When Amber Hewerdine consults a hypnotherapist as a desperate last resort, she doesn't expect that anything much will change.

She doesn't expect it to help with her chronic insomnia.

She doesn't expect to hear herself, under hypnosis, saying words that mean nothing to her: 'Kind, cruel, kind of...

When Amber Hewerdine consults a hypnotherapist as a desperate last resort, she doesn't expect that anything much will change.

She doesn't expect it to help with her chronic insomnia.

She doesn't expect to hear herself, under hypnosis, saying words that mean nothing to her: 'Kind, cruel, kind of cruel' - words she has seen somewhere before, if only she could remember where.

She doesn't expect to be arrested two hours later, as a result of having spoken those words out loud, in connection with the brutal murder of Katharine Allen, a woman she's never heard of . . .

Kind of Cruel is the 7th book in Hannah's acclaimed Zailer & Waterhouse series. Charlie and Simon have just gotten married, but domestic bliss is proving rather illusive, not least because Charlie ends up in Simon's investigation as a witness. Charlie's sister Liv is still sleeping with Gibbs, making Simon's work life complicated and irritating Charlie to no end. And Simon's boss and adversary, The Snowman, is still being generally horrible. Featuring all the Spilling PD characters fans know and love, Sophie Hannah's trademark dark, twisty plot will keep readers guessing until the very end.