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Description
A vivid and compulsive story of obsession, control and guilt, set in Nineties Dublin – perfect for fans of dark academia
**An Irish Times Book of the Summer**
'Arrives to fill the Secret History-shaped hole in your lives ... Gloriously entertaining' Observer, Books to look out for in 2025
'A searing exploration into our deepest desires and insecurities. I adored it' Heather Darwent
'I was gripped by this dark and thrilling fable' Dominic West
'I was hooked from the very start' Rachel Joyce
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Jessica and Linda have been best friends since the first day of school. Both girls are from very different broken homes – and beautiful, wilful Jessica has always ensured their survival.
Now eighteen, the two girls have come to Wilde – an elite university in the heart of Dublin, far away from their troubled childhoods. Jessica thrives immediately, and, with the faithful Linda at her side, finds herself at the heart of a new circle of friends.
But then Mark enters the picture. A philosophy student a few years older than them, he has strange and compelling ideas about self-discovery. When Linda and Mark start dating, Jessica is disturbed by the change in her friend – and how quickly she seems to have fallen under this abrasive, charismatic man's control.
It turns out that Mark's influence is not limited to Linda alone; and Jessica soon finds out that her whole group of friends are keeping secrets for him – culminating in a terrible tragedy that strikes at the end of their first year.
Years later, Jessica is still grappling with her guilt over what happened at Wilde. And when Mark resurfaces, she knows she owes it to herself – and Linda – to set the record straight once and for all.
Product details
Published | 30 Sep 2025 |
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Format | Hardback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 336 |
ISBN | 9781526672919 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Dimensions | 234 x 153 mm |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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With pitch-pure dialogue, and a plot that weaves in and around the theatre until the edges of reality blur, Lisa Harding presents us with a psychologically gripping story about personal manipulation and the imbalance of power in intimate relationships. A powerful performance
JANE URQUHART
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Harding's style of writing is direct and intense, giving her novel a raw and emotional tone. It's a compelling read, one which will be hard to forget
IRISH EXAMINER
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A deliciously dark psychological mystery
IRISH TIMES, The best books for summer 2025
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The Wildelings is a shiver-inducing delight. I found myself reading when I should have been doing a million other things, unable to tear myself away from these bewitching characters, Harding's beautiful prose, and the prickly suspicion that a dark surprise was waiting for me on every page
LAUREN GRODSTEIN
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A spectacular tour de force
THE GLOSS, The best books to read this summer
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Propulsive, with echoes of Donna Tartt's The Secret History ... This is dark academia at its most gripping
ECONOMIST, The best novels published in the second quarter of 2025