A shocking crime…
a killer telling lies…
the most dangerous man is the one with nothing to lose
out now
Only a handful of inmates in Westmead Prison have committed crimes so atrocious that they've been locked away for life, and for fifteen years, convicted murderer Tomas Kovak has refused to disclose where he hid the body of his victim, a vulnerable young woman.
When Kovak is diagnosed with terminal cancer, intense pressure is put on Dr Laura Fleming, criminal psychologist, to find the location of Kovak's victim so her grieving family can find some sort of closure.
Laura has to use all of her training, skills and instinct to form a connection with the cold, remorseless killer, a man who has refused any psychological assessment since the day he confessed to the murder.
With every session, Laura becomes more and more convinced that something about Kovak's story doesn't ring true, and as his health rapidly deteriorates, the pressure on Laura ramps up. She becomes increasingly desperate, resorting to unconventional methods to find out what she can from the secretive man.
As she inches closer to the truth, she discovers some people will stop at nothing to keep the past hidden ... and the people Laura cares most about are fair game.
Love can make you do terrible things.
A searing, dark and dangerous thriller from an exciting new voice
out now!
When prison psychologist Dr Laura Fleming is assigned charismatic inmate Justin Jones to assess for parole, alarm bells ring. Working with some of the state's most damaged criminals, she knows Jones is too dangerous to release, but he's got everyone fooled . . . She needs proof.
Laura knows all about damage. Her own painful mistakes have destroyed her marriage and she's been refused access to her daughter. Step by agonising step, she's rebuilding her life and her relationships, but it's a hard road. What does she have to do to prove she can be trusted?
Laura's not taking any chances with Jones, and as she races to find evidence before his parole hearing, she digs deep into his life - and is shocked by what she finds.
But as she edges closer to the truth, Laura falls victim to a series of increasingly personal attacks, and secrets from her past threaten to unhinge everything she holds dear - her job, her family . . . even her sanity.
Sometimes redemption is out of reach. But revenge will do just fine.
“Tension and menace ... Mercier wields exceptional talent”
“Will keep you turning pages late into the night: don’t say you weren’t warned”
““Vivid… Entertaining… A total page-turner… A true edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller with twists that will keep you up all night””
““Fast-paced, original and unputdownable. One of the most original crime novels I’ve read in years””
““Crackling with tension and dark undercurrents, with a gripping lead in Laura Fleming, a woman navigating the physical and mental aftershocks of trauma and fighting to rebuild her life. White Noise hooked me from the start with its assured depiction of the inner workings of the prison system: its challenges, failings, and the inherent sense of danger held in check. This is an immersive and tightly woven debut, which threads the fallout from trauma and abuse into a tense cat-and-mouse crime thriller, propelling the reader through to an explosive end” ”
“Tense... gripping... with a twisty plot that kept me guessing”