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She believed her serial-killer ex was innocent, but now history is repeating itself. What does she really remember?

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Writer Karen Walker knows more than most about murderers. Her first love went on to become The Bagman, a notorious serial killer now locked away for life in a maximum-security prison. Karen has spent her life running from the weight of having loved him, defended him and, ultimately, leading the police to his door. But now, ten years later, just as she’s about to publish her account of his crimes, a young woman is abducted in horribly familiar circumstances.

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It can’t be The Bagman…can it? He’s safely behind bars, thanks to her. But she has to know for sure.

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Returning to the hometown she thought she’d left for good, Karen is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the man she’s never escaped. If there’s any chance of saving the kidnapped girl, she’ll have to face up to what really happened back then, once and for all…

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About
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Picture: Philippa Gedge

Hi, I'm Claire!

I write crime and literary fiction as Claire McGowan and have also written women's fiction as Eva Woods.

 

I was born in Northern Ireland and now live in London. I've wanted to be a writer ever since I worked out how to read Dick and Jane ('Look, Dick! Look, Jane!') and I thought, 'I could do that.' How hard could it be? 

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Needless to say it was some years before I published my first novel The Fall in 2012. But I've followed it up with several bestsellers, radio plays and screenplays. In fact I recently passed one million sales of my books. I also ran the UK’s first MA in crime writing for five years, and I regularly teach and talk about writing. Drop me a line if you'd like to work together some time.

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I've published twenty-plus books as Claire McGowan, including the Washington Post bestselling crime thriller What You Did, as well as popular contemporary fiction as Eva Woods. Browse my books here!

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I've written award-winning TV scripts, radio plays, a short film, and a novelty humour book, as well as numerous short stories and articles. Several of my books are also in development for TV. 

Taking Notes

Got a story of your own? I love teaching the craft and I regularly run workshops, talk at festivals, and teach masterclasses. Find out how to join a session — or work with me to create one!

Reading Material
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"A brilliant, breathless thriller that kept me guessing to the last shocking page."

ERIN KELLY

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