Things I Didn't Do

For twenty-five years, Erica Miller has lived in a remote corner of the English countryside under an assumed name. Now she wants her account told in her own words, rather than through newspaper coverage or the whispers of neighbours who believe she got away with murder. She engages Prudence Carr to record her story: a childhood of privilege, a marriage marked by infidelity, the day her husband vanished, and the day his body was discovered in the marshes.

The jury declined to convict her despite the evidence against her, and Erica has since lived in near-total seclusion. As Erica talks, Prudence herself begins to take shape on the page, and it becomes clear that the commission could make or break Prudence's career.

Charlotte Barnes, author of Sincerely, Yours, builds this psychological suspense around a story of mystery and deceit. The outcome depends on which of the two women is finally allowed the last word.