A group of friends must deal with betrayal, lust and lies in the heart-wrenching sequel to A Sense of Guilt

What can you do once the worst has already happened?

The central characters of A Sense of Guilt – which became a hugely successful television series – are facing the devastating effects of Felix's affair with Sally, the teenage stepdaughter of his best friend, Richard. Elizabeth and Felix's marriage has been tested to its limits: Richard's marriage to Helen, Sally's mother, has collapsed and Richard has returned to his first wife, Inge.

'Elizabeth managed to walk to the door but she still couldn't look at Felix. Were there no limits to what she was asked to endure or had she just reached the end?'

'Inge sat down again at the kitchen table, thinking that a miracle had happened and she did not know how to behave. When you get your heart's desire, what do you do to celebrate?'

'Had Helen taken Richard for granted all those years? She hadn't been aware of it and yet now he had gone the pain was so sharp that she didn't know how to bear it.'

They will find the answers they seek... but at what cost? A Gift of Poison is a superb emotional drama – tense, perceptive and compelling – and not to be missed by readers of Peter Swanson and Liane Moriarty.