Dear Amy: A Novel

In Helen Callaghan’s chilling, tightly-spun debut novel of psychological suspense, a teenage girl’s abduction stirs dark memories of a twenty-year-old cold case...

Margot Lewis is a teacher at an exclusive high school in the English university town of Cambridge. In her spare time, she writes an advice column, “Dear Amy”, for the local newspaper.

When one of Margot’s students, fifteen-year-old Katie, disappears, the school and the town fear the worst. And then Margot gets a “Dear Amy” letter unlike any of the ones she’s received before. It’s a desperate plea for rescue from a girl who says she is being held captive and in terrible danger—a girl called Bethan Avery, who was abducted from the local area twenty years ago…and never found.

The letter matches a sample of Bethan’s handwriting that the police have kept on file since she vanished, and this shocking development in an infamous cold case catches the attention of criminologist Martin Forrester, who has been trying to find out what happened to her all those years ago. Spurred on by her concern for both Katie and the mysterious Bethan, Margot sets out—with Martin’s help—to discover if the two cases are connected.

But then Margot herself becomes a target.

In Helen Callaghan’s chilling, tightly spun debut novel of psychological suspense, a teenage girl’s abduction stirs dark memories of a twenty-year-old cold case. . . .

Margot Lewis is a teacher at an exclusive high school in the English university town of Cambridge. In her spare time, she writes an advice column, “Dear Amy,” for the local newspaper.

When one of Margot’s students, fifteen-year-old Katie, disappears, the school and the town fear the worst. And then Margot gets a “Dear Amy” letter unlike any she’s received before. It’s a desperate plea for rescue from a girl who says she is being held captive and in terrible danger—a girl named Bethan Avery, who was abducted from the local area twenty years ago . . . and never found.

The letter matches a sample of Bethan’s handwriting that the police have kept on file since she vanished, and this shocking development in an infamous cold case catches the attention of criminologist Martin Forrester, who has been trying to find out what happened to her all those years ago. Spurred on by her concern for both Katie and the mysterious Bethan, Margot sets out—with Martin’s help—to discover if the two cases are connected.

But then Margot herself becomes a target.

“An accomplished psychological twister.” - Daily Mail

“There is much to draw readers into this ripped-from-the-headlines debut novel…. Callaghan definitely shows plenty of promise, and this debut may attract some attention from fans of the unflinching Jennifer McMahon.” - Booklist

“Accomplished, engaging and utterly thrilling; beautifully written, with a narrator who manages to be both vulnerable and fierce at the same time…. The breathtaking finale is the most exciting and terrifying thing I have read in a very long time.” - Elizabeth Haynes, New York Times bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner

“ [A] solid debut…. Callaghan keeps the suspense high throughout.” - Publishers Weekly