When schoolgirls start fainting one after the other at a convent boarding school, old legends twist into new scandals.
'Had me hooked from page one' JENNIE GODFREY
'Deliciously dark' JANE FALLON
Centuries of tradition are coming to an end at St Cordula's. Deputy Head, Fiona Fox, is about to preside over a controversial move to save it from ruin.
Legend has it that the ghost of fifteenth-century nun, Sister Matilda, will keep St Cordula’s safe. But only as long as the words ‘GOD FORGIVE ME’, scrawled by Matilda on a chapel staircase wall before she fell to her death, are repainted every year. The words have only been allowed to fade once, in 2002. But then, fits of vertigo spread through the pupils, and a second girl fell to her death on the night stairs. Only three people know the truth of what happened on the night of the tragedy.
Now the vertigo is back, and Fiona must stem the outbreak before it threatens St Cordula’s future, or worse, another girl loses her life. But when one of her pupils begins a dangerous investigation into the past, old secrets start to twist into new scandals…
The new thriller that will leave you craving to read more from irresistible bestselling storyteller Erin Kelly
'A complex and beautifully written thriller...I raced through it' CLARE MACKINTOSH
'Relentlessly gripping...Original, atmospheric' LUCY CLARKE
'Outstanding...as much an insightful novel about female friendship and betrayal as it is a compelling mystery' JANE CASEY
'A stylish and utterly compulsive read from one of my favourite storytellers' RUTH WARE
Genre: Mystery
'Had me hooked from page one' JENNIE GODFREY
'Deliciously dark' JANE FALLON
Centuries of tradition are coming to an end at St Cordula's. Deputy Head, Fiona Fox, is about to preside over a controversial move to save it from ruin.
Legend has it that the ghost of fifteenth-century nun, Sister Matilda, will keep St Cordula’s safe. But only as long as the words ‘GOD FORGIVE ME’, scrawled by Matilda on a chapel staircase wall before she fell to her death, are repainted every year. The words have only been allowed to fade once, in 2002. But then, fits of vertigo spread through the pupils, and a second girl fell to her death on the night stairs. Only three people know the truth of what happened on the night of the tragedy.
Now the vertigo is back, and Fiona must stem the outbreak before it threatens St Cordula’s future, or worse, another girl loses her life. But when one of her pupils begins a dangerous investigation into the past, old secrets start to twist into new scandals…
The new thriller that will leave you craving to read more from irresistible bestselling storyteller Erin Kelly
'A complex and beautifully written thriller...I raced through it' CLARE MACKINTOSH
'Relentlessly gripping...Original, atmospheric' LUCY CLARKE
'Outstanding...as much an insightful novel about female friendship and betrayal as it is a compelling mystery' JANE CASEY
'A stylish and utterly compulsive read from one of my favourite storytellers' RUTH WARE
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"This taut gothic suspense novel kept me up late frantically turning pages. It's a thoroughly twentieth-century take on dark academia...Kelly has written another chilling and perceptive novel that's a must-read." - Chris Bridges
"Outstanding...peeling back the layers of respectability and tradition in a Catholic girls' school to reveal incense-bitter truths. Atmospheric and expertly crafted, this is as much an insightful novel about female friendship and betrayal as it is a compelling mystery...Erin Kelly is one of the absolute best in the business." - Jane Casey
"'ve loved each of Erin Kelly's novels - but The Night Stairs is my new favourite. The richly evoked setting of St Cordula's convent school becomes a playground for malaise and madness, in this relentlessly gripping psychological thriller. Original, atmospheric, and deliciously dark." - Lucy Clarke
"A new Erin Kelly novel is a drop-everything event for me and The Night Stairs is my favourite yet. Gorgeous prose, gloriously gothic atmosphere, ingenious plotting - it's both an intelligent, twisty thriller and a powerful observation of the intensity of being a teenage girl. Masterfully done." - Nicci Cloke
"Erin Kelly is the master of the immersive thriller and The Night Stairs is a wonderful example of her ability to weave multiple timelines, characters and mysteries together to tease, challenge and ultimately entertain the reader...Writing with wit and devastating accuracy Kelly reminds us of how a tension filled adolescence can so easily tip into horror." - Sinéad Crowley
"Hysteria, secrets, faith. . . and murder? This gothic boarding school mystery had all of my favourite things, and gripped me until the very last twist. Erin Kelly is a cut above." - Juno Dawson
"Erin is so brilliant at world-building. I was totally absorbed by the claustrophobia and Gothic dread of St Cordula's... All those secrets and repression - It's like a gruesome combination of its own references, Enid Blyton and Virginia Andrews. Clever, ingenious and gripping." - Sabine Durrant
"Creates a world that pulls you in and won't let go. Deliciously dark and satisfying." - Jane Fallon
"Steeped in Catholic guilt and sin, this darkly disturbing novel enmeshes a past of myth and mystery with the hysteria affecting a convent school in the present. Erin Kelly has conjured such a brilliant evocation of psychological tension as she dares us to descend the twisting menace of The Night Stairs." - Essie Fox
"Had me hooked from page one. . . a twisty, confounding mystery." - Jennie Godfrey
"Reading The Night Stairs is like falling into a fever dream - enchanting, embroiling, and addictive. An absolute classic from the peerless Erin Kelly." - Sarah Hilary
"A sinfully addictive read with a twisting tale that spans two generations hiding one dark secret... A story about guilt and belonging, found families fighting classism, the weight of guilt and the burden of secrets. An intricately layered plot and cast of fully-fleshed visceral characters offers a truly indulgent and immersive reading experience. Erin Kelly is the master of mystery." - Callie Kazumi
"Wonderful and original novel. . . intelligent, nuanced and immersive, as well as intricately plotted, with a deeply convincing cast of characters and an extraordinary depiction and understanding of teenage girls. The twists are powerful. . ." - Claire Kendal
"Erin Kelly can do no wrong, and in this boarding-school thriller, she does everything right...a complex and beautifully written gothic thriller...I raced through it." - Clare Mackintosh
"A brilliant psychological thriller, with all of Kelly's customary fierceness and focus." - Lucy Mangan
"Nobody builds a world quite as believable as Erin Kelly. And no one can tear it down quite so deliberately too. The Night Stairs is another captivating, fiendishly clever thriller with blindsiding twists." - John Marrs
"Erin Kelly is in her element. Compulsively creepy and genuinely thrilling. Old legends twist together with teenaged trauma in this superbly atmospheric and cleverly-structured convent school thriller. Warning: this will keep you up all night." - Anna Mazzola
"The Night Stairs is a stunning gothic thriller: beautifully-written, wise, moving, and utterly compelling. Erin Kelly is one of our very best writers, and her latest novel is an absolute triumph." - Alex North
"I was utterly absorbed by this chilling and immersive thriller. The plot is intricate, the twists are head-spinning, the setting is so vivid I can still walk around it in my mind, but what I loved most of all were the perfectly painfully rendered characters." - Holly Seddon
"The gothic thriller Erin Kelly was born to write. Ferociously clever, witty, and immersive, it perfectly captures the pain of being a bullied outsider, the intensity of female friendships, and the nastiness of teenage girls. All while serving devilish twists. Her best yet." - Sarah Vaughan
"A stylish and utterly compulsive read from one of my favourite storytellers." - Ruth Ware
"Outstanding...peeling back the layers of respectability and tradition in a Catholic girls' school to reveal incense-bitter truths. Atmospheric and expertly crafted, this is as much an insightful novel about female friendship and betrayal as it is a compelling mystery...Erin Kelly is one of the absolute best in the business." - Jane Casey
"'ve loved each of Erin Kelly's novels - but The Night Stairs is my new favourite. The richly evoked setting of St Cordula's convent school becomes a playground for malaise and madness, in this relentlessly gripping psychological thriller. Original, atmospheric, and deliciously dark." - Lucy Clarke
"A new Erin Kelly novel is a drop-everything event for me and The Night Stairs is my favourite yet. Gorgeous prose, gloriously gothic atmosphere, ingenious plotting - it's both an intelligent, twisty thriller and a powerful observation of the intensity of being a teenage girl. Masterfully done." - Nicci Cloke
"Erin Kelly is the master of the immersive thriller and The Night Stairs is a wonderful example of her ability to weave multiple timelines, characters and mysteries together to tease, challenge and ultimately entertain the reader...Writing with wit and devastating accuracy Kelly reminds us of how a tension filled adolescence can so easily tip into horror." - Sinéad Crowley
"Hysteria, secrets, faith. . . and murder? This gothic boarding school mystery had all of my favourite things, and gripped me until the very last twist. Erin Kelly is a cut above." - Juno Dawson
"Erin is so brilliant at world-building. I was totally absorbed by the claustrophobia and Gothic dread of St Cordula's... All those secrets and repression - It's like a gruesome combination of its own references, Enid Blyton and Virginia Andrews. Clever, ingenious and gripping." - Sabine Durrant
"Creates a world that pulls you in and won't let go. Deliciously dark and satisfying." - Jane Fallon
"Steeped in Catholic guilt and sin, this darkly disturbing novel enmeshes a past of myth and mystery with the hysteria affecting a convent school in the present. Erin Kelly has conjured such a brilliant evocation of psychological tension as she dares us to descend the twisting menace of The Night Stairs." - Essie Fox
"Had me hooked from page one. . . a twisty, confounding mystery." - Jennie Godfrey
"Reading The Night Stairs is like falling into a fever dream - enchanting, embroiling, and addictive. An absolute classic from the peerless Erin Kelly." - Sarah Hilary
"A sinfully addictive read with a twisting tale that spans two generations hiding one dark secret... A story about guilt and belonging, found families fighting classism, the weight of guilt and the burden of secrets. An intricately layered plot and cast of fully-fleshed visceral characters offers a truly indulgent and immersive reading experience. Erin Kelly is the master of mystery." - Callie Kazumi
"Wonderful and original novel. . . intelligent, nuanced and immersive, as well as intricately plotted, with a deeply convincing cast of characters and an extraordinary depiction and understanding of teenage girls. The twists are powerful. . ." - Claire Kendal
"Erin Kelly can do no wrong, and in this boarding-school thriller, she does everything right...a complex and beautifully written gothic thriller...I raced through it." - Clare Mackintosh
"A brilliant psychological thriller, with all of Kelly's customary fierceness and focus." - Lucy Mangan
"Nobody builds a world quite as believable as Erin Kelly. And no one can tear it down quite so deliberately too. The Night Stairs is another captivating, fiendishly clever thriller with blindsiding twists." - John Marrs
"Erin Kelly is in her element. Compulsively creepy and genuinely thrilling. Old legends twist together with teenaged trauma in this superbly atmospheric and cleverly-structured convent school thriller. Warning: this will keep you up all night." - Anna Mazzola
"The Night Stairs is a stunning gothic thriller: beautifully-written, wise, moving, and utterly compelling. Erin Kelly is one of our very best writers, and her latest novel is an absolute triumph." - Alex North
"I was utterly absorbed by this chilling and immersive thriller. The plot is intricate, the twists are head-spinning, the setting is so vivid I can still walk around it in my mind, but what I loved most of all were the perfectly painfully rendered characters." - Holly Seddon
"The gothic thriller Erin Kelly was born to write. Ferociously clever, witty, and immersive, it perfectly captures the pain of being a bullied outsider, the intensity of female friendships, and the nastiness of teenage girls. All while serving devilish twists. Her best yet." - Sarah Vaughan
"A stylish and utterly compulsive read from one of my favourite storytellers." - Ruth Ware
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