Imperfect Women
On sale
18th March 2026
Price: £10.99
Genre
**NOW A MAJOR APPLE TV SERIES!**
‘Love this book’ Elisabeth Moss, star of The Handmaid’s Tale
‘Rare and complex’ Marian Keyes
‘A dark, delicious thriller. I loved it.’ Louise O’Neill
FRIENDS TELL EACH OTHER EVERYTHING. OR DO THEY?
Everyone wants perfection.
But there is no such thing.
Nancy has the perfect life.
She is bright, beautiful and rich with an adoring husband and daughter.
At least that’s what it seems on the outside to her two best friends.
But then Nancy is murdered.
And as the lies start to unravel, they realise they never knew their perfect friend at all.
She clearly had as many secrets as they do…
*This novel was previously published as Perfect Strangers in paperback, eBook and audio*
More praise for ARAMINTA HALL:
‘Razor-sharp, spine-tinglingly convincing’ LISA JEWELL
‘Absolutely thrilling!’ LISA TADDEO
‘A dark, dazzling shock to the system’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘Immersive and unsettling’ SARAH VAUGHAN
‘An excellent twist’ DOROTHY KOOMSON
‘Beautifully written’ SAMANTHA DOWNING
‘Immersive, intelligent and gripping’ S.E. LYNES
‘Love this book’ Elisabeth Moss, star of The Handmaid’s Tale
‘Rare and complex’ Marian Keyes
‘A dark, delicious thriller. I loved it.’ Louise O’Neill
FRIENDS TELL EACH OTHER EVERYTHING. OR DO THEY?
Everyone wants perfection.
But there is no such thing.
Nancy has the perfect life.
She is bright, beautiful and rich with an adoring husband and daughter.
At least that’s what it seems on the outside to her two best friends.
But then Nancy is murdered.
And as the lies start to unravel, they realise they never knew their perfect friend at all.
She clearly had as many secrets as they do…
*This novel was previously published as Perfect Strangers in paperback, eBook and audio*
More praise for ARAMINTA HALL:
‘Razor-sharp, spine-tinglingly convincing’ LISA JEWELL
‘Absolutely thrilling!’ LISA TADDEO
‘A dark, dazzling shock to the system’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘Immersive and unsettling’ SARAH VAUGHAN
‘An excellent twist’ DOROTHY KOOMSON
‘Beautifully written’ SAMANTHA DOWNING
‘Immersive, intelligent and gripping’ S.E. LYNES
Reviews
Toxic relationships, crushed hopes & rebuilding yourself from rock bottom... a fabulous novel.
A psychological page-turner of a story that deftly explores the dark and confronting dualities of womanhood. I read hungrily it in a day.
A brilliantly unsettling exploration of secrets and lies.
A tense psychological story about female friendship and bad choices.
A tense psychological story about female friendship and bad choices.
The story of three female friends and the equally imperfect men in their lives. It's about deception, disappointment & murder. It's also about female friendship and platonic love, which cuts through the darkness. Gripping stuff!
Rare and very refreshing ... a novel where middle-aged women are represented in all their wise, sensual, flawed complexity. I enjoyed it SO much
A dark, delicious thriller which holds the complexity of female friendship at its heart. I loved it.
Imperfect Women is a painfully honest, haunting portrait of friendship, betrayal, marriage and disappointment. While Hall is able to keep you on the edge of your seat (and awake much later than you should be) she can also make you weep, such is her insight and lack of judgement of the human condition. A beautiful book that will stay with me for a very long time.
A stunning example of the new breed of "psychological thriller" with a deep dive into the conflicted worlds of three brilliantly-drawn female characters, irradiated by a terrible crime. A pitch-perfect, meticulously-observed and utterly absorbing novel.
A perfect slow burning thriller that beautifully dissects the complexities of female friendship and the choices women make.
Toxic relationships, crushed hopes & rebuilding yourself from rock bottom... a fabulous novel.
A dark take on friendship and festering secrets that had me turning pages well into the night.
Not only a deeply satisfying psychological thriller but an insightful and sometimes disquieting exploration of relationships, families and the challenges and pressures confronting women today.
A brilliant exploration of the secrets and hidden lives womn create for themselves as they try to navigate their way through life. The friendships are real and touching, the relationships are consuming and passionate. I read this in no time and really enjoyed the pace, flow and insights Araminta writes about. A fabulous novel of modern love, life and people, with an excellent twist.
Dark, visceral, proper psychological thriller with a powerful feminist agenda.
A psychological thriller in the truest sense of the word: a thoughtful examination of the psyche of three credible women with baggage and flaws. So much will resonate: not least Hall's exploration of gender politics and motherhood. At points I was folding pages repeatedly. Deeply unsettling. Recommended.
Beautifully written and expertly structured - a masterclass in psychological thriller writing.
Dark, visceral, proper psychological thriller with a powerful feminist agenda.
A slow-burning, tense build to a furious conclusion. Female friendships and the compromises women make are explored in stark detail, and through three different perspectives the story develops to a pleasing and very just ending. It's great.
An immersive, intelligent and gripping exploration of the deep wells of female friendship and what it means to be a woman in a world made by and for men. Hall gives us three flawed female characters and shows how their expectations of life are thwarted in different ways, exploring their relationships and enticingly messy behaviour with compassion, even in the darkest of deeds.
'A stunning, dark novel about who women want to be and the reality of who they are. Beautifully written, thought-provoking and should not be missed.
It's been clear from the start that Araminta Hall has a talent for telling unpalatable truths and Imperfect Women is no exception. Expertly peels the layers from the everyday lies we tell each other, and ourselves
A cracking read.
'A stunning, dark novel about who women want to be and the reality of who they are. Beautifully written, thought-provoking and should not be missed.
A psychological thriller in the truest sense of the word: a thoughtful examination of the psyche of three credible women with baggage and flaws. So much will resonate: not least Hall's exploration of gender politics and motherhood. At points I was folding pages repeatedly. Deeply unsettling. Recommended.
A perfect slow burning thriller that beautifully dissects the complexities of female friendship and the choices women make.
A cracking read.
A dark take on friendship and festering secrets that had me turning pages well into the night.
A slow-burning, tense build to a furious conclusion. Female friendships and the compromises women make are explored in stark detail, and through three different perspectives the story develops to a pleasing and very just ending. It's great.
A dark, delicious thriller which holds the complexity of female friendship at its heart. I loved it.
Rare and very refreshing ... a novel where middle-aged women are represented in all their wise, sensual, flawed complexity. I enjoyed it SO much
Not only a deeply satisfying psychological thriller but an insightful and sometimes disquieting exploration of relationships, families and the challenges and pressures confronting women today.
An immersive, intelligent and gripping exploration of the deep wells of female friendship and what it means to be a woman in a world made by and for men. Hall gives us three flawed female characters and shows how their expectations of life are thwarted in different ways, exploring their relationships and enticingly messy behaviour with compassion, even in the darkest of deeds.
Imperfect Women is a painfully honest, haunting portrait of friendship, betrayal, marriage and disappointment. While Hall is able to keep you on the edge of your seat (and awake much later than you should be) she can also make you weep, such is her insight and lack of judgement of the human condition. A beautiful book that will stay with me for a very long time.
Beautifully written and expertly structured - a masterclass in psychological thriller writing.
A stunning example of the new breed of "psychological thriller" with a deep dive into the conflicted worlds of three brilliantly-drawn female characters, irradiated by a terrible crime. A pitch-perfect, meticulously-observed and utterly absorbing novel.
It's been clear from the start that Araminta Hall has a talent for telling unpalatable truths and Imperfect Women is no exception. Expertly peels the layers from the everyday lies we tell each other, and ourselves
A psychological page-turner of a story that deftly explores the dark and confronting dualities of womanhood. I read hungrily it in a day.
A brilliantly unsettling exploration of secrets and lies.
The story of three female friends and the equally imperfect men in their lives. It's about deception, disappointment & murder. It's also about female friendship and platonic love, which cuts through the darkness. Gripping stuff!
A brilliant exploration of the secrets and hidden lives womn create for themselves as they try to navigate their way through life. The friendships are real and touching, the relationships are consuming and passionate. I read this in no time and really enjoyed the pace, flow and insights Araminta writes about. A fabulous novel of modern love, life and people, with an excellent twist.