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Chapters (70)
  1. Title Page
  2. Contents
  3. Copyright
  4. Praise for Caroline Mitchell
  5. Also by Caroline Mitchell
  6. Dedication
  7. Epigraph
  8. Prologue
  9. 1
  10. 2
  11. 3
  12. 4
  13. 5
  14. 6
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. 39
  48. 40
  49. 41
  50. 42
  51. 43
  52. 44
  53. 45
  54. 46
  55. 47
  56. 48
  57. 49
  58. 50
  59. 51
  60. 52
  61. 53
  62. 54
  63. 55
  64. 56
  65. 57
  66. 58
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. About Caroline Mitchell
  70. About Embla Books

‘But it does. If I’d been honest with Lewis about you being alive, maybe his feelings wouldn’t have festered. If I’d been honest with myself …’ She stared into her wine glass. ‘When I did tell him the truth … it was the match that lit the fuse.’

‘But Lewis was ill,’ Sarah replied. ‘Anything could have triggered him.’ As Maggie sipped her wine, she did not appear convinced.

‘The last night the four of us were together, I heard him say he loved you.’ Maggie gazed into her wine glass as she visited the past. ‘I was eaten up with jealousy. I wanted Lewis for myself.’

Sarah didn’t need to be reminded of the night they’d spent in Slayton’s old asylum. It was one of many memories she wanted to keep in the past. ‘That was years ago, Maggie. Put it behind you and start afresh.’ Her gaze went to Elliott, who was playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on his iPad. ‘You’ve got a special little boy there. Don’t torture yourself.’

‘What about us?’ Maggie sniffed. ‘Are we OK?’

Sarah squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘Better than OK.’ Raising her glass in the air, she proposed a toast. ‘To moving on.’

‘To moving on,’ Maggie agreed, tinkling her glass against Sarah’s. But while their friendship had survived their ordeal, something told Sarah that she would need to be strong. As Maggie downed her wine, Sarah turned to see Elliott standing next to her. Her heart skipped a beat. She had not heard him creep up on them as his game came to an end. His eyes were dark and unblinking. A sense of dread lingered, and as she heard ‘Silent Night’, for a moment it felt as if someone has pressed pause on the world. The haunted look on Elliott’s face conveyed what she already knew. The Midnight Game is over, but Slayton lives on. Whatever darkness it was that inhabited the town was not finished with them yet.

Acknowledgements

Being an author is my dream job and I’m grateful each day I get to write for a living. None of this would be possible without you, my valued readers, and the teams of people who have helped me along the way. The Midnight Man starts an exciting new chapter in my writing, with my new publishers, Embla Books, part of Bonnier Books UK. When I got the opportunity to work with the talented Jane Snelgrove and Emilie Marneur, I jumped at the chance. Working alongside Jennifer Porter and the rest of the Embla team has been an amazing experience and I’m also grateful to the brilliant copy editors, proofreaders, cover designer, audio book producers and narrators, and all the people behind the scenes who have brought this book to fruition.