The Poison Tree: the addictive , twisty debut psychological thriller from the million-copy bestselling author

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Finish your book. It sounds flippant: it’s not. The only thing all published writers have in common is that they finished writing their books. British journalist Erin Kelly’s debut suspense novel is a richly shaded work crammed with atmosphere, quirky characters and intricate plotting. Paul was led into a life of crime by his boyhood protector, a bully named Daniel; but one night, what started as a petty theft turned into a grisly murder. Now, at nineteen, Paul must bear witness against his friend to avoid prison. Louisa's own dark secrets led her to flee a desperate infatuation gone wrong many years before. Now she spends her days steeped in history, renovating the grounds of a crumbling Elizabethan garden. But her fragile peace is shattered when she meets Paul; he's the spitting image of the one person she never thought she'd see again.

Anyway. When Paul informs her with all this information, hoping that Louisa will be super happy knowing she isn't a murderer after all. Knowing she won't have to hide anymore...

Blogs of Note

Yeah, they're so much more fun. I always want to play the bad guy. Well, she doesn't strike you as unlikeable. She's very bewitching and she's the kind of character, the kind of person, that you feel like no-one else in the world exists when they're speaking to you. Because whether it's in a studio movie in Los Angeles or whether it's an ITV drama, it's always the character that I respond to. It doesn't feel like a change of direction, it feels like it's another role, another character that I really liked and wanted to tell the story for."

Throughout the novel, I had to keep reminding myself that the past story actually took place in 1997. It is because of the author’s detailed descriptions of Biba and Rex, how they lived, behaved and socialized that made me think the story took place in the mid-1960s – the hippie era. All in all, THE POISON TREE should probably be avoided by readers who don’t enjoy a slow-burning mystery, because their attention may wane in the first half, when the interpersonal dynamics are being set up. However, lovers of a good character study will appreciate the way Kelly builds her characters’ relationships that ultimately lead to disaster. I felt like I was watching a train chugga-chugg towards the abyss, unable to stop it as it built momentum with its unsuspecting passengers still dazzled by Biba’s light. A well-written story simmering with an undercurrent of tension and menace. I look forward to reading more from this author in future! I liked Paul, I loved his story and I'd have actually preferred the book if it was just a more detailed story of him. He was engaging and honest and I really felt for him in his plight. It could have been expanded on so more and I felt let down by that. Paul is in trouble with the police and he is going down for it, unless he reveals what happened and gives up his accomplice. After becoming the one thing you never do in a rough estate Paul is under protection and relocated where he meets Louisa. Louisa has a big secret in her past and keeps herself reserved, low key and interaction minimal, until Paul arrives. Paul reminds her of a past she would rather forget, they both have big secrets to hide however it could be the one thing that brings them together or puts them both at risk.Oh yes, there were so many... [they] were incredible. In Biba's room she hangs dresses on the wall like paintings. She adores the fabrics and the colours and the jewels. She surrounds herself with them all over the floor and they're like bedding - she has them across her bed . Filming was hard work – I have a new respect for TV presenters - but great fun. Even in normal times, I find that I really need to offset the isolation of writing with more sociable work, or I fall down the rabbit hole of my own mind, which if you’ve read my books you’ll know can be a pretty dark place. It was a breath of fresh air to be around colleagues again rather than imaginary friends. Even if we were all in different rooms, communicating by walkie-talkie.

These two, scarred and solitary, begin a secret affair. Louisa starts to believe she can again find the happiness she had given up on. But neither of them can outrun his violent past. I have always been drawn to characters on the cusp of adulthood, students in particular, because it's such an intense, irresponsible time of life. Our minds and bodies are adult, we are no longer under the care of our parents, not yet burdened by careers, mortgages, or children. Relationships and living arrangements tend to be quite fluid, with friendships forged and abandoned almost weekly, and the same goes for lovers; these fluctuations and transitions mean that life is brimming with potential for fun, sex, experience and the dark side of these things too, heartbreak, betrayal, death. Since turning thirty a few years ago I've come to realize just how small a window of irresponsibility those student years are, which makes it seem, in retrospect, even more intense. I loved Karen, too; she's very believable and the narrative really gets under the character's skin. She's a self-confessed unremarkable girl who's had a sheltered existence, cosseted by a trio of vacuous friends and an equally boring boyfriend throughout university, and her revelatory entrance into a life where she no longer feels 'invisible' is wonderfully evoked. While there are some slightly irritating inconsistencies and mistakes (such as when Karen is given her first ecstasy tablet, has a wonderful time partying all night and then has absolutely no comedown?!), the overall effect is so arresting that small errors don't really dent its power. And funny part is, they took this seriously. Thought about all pros and cons. Practised tripping and hitting him at some place they planned. Apart from the guilt feeling gnawing at them, they were all set to get this plan into action. And all this time Paul was simply gaping at him, didn't try stopping him fearing he'd get caught in the camera.

Karen is ending her university years and has her future mapped out. But then she meets Biba, who opens doors to a world she's never seen before, and to the type of intense friendship that she's never experienced either. As Karen embarks on this friendship, she collects all kinds of new experiences along the way. At the start of that summer, she could never have predicted just how indelible the mark left by the friendship would turn out to be. Yeah, absolutely. Like I say, it really is the role. If I read something and respond to the role, that's what happens, and if those happen to be a few comedies in a row, or not, so be it. But I was kind of hankering after a really dark drama to get my teeth into. I suppose I had an appetite for it." What do they do? Make a run for it. Hoping one of them goes free. They get to Daniel first. And eventually Paul the next day. And we know what happens next.