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Darling Bud

By C.J. Skuse
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Brief Description
Murder can be a family business… Sixteen-year-old Ivy is your average teenager. She’s annoyed by the scratchy labels on her school uniform, old men who wolf-whistle, and her mother the serial killer. Ivy was raised far away from the shadows of Rhiannon Lewis, the Sweetpea killer,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2699
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Releases 2nd February 2027 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Darling Bud" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Murder can be a family business…

The BRAND-NEW for 2026 gripping coming-of-age dark comedy thriller from the world of Sweetpea, now a major TV series! A perfect summer beach read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Murder can be a family business…

Sixteen-year-old Ivy is your average teenager. She’s annoyed by the scratchy labels on her school uniform, old men who wolf-whistle, and her mother the serial killer.

Ivy was raised far away from the shadows of Rhiannon Lewis, the Sweetpea killer, but when the local predator – better known as Ivy’s football coach – is found dead, could it be that she has discovered a taste for blood?

As suspicion grows deeper, Ivy’s only way out is to get some motherly advice. But when the internet’s unlikeliest vigilantes determine that Ivy must be punished for her mother’s crimes, she must decide whether to control the rage burning inside her.

READERS LOVE C.J. SKUSE!

‘I was completely hooked from start to finish…Absolute perfection!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Oh my god 10/10…That was everything and more!!!!!…That ending!!!!!!…I loved it so much!!!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Addictive…Dripping with sharp wit & tension…SMASHED IT. 20/10…Read this book, you will not regret it!' Reader reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Visceral, chilling and absolutely downright thrilling: I wish I had read it sooner!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Oh my god 10/10 no notes that was everything and more!!!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780008819484

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 June 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: HQ Digital

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 240g

Pages: 352

Collections

C.J. Skuse Comedic Crime Coming Soon in Fiction Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Humour Pre-order Books Pre-Order Crime & Thriller Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date Psychological Thriller

About the Author

C.J. SKUSE is the author of Pretty Bad Things, Rockaholic, Dead Romantic, Monster and The Deviants. She was born in Weston-super-Mare. She has first-class degrees in creative writing and, aside from writing novels, she is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

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