The gripping new psychological thriller from Joanne Harris, to follow her bestselling Gentlemen & Players and Blueeyedboy. Perfect for fans of Claire Mackintosh, BA Paris, Paula Hawkins and *Tracy Chevalier. *

After thirty years at St Oswald’s Grammar in North Yorkshire, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go. But every so often there’s a boy who doesn’t fit the mould. A troublemaker. A boy with hidden shadows inside.

A new broom has arrived, bringing Powerpoint, sharp suits and even sixth form girls to the dusty corridors. But while Straitley does his sardonic best to resist this march to the future, a shadow from his past is stirring. A boy who even twenty years on haunts his teacher’s dreams. A boy capable of bad things.

'A masterpiece of misdirection' Val McDermid; 'An impeccable thriller denouement...consistently entertaining' Sunday Times; 'Magnificently plotted...darkly humorous' Observer

What the critics said about Gentlemen & Players and Blueeyedboy:
'A terrific and absorbing suspense novel...twists and turns to keep you on your toes' - Peter Robinson; 'Gripping psychological thriller...one of our most accomplished novelists... pace, wit and acute observation...at the top of her form' - Daily Express; 'The plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life' Daily Mail; '[A] clever story of obsession and revenge' - Sunday Telegraph

**

Review

"A magnificently plotted and twisty journey to the heart of a 24-year-old crime...darkly humorous...constantly wrongfoots and misdirects...up to a satisfyingly eccentric conclusion." Observer "Slowly, Harris reveals tiny clues, withholding full explanations until the startling denouement. Classy writing, sensitive and moving." The Times "Harris pulls off an impeccable thriller denouement...consistently entertaining." -- John Dugdale Sunday Times "A masterpiece of misdirection." -- Val McDermid "Harris magnificently manages every minute thread of the story, and even makes us laugh along the way ... exquisitely sinister... Part black comedy, part thriller, and totally enjoyable." Daily Mail

About the Author

JOANNE HARRIS is one of our best loved and most versatile novelists. She first sprung on the scene with the bestselling Chocolat (made into an Oscar-nominated film with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp), which turned into the sensuous, magical Lansquenet trilogy (Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur le Curé). She has since written acclaimed novels in diverse genres including historical fiction, fantasy based on Norse myth, and the Malbry cycle of psychological suspense (Gentlemen & Players, Blueeyedboy, and now, Different Class). She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and was awarded an MBE by the Queen. Born in Barnsley, of a French mother and an English father, she spent fifteen years as a teacher before (somewhat reluctantly) becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Yorkshire with her family, plays bass in a band first formed when she was sixteen, works in a shed in her garden, likes musical theatre and old sci-fi, drinks rather too much caffeine, spends far too much time online and occasionally dreams of faking her own death and going to live in Hawaii. 

After thirty years at St Oswald’s Grammar in North Yorkshire, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go. But every so often there’s a boy who doesn’t fit the mould. A troublemaker. A boy with hidden shadows inside.

A new broom has arrived, bringing Powerpoint, sharp suits and even sixth form girls to the dusty corridors. But while Straitley does his sardonic best to resist this march to the future, a shadow from his past is stirring. A boy who even twenty years on haunts his teacher’s dreams. A boy capable of bad things.

'A masterpiece of misdirection' Val McDermid; 'An impeccable thriller denouement...consistently entertaining' Sunday Times; 'Magnificently plotted...darkly humorous' Observer

What the critics said about Gentlemen & Players and Blueeyedboy:
'A terrific and absorbing suspense novel...twists and turns to keep you on your toes' - Peter Robinson; 'Gripping psychological thriller...one of our most accomplished novelists... pace, wit and acute observation...at the top of her form' - Daily Express; 'The plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life' Daily Mail; '[A] clever story of obsession and revenge' - Sunday Telegraph

**

Review

"A magnificently plotted and twisty journey to the heart of a 24-year-old crime...darkly humorous...constantly wrongfoots and misdirects...up to a satisfyingly eccentric conclusion." Observer "Slowly, Harris reveals tiny clues, withholding full explanations until the startling denouement. Classy writing, sensitive and moving." The Times "Harris pulls off an impeccable thriller denouement...consistently entertaining." -- John Dugdale Sunday Times "A masterpiece of misdirection." -- Val McDermid "Harris magnificently manages every minute thread of the story, and even makes us laugh along the way ... exquisitely sinister... Part black comedy, part thriller, and totally enjoyable." Daily Mail

About the Author

JOANNE HARRIS is one of our best loved and most versatile novelists. She first sprung on the scene with the bestselling Chocolat (made into an Oscar-nominated film with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp), which turned into the sensuous, magical Lansquenet trilogy (Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur le Curé). She has since written acclaimed novels in diverse genres including historical fiction, fantasy based on Norse myth, and the Malbry cycle of psychological suspense (Gentlemen & Players, Blueeyedboy, and now, Different Class). She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and was awarded an MBE by the Queen. Born in Barnsley, of a French mother and an English father, she spent fifteen years as a teacher before (somewhat reluctantly) becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Yorkshire with her family, plays bass in a band first formed when she was sixteen, works in a shed in her garden, likes musical theatre and old sci-fi, drinks rather too much caffeine, spends far too much time online and occasionally dreams of faking her own death and going to live in Hawaii.