In Her Defence

Smart, elegant, and endlessly unsettling. This is a novel full of delicious, vivid details: the ambiguous characters, the unforgettable settings, the unnerving psychology – Abigail Dean, SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of GIRL AWhat a beautifully written debut! Compulsively readable, a brilliant mix of courtroom drama, psychological thriller and love story, it pulls off the rare trick of being an unputdownable page-turner with real emotional depth. I can’t wait to see what Malicka does next! – JP Delaney, SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of THE GIRL BEFOREA stunning debut that jumps deftly between courtroom thriller and a twisting, tender tale of lust, trust, friendship and betrayal – Erin Kelly, internationally bestselling author of HE SAID / SHE SAIDPhilippa Malicka delivers both a twisting courtroom trial and a haunting character study in this wholly absorbing debut. In Her Defence explores the reliability of memory, the shifting nature of truth, and the fine line between obsession and love. I was completely hooked from the first page to the very last! – Megan Miranda, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of YOU BELONG HEREI devoured it in one day. It’s tense, twisted and beautifully written, and both an unsettling and compelling story of obsession and vulnerability – Debbie Howells, SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of THE BONES OF YOUA haunting and twisty story of obsession, memory, and the blurred line between healing and harm. Part courtroom drama, part psychological love story, In Her Defence will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page – Liv Constantine, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of THE LAST MRS. PARRISHA brilliant, star-making debut - a potent courtroom drama packed with complex characters, deft psychological twists, and buttery prose. The narrator is not so much unreliable as a mystery even to herself, and you’ll be reading way past midnight to solve the puzzle of who she is – Julia Heaberlin, bestselling author of BLACK-EYED SUSANSA mesmerising, intricately plotted psychodrama you won’t be able to put down (or forget). Beautifully written, this is as assured a debut as they come - I inhaled it – Otegha Uwagba, SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of LITTLE BLACK BOOKA riveting, seductive novel about the exploitation of power and control, expertly crafted and not to be missed! – Sophie Stava, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of COUNT MY LIES

Philippa Malicka grew up in Essex and now lives in London. Her journalism has appeared in the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times and she is a graduate of the Fiction MA at the University of East Anglia. In Her Defence, a Reese’s Book Club pick in February 2026, is her first novel.