Deliciously dark... The perfect crossover between literary fiction and crime. Thoughtful and nuanced, it explores the dark shadows of adolescence, and the everlasting pull of female friendship. -- Clare Mackintosh, author of I SEE YOU and LET ME LIE

Mesmerising, compulsive, deliciously dark - and so good on the complex and thorny bond between friends. Kate Hamer's writing is incandescent. -- Lucy Foley

I loved this book. A dark and haunting tale, beautifully drawn. Kate Hamer has a gift for story-telling and I think this may be her best yet. -- Renee Knight

As Hamer's eerie, atmospheric novel unfolds, she skillfully recasts Shakespeare's witches as her three teenage leads in a novel that is as much about family dysfunction, burgeoning sexuality and abuse of power as it is about teenage mysticism...Hamer writes beautifully about the complex and shifting dynamics between adolescent female friends. As Phoebe, believing herself to be as powerful as one of the witches in Macbeth, entices her friends into ever more perilous territory, Hamer brings the novel to a startling and powerful conclusion. Crushed is a richly imagined novel about the fine line between teenage friendship, passion and obsession. - The Observer

The darkness in the lives of teenage girls has been at the heart of much fine recent American crime fiction... Crushed is a terrific Brisith counterpart, the compelling story of three girls growing up in Bath in the Noughties. Phoebe, Orla and Grace are in the grip of passions they barely understand and have no idea what disasters they are capable of unleashing. Beautifully written and thoroughly unsettling. -- John Williams - Mail on Sunday Thriller of the Week

It's impossible not to be impressed with Kate Hamer's expert control of language. There are whole passages of interior monologue that are worthy of being called prose poems. -- Christena Appleyard - Daily Mail

A compelling novel that follows three girls over one long dangerous summer. This sizzles with intrigue and originality. - Woman & Home

Three teenage girls, who all have difficult relationships with their mothers, form an intense friendship. When they become obsessed with the three witches in Macbeth , they find a dark power within themselves, which quickly spirals out of control. This is a haunting, lyrical novel, exquisitely plotted, that will wrap you in its spell. - Red

A gripping, psychological page-turner full of adolescent angst and written with the clever and compelling originality that has become a hallmark of Hamer's searing novels. - Lancashire Evening Post

An exploration of the dark heart of female adolescence that makes good use of its Bath setting. - Guardian

Hypnotic and dark, told with an almost hyper-reality of observation that draws you utterly into this one summer and three girls. It is bewitching, intense and immersive. -- Rosamund Lupton

Crushed bowled me over. I don't know anyone who writes quite like Kate Hamer. Both prose and characters take you by the hand and lead you into another world. Unforgettable. -- Jane Corry

I was captivated by this wonderful story of three girls reaching adulthood - and the dark magic of their obsessive friendship, which spirals out of control as their handsome English teacher introduces them to Macbeth's three witches. An atmospheric and enchantingly dark read as the girls find their power; both real and imagined. I loved it. -- Chloe Mayer

As intense as it is deep, as disturbing as it is surprising. Kate Hamer's enchanted writing is sure to put you under its own spell, which will linger long after you've turned the final page -- Hannah Mary McKinnon, author of THE NEIGHBOURS and HER SECRET SON

Kate Hamer's beautiful and often magical writing examines with a deep understanding what it's like to be on the cusp of womanhood. Suffused with the brooding bloody manipulations of the witches in Macbeth the three girls are the beating heart of this turbulent tale and my heart broke for them all. Their stories pull you through, willing them to strive and overcome and I could not put it down until their tales were done. I absolutely loved it -- Amanda Reynolds

Sunday Times bestselling author Kate Hamer's new novel blends the rawness and power of The Virgin Suicides with the propulsive force of a Megan Abbott novel.