The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

Rex has just finished a ten-year prison term for murder and moves in with his girlfriend Karen and their daughter, Alice. Karen is learning to adjust to life with Rex home, but worries constantly that the media will discover them. Over ten years ago, Karen, a linguistics student in London, led a pretty quiet life. The summer of her graduation, she met Biba and became entranced by her free lifestyle and rambling run-down house in Highgate. Soon, Karen moved in with Biba and her older brother, Rex (with whom Karen had become involved). By the end of the summer, two people were dead... In telling her own story, Karen reveals that she has secrets she's been keeping from that time. Alternating between the past and present, the author has created a novel of psychological suspense that's hard to put down. It's similar to the novels of Sophie Hannah, Val McDermid's The Distant Echo and Donna Tartt's The Secret History. It will be published next month.