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The Night Stairs

Brief Description
When schoolgirls start fainting one after the other at an elite convent boarding school, old legends twist into new scandals. From irresistible bestselling storyteller Erin Kelly comes the new compulsive thriller The Night Stairs that will leave you craving to read more. "Had me hooked from... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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When schoolgirls start fainting one after the other at an elite convent boarding school, old legends twist into new scandals. From irresistible bestselling storyteller Erin Kelly comes the new compulsive thriller The Night Stairs that will leave you craving to read more.

"Had me hooked from page one…a twisty, confounding mystery" JENNIE GODFREY

"Relentlessly gripping…Original, atmospheric, and deliciously dark" LUCY CLARKE

Centuries of tradition are coming to an end at St Cordula's school. Deputy Head, Fiona Fox, is about to preside over a controversial move to save it from ruin. But it's not easy to change things at a school this old.

Legend has it that the ghost of fifteenth-century nun, Sister Matilda, will keep St Cordula's safe. But only as long as the words "GOD FORGIVE ME," scrawled by Matilda on a chapel staircase wall before she fell to her death, are repainted every year. The words have only been allowed to fade once, in 2002. But then, fits of vertigo spread through the pupils, and a second girl fell to her death on the night stairs. Only three people know the truth of what happened on the night of the tragedy.

Now the vertigo is back, and Fiona must stem the outbreak before it threatens St Cordula's future, or worse, another girl loses her life. But when one of her pupils begins a dangerous investigation into the past, old secrets start to twist into new scandals...

"Creates a world that pulls you in and won't let go. Deliciously dark and satisfying" JANE FALLON

"Erin Kelly can do no wrong, and in this boarding-school thriller, she does everything right…a complex and beautifully written gothic thriller…I raced through it" CLARE MACKINTOSH

"Outstanding…as much an insightful novel about female friendship and betrayal as it is a compelling mystery" JANE CASEY

"Deeply layered, beautifully penned and infinitely absorbing…a triumph" ABIR MUKHERJEE

"A stylish and utterly compulsive read from one of my favourite storytellers" RUTH WARE

"A stunning gothic thriller – beautifully written, wise, moving, and utterly compelling…an absolute triumph" ALEX NORTH

"Compulsively creepy and genuinely thrilling…Warning—this will keep you up all night" ANNA MAZZOLA

"Like falling into a fever dream—enchanting, embroiling, and addictive. An absolute classic from the peerless Erin Kelly" SARAH HILARY

PRAISE FOR ERIN KELLY:

"So thrilling and unexpected that it made my head spin" LISA JEWELL

"Erin Kelly is supremely skilled at unusual and intelligent suspense plots" DAILY MAIL

"Original, suspenseful, and with complex characters that spring irresistibly to life on the page" LOUISE CANDLISH

"An incredibly atmospheric psychological thriller with a clever, elaborate plot" GRAZIA

"Incomparable…captivating, cleverly constructed" PAULA HAWKINS

"Magnificent" MARIAN KEYES

"A gripping tale of secrets, revenge and obsession, masterfully done" GUARDIAN

"Propulsive…atmospheric, original" GILLIAN McALLISTER

"A taut chamber-piece of psychological suspense" FINANCIAL TIMES

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781787305625

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 July 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Harvill

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 40.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 700g

Pages: 400

About the Author

Erin Kelly is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose, The Burning Air, The Ties That Bind, He Said/She Said, Stone Mothers/We Know You Know, Watch Her Fall, The Skeleton Key and The House of Mirrors, as well as Broadchurch- The Novel, inspired by the award-winning TV series. The Poison Tree became a major ITV drama and was a Richard & Judy Summer Read. He Said/She Said spent six weeks in the top ten in both hardback and paperback, was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier crime novel of the year award and selected for both the Simon Mayo Radio 2 and Richard & Judy Book Clubs. The Skeleton Key was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller and was selected as a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. Born in London in 1976, Erin lives in north London with her husband and daughters.

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