The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

Twenty-five years ago, eleven-year-olds Bel and Jade were convicted of murdering a young child named Chloe.  But after serving their time and having their names changed, they have made new lives for themselves. Amber (Bel) works as a manager at a carnival in the seaside town of Whitmouth.  Kirsty (Jade) married Jim, has two children and is a journalist.  The authorities have forbidden any contact between the two women, but they find their lives intersecting when a serial killer is uncovered in Whitmouth and Kirsty arrives to report on the crimes. The main question then becomes will Amber and Kirsty be able to keep their pasts hidden?  The Wicked Girls is a psychological novel in the style of Tana French, although it's much more compact and doesn't have the police angle.  Alex Marwood is a pseudonym for the writer Serena Mackesy who wrote Take My Hand, which I blogged about several years ago.