Anita’s narrow white hand with the long nails painted pastel pink, the man’s brown hand equally shapely, the fingers slightly splayed.'

Beneath the green meadows of Loughton, Essex, a dark network of tunnels has been dug.

In all her novels, multi-million copy and SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Ruth Rendell digs deep beneath the surface to investigate the secrets of the human psyche and The Girl Next Door is no exception. This compelling and captivating mystery, with its taut plotting and spine-tingling twists and turns is perfect for fans of PD James, Ann Cleeves and Donna Leon.

'This novel reminded me of the singularity of Ruth Rendell's talent, her effortless mastery of language and her uncanny genius for mapping a criminal mind.' -- The Times
'Rendell is as masterful as ever; her writing tense, brittle, and brilliant.' -- Sunday
Mirror
'Couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review
'Fantastic book' -- ***** Reader review
'Fabulous read' -- ***** Reader review
'Love the way Ruth Rendell weaves the plot - she never disappoints me' -- ***** Reader review
'Brilliant storyline, couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review

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Beneath the green meadows of Loughton, Essex, a dark network of tunnels has been dug. A group of children discover them. They play there. It becomes their place.

Seventy years on, the world has changed. Developers have altered the rural landscape. Friends from a half-remembered world have married, died, grown sick, moved - or disappeared.

Work on a new house called Warlock uncovers a long buried grisly secret: the bones of two severed hands are discovered in a box, and an investigation into a long-buried crime of passion begins.

The friends, who played together as children, begin to question their past. And a weary detective, more concerned with current crimes, must investigate a case of murder.