Versions of a Murder
On sale
6th May 2027
Price: £10.99
Genre
‘Paula Daly is back! I can’t stop thinking about this novel. I loved it!’
GILLIAN McALLISTER
‘Phenomenal! Intriguing, anxiety producing, and brilliantly-executed . . . a psychological thriller like no other’
LISA GARDNER
‘I ripped through this with great pleasure . . . superbly evocative’
CHRIS BROOKMYRE
‘It gripped me completely . . . the rare page-turner that also has something deep to say about women’s lives I was wildly entertained by this book and genuinely moved. It’s outstanding!’
ATTICA LOCKE
______
What if you had to relive the day of your murder again and again?
West Yorkshire, 1974. Dr Heidi Quick is a newly qualified junior doctor, desperate to prove herself in a man’s world. After a brutal triple shift, she accepts a lift home from her trusted colleague Fred Preston – only for him to strangle her in her own flat.
Moments later, Heidi wakes in the on-call room – alive, back on shift, forced to live the same day again. And again. But no matter what choices she makes, each time the day ends the same: with her murder.
Desperate, Heidi is forced to turn killer herself. But even with Fred dead, the nightmare doesn’t end – and death comes for Heidi soon after. Now she must face a terrifying reality: escaping this loop won’t come from killing Fred once.
And as it turns out, Fred Preston isn’t only after her either. Beneath his charm lies the darkness of a real-life inspired UK serial killer who has been preying on the weak, the voiceless and the forgotten for years.
As Heidi relives versions of her life – sometimes making it days, sometimes decades – the lines blur between destiny and choice, victim and perpetrator, past and future. Heidi must not only outwit her killer, but prevent any other murders and bring him to justice, all whilst facing the ultimate question:
What will it take to finally break this loop once and for all?
________
MORE PRAISE FOR VERSIONS OF A MURDER
‘Once I started reading, I just couldn’t stop. Intricate and intriguing, I was gripped throughout’
JILL MANSELL
‘I enjoyed ripping through the pages of this addictive thriller while also feeling genuinely scared by it’
ZOE RANKIN
‘What a sensational reading experience. I was blown away. I devoured it in a day and will be thinking about it for some time . . . I defy you to put this down once you start reading’
CHRIS BRIDGES
‘A gripping tale’
ANNA MALONEY
MORE PRAISE FOR PAULA DALY:
‘The UK’s answer to Liane Moriarty’ CLAIRE MCGOWAN
‘Kept me guessing right until the end. I devoured it’ CLAIRE DOUGLAS
‘I always know I’m in safe hands when I open a Paula Daly novel. She’s a hugely talented writer’ C. L. TAYLOR
‘One of the most hypnotically gripping books I’ve read’ TESS GERRITSEN
‘Riveting and page-turning’ LISA GARDNER
‘Yet another gripping, heartbreaking read from a brilliant writer’ JILL MANSELL
‘Fiendishly addictive’ Guardian
‘Emotional, twisty and a joy to read’ MARK EDWARDS
‘A clever and original thriller. Highly absorbing and full of surprises’ LESLEY KARA
GILLIAN McALLISTER
‘Phenomenal! Intriguing, anxiety producing, and brilliantly-executed . . . a psychological thriller like no other’
LISA GARDNER
‘I ripped through this with great pleasure . . . superbly evocative’
CHRIS BROOKMYRE
‘It gripped me completely . . . the rare page-turner that also has something deep to say about women’s lives I was wildly entertained by this book and genuinely moved. It’s outstanding!’
ATTICA LOCKE
______
What if you had to relive the day of your murder again and again?
West Yorkshire, 1974. Dr Heidi Quick is a newly qualified junior doctor, desperate to prove herself in a man’s world. After a brutal triple shift, she accepts a lift home from her trusted colleague Fred Preston – only for him to strangle her in her own flat.
Moments later, Heidi wakes in the on-call room – alive, back on shift, forced to live the same day again. And again. But no matter what choices she makes, each time the day ends the same: with her murder.
Desperate, Heidi is forced to turn killer herself. But even with Fred dead, the nightmare doesn’t end – and death comes for Heidi soon after. Now she must face a terrifying reality: escaping this loop won’t come from killing Fred once.
And as it turns out, Fred Preston isn’t only after her either. Beneath his charm lies the darkness of a real-life inspired UK serial killer who has been preying on the weak, the voiceless and the forgotten for years.
As Heidi relives versions of her life – sometimes making it days, sometimes decades – the lines blur between destiny and choice, victim and perpetrator, past and future. Heidi must not only outwit her killer, but prevent any other murders and bring him to justice, all whilst facing the ultimate question:
What will it take to finally break this loop once and for all?
________
MORE PRAISE FOR VERSIONS OF A MURDER
‘Once I started reading, I just couldn’t stop. Intricate and intriguing, I was gripped throughout’
JILL MANSELL
‘I enjoyed ripping through the pages of this addictive thriller while also feeling genuinely scared by it’
ZOE RANKIN
‘What a sensational reading experience. I was blown away. I devoured it in a day and will be thinking about it for some time . . . I defy you to put this down once you start reading’
CHRIS BRIDGES
‘A gripping tale’
ANNA MALONEY
MORE PRAISE FOR PAULA DALY:
‘The UK’s answer to Liane Moriarty’ CLAIRE MCGOWAN
‘Kept me guessing right until the end. I devoured it’ CLAIRE DOUGLAS
‘I always know I’m in safe hands when I open a Paula Daly novel. She’s a hugely talented writer’ C. L. TAYLOR
‘One of the most hypnotically gripping books I’ve read’ TESS GERRITSEN
‘Riveting and page-turning’ LISA GARDNER
‘Yet another gripping, heartbreaking read from a brilliant writer’ JILL MANSELL
‘Fiendishly addictive’ Guardian
‘Emotional, twisty and a joy to read’ MARK EDWARDS
‘A clever and original thriller. Highly absorbing and full of surprises’ LESLEY KARA
Reviews
What a sensational reading experience. I was blown away by this. I devoured it in a day and will be thinking about it for some time. This bold and original book drew me in and left me reeling. This is crime writing at its most elevated with a setting so evocative that you can almost taste and smell it. I defy you to put this down once you start reading.
I ripped through this with great pleasure . . . superbly evocative of its periods, and hugely effective in conveying the limited options and freedoms open to its heroine in a novel that is very much about making choices and living with the consequences.
Once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. Intricate and intriguing, I was gripped throughout. Loved it!
A gripping tale where all might not be what it seems. Daly keeps us guessing as she takes the reader on a journey stretching over several decades until a final satisfying denouement is reached.
Phenomenal! An intriguing, anxiety producing, and brilliantly-executed high-concept thriller. Never had any idea where it was going next. From its explosive start to the many and varied twisted turns through a diabolical time loop, Daly creates a psychological thriller like no other. Can you escape your own murder? Stay tuned to find out!
It gripped me completely. The book's plotting is masterful. It's the rare page-turner that also has something deep to say about women's lives and what we do with the only choices we believe we're allowed to make. I was wildly entertained by this book and genuinely moved. It's outstanding.
Paula Daly is back! I can't stop thinking about this novel. I loved it!
Paula Daly's skilfully-executed novel hooks you in with a compelling and original premise that leaves your heart racing. Daly creates an undercurrent of anxiety and tension that pulses through every page, making it hard to look away. I enjoyed ripping through the pages of this addictive thriller while also feeling genuinely scared by it.
Brilliantly original, and so well executed. Paula really is an exceptionally gifted writer. It was constantly surprising, wonderfully observed and gloriously macabre!
Time travel with a twist. And a sinister one at that. New and imaginative...the 1970s and 80s are immaculately portrayed and the writing is sharp, spare and perfect for the story. Unputdownable.