You Killed Me First

“Electrifying and page-turning, John Marrs is not to be missed.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden

"This is trademark John Marrs and then some."—Sunday Times bestselling author Andrea Mara

Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in – she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret – and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?

“The most chilling opening I’ve ever read in any book—a superb start to a stellar thriller. This is trademark John Marrs and then some! Clever, twisty, dark, surprising, propulsive—an elevated thriller that readers will devour. I loved it.” —Sunday Times bestselling author Andrea Mara

“Three deliciously devious women and a suburban setting alight with toxic secrets makes for an absolute scorcher of a read. Taut, smart, and breathlessly twisty—a surefire hit.” —Ellery Lloyd

John Marrs is an author and former journalist based in Northamptonshire, England. After spending his career interviewing celebrities from the worlds of television, film and music for numerous national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time author. This is his thirteenth book. Follow him at , on X @johnmarrs1, on Instagram @johnmarrs.author and on Facebook at

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