Precious You

1

Katherine

Six weeks earlier

I ll never understand why they weren t worried, those young things I saw every day at the bus stop, stretching free of their crammed houseshares and parental buy-­to-­lets in my neighborhood, at least a mile from the nearest place they would actively choose to live. Why didn t they care we hadn t seen a bus for twenty minutes? I made a mental note to ask Iain why no one under thirty seemed arsed about being late for work anymore, then texted my deputy, Asif. I was hoping he d have words of reassurance, something I could use to soothe my latest work-­related crisis. That Monday was the first day of a brave new world at the magazine I edited: new owners, a new publisher, a shot at a new start. I knew it was critical I made a good impression, but the world was already screwing this for me by making all the buses disappear.

I messaged Asif:

No bus. Confess late now or busk it?

And got back a not particularly helpful:

Nice weekend? New publisher already here. Not sure. Good luck. xxx

I can see myself that morning, gazing in the direction of my flat, the edges of its dried-­out window boxes just visible from where I stood. I wore the oversized high-­collared shirt I d bought the day before, an ankle-­length pencil skirt split to the thigh and the black biker I always wore to work. I wanted to show up looking just-­pressed, but edgy and not desperate to fit into the new corporate regime I was facing, even though, of course, I was.

Mondays were already hard for me, even before that day. It wasn t just that after twenty years I seemed to be getting worse at my job, not better, nor that the youth, hope, and unbounded energy of my interns shoved the frustrated promise of my own formative years right back in my face with greater force every day. No, it was the awfulness, the horrifying dread, of the interns asking me, What did you do this weekend?

Compared to when I was at the height of my potential in my twenties, I

Helen Monks Takhar has been working as a journalist, copywriter, and magazine editor since 1999, after graduating from Cambridge University. She began her career in financial trade newspapers before writing for national newspapers including The Times and The Telegraph. Originally from Southport, Merseyside, she lives in London with her husband and two young children. Precious You is her first novel.

An incredibly addictive thriller that examines women in the workplace, ageism, and the clash of generations. It s creepy and unnerving, with observations that are often dead-on. Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife

A deliciously dark, addictive, and twisted page-turner. Alice Feeney, New York Times bestselling author of Sometimes I Lie

Twisted, dark, and shocking . . . Absolutely terrific. Jo Spain, internationally bestselling author of The Confession

Dark, disturbing, compulsive . . . I was genuinely terrified reading this. Adele Parks, internationally bestselling author of I Invited Her In

I gulped this down in a single afternoon. . . . Audacious, dark, and smart, with one of the most shocking scenes I ve read in a while. Phoebe Locke, author of The July Girls

Disturbing, zeitgeisty, and twisted, Precious You will make you second-guess everything and change the way you look at your colleagues forever. Phoebe Morgan, author of The Doll House and The Girl Next Door

What a debut! Twisty, explosive, and hugely compelling, with hints of Gone Girl . . . Excellent. Will Dean, author of Dark Pines and Red Snow

A brilliantly twisted tale . . . LOVED it. Lisa Hall, author of Have You Seen Her

If you like dark and twisted thrillers with venom in their veins, add this to your wish list! Anita Frank, author of The Lost Ones

A slick, fast-paced, compelling novel that asks genuine questions. I loved it and was hooked from beginning to end. Kate Hamer, internationally bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat

A delicious generational struggle. New York Post  Best Books of the Week

A hypnotic dance of obsession, gaslighting, and revenge that doesn t let up until its final unnerving reveal. People