ACID

A woman survives a brutal acid attack, and her life is split into before and after. The novel follows the recovery that comes next: the physical injuries, the psychological damage and the way other people now see her. She is building a new identity while a hidden past stays close behind.

The story runs on two timelines. One is set in present-day London. The other is a flashback to the attack itself. The two strands move toward each other slowly, and each fills in a little more of what happened.

At the centre is a secret about the man who attacked her and how he is connected to her. The connection is withheld and revealed in small pieces, so the mystery builds gradually rather than arriving all at once. Betrayal and revenge sit under the plot.

A psychological thriller with a domestic-drama undercurrent, the book stays tense and dark, given the violence and her trauma. A reflective, melancholic note runs through it as she deals with loss and remakes her life. The question that drives it is who this man was to her.