her next release.
Just a wonderfully bamboozling read that set in a pop music and touring environment that I was totally enjoying reading about.
Thank you to Raven Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.