Deathwatch (25 page)

“Edinburgh-based Nicola Morgan uses the capital as a backdrop for her slick and twisted thriller. Plotted like a crime novel with plenty of cliff-hangers and red-herrings, this feels like a story aimed at teenage girls who want more grit, who find
Twilight
and its ilk too wimpy.”

The Scotsman

“As the story hurtles towards its surprising and truly terrifying climax, Morgan cleverly interweaves several themes with her customary attention to detail… But ultimately this is a book about the importance of holding on to your dreams and the corrosive power of despair… Morgan excels at getting inside the teenage brain.”

The Herald

“A finely crafted intelligent thriller… Sinister, tense, thought-provoking and entertaining, this is a fine teen read.”

Write Away

“An outstanding book… The feeling of menace and suspense is established from the beginning and builds steadily until the climax.”

Vanessa Robertson, bookseller

“Totally gripping and impossible to put down. This book is one of Nicola’s best and I’m sure you’ll love it. It’s a real page-turner!”

Zoe, teen reviewer

… to the wonderful Deathwatch Girls, my volunteer consultants from The Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh, who helped keep me on the right track with advice, opinions and enthusiasm from beginning to end. They were Astrid Batts, Gemma Bleakney, Jane Bryden, Caitlin Davidson, Emily Don, Mhairi Dunn, Rebecca Hughes, Ailsa Innes, Priya Khindria, Alison Lim, Abbie Logan, Kirsty Peters, Zoe Pritchard, Amrit Rattray and Bethan Riddell. Thanks and admiration also go to Diana Esland, the English teacher who gave up so much time and energy, and to Neil Dawson and the whole school for support in many ways. This was a really special project and it began not with me or any adults but with the girls’ own enthusiasm when I first told them I was starting a book about a stalker.

Several members of the Patrick family, as well as Wilma Irvine and Sheila Fisken, helped with technical details of schizophrenia, swimming and athletics competitions, and how entomologists kill insects humanely. (No living creatures died or suffered because of the writing of this book.)

Oh, and to my niece, Lucy: next time you get a Madagascan hissing cockroach, warn your mother before you let it loose in the house…

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.

First published 2009 by Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ

Text © 2009 Nicola Morgan
Cover photograph © 2009 Brand X Pictures/Photolibrary Group

The right of Nicola Morgan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-4063-4261-1 (ePub)

www.walker.co.uk