'A dark and devastating story that grips you from the very first page' T. J. Emerson, author of The Perfect Holiday. What you don't know can hurt you. Thirty years ago Anthony Mailer was a seven-year-old boy trapped in Dr Galbraith's basement. Now he's a journalist, a husband and a father. But no matter how far he's come, at times he's still that scared little boy. In order to save his marriage, he has to stop hiding from what happened and deal with it once and for all. But digging into the past holds dangers Anthony never imagined . . . A note from the author: While fictional, this book was inspired by true events. It draws on the author's experiences as a police officer and child protection social worker. The story contains content that some readers may find upsetting. It is dedicated to survivors everywhere. ________ What people are saying about The Father: 'The chill is tangible' Owen Mullen 'Dark, disturbing, and brilliant. Kept me up all night!' Diana Wilkinson 'A frightening book that lures us into the darkness where monsters live. John Nicholl's knowledge of this world from his years of police work makes his characters ring true' Billy Hayes 'An emotional roller coaster...I couldn't stop reading until I reached the end' McGarvey Black 'Dark and disturbing. One to really get your pulse racing. This is a story you won't forget' Ross Greenwood 'An outstanding piece of work by a truly masterful storyteller' Anita Waller 'Disturbing and gripping . . . John Nicholl's experience of police and child protection work adds truth and reality to Anthony's search for closure' Phil Rowlands

This glittering, "wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told" (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys) explores the darkly intertwined fates of infamous socialite Ann Woodward and literary icon Truman Capote, sweeping us to the upper echelons of Manhattan's high society-where falls from grace are all the more shocking. When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote. Acclaimed for his bestselling nonfiction book In Cold Blood, Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him. He decided the story of Ann's turbulent marriage would be the basis of his masterpiece-a novel about the dysfunction and sordid secrets revealed to him by his high society "swans"-never thinking that it would eventually lead to Ann's suicide and his own scandalous downfall. "A 20th-century morality tale of enduring fascination" (Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses), Deliberate Cruelty is a haunting cross between true crime and literary history that is perfect for fans of Furious Hours, Empty Mansions, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.