The Death of Us: A Novel

“A page-turner par excellence, written with unobtrusive brilliance, [and] full of sharply observed lines . . . The Death of Us lives up to the hype.”
—Stephen King

“The Death of Us is astonishingly good—Abigail Dean’s the real thing.”
—Mick Herron, bestselling author of Slow Horses

“A devastating exploration of the long-term effects of violence . . . [b]y focusing on the victims rather than on, say, the drama around the police investigation, this wrenching book subverts the normal conventions of a serial killer novel. It’s an unusual and effective approach.”
—The New York Times Book Review

It’s the night we never talk about.
It’s the story the world wants to hear.
But this isn’t the story of that night. This is the story of us.

Together, Edward and Isabel move to London. They are young and in love, occupied by friends, work and fun. But late on a spring evening when they are thirty years old, their home is invaded by a serial killer. In the wake of this violation, each tries to come to terms with a night that changed everything—and their marriage begins to crumble.

Twenty-five years later, their tormentor is caught, and Edward and Isabel reunite for his sentencing. Isabel has waited years for the man who nearly ended her life to be brought to justice. Edward has tried to think about anything else. As they prepare to deliver impact statements in the public eye, it is time to revisit their love story. Will they finally be able to confront the secrets, longings and lies that tore them apart?

Or will the horror of that night be the death of them?

A captivating portrait of a marriage and its implosion, The Death of Us digs into the stories we tell ourselves about love—and everything love can bear.