Excerpt from The Good Liar by Denise Mina, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Their steps echoed in the empty stairwell. Claudia felt an anxious tremor deep in her stomach as they approached the fire exit that led out into the Botanical Courtyard. The party hummed warmly beyond the doors. They took a moment, knowing that this was the last time they'd be alone until after her speech. Philip cleared his throat, Claudia flattened her hair and pulled her jacket straight.

They looked at one another in their splendid clothes. They looked powerful and authoritative and they both knew it.

He turned to the door.

'Ready?'

'Yup.'

On Philip's signal, they took a door each, pushed the bars down and made their entrance, swinging both doors wide into the party.

A roar of gaudy light hit Claudia's eyes and she flinched as a sudden backdraft of dry heat from the patio heaters billowed into the stairwell.

She was back, a year ago to the day, standing next to Philip when he got the phone call that would bring them to this point.

Gunshots in a grand house less than half a mile away, up on Chester Terrace.

Two dead.

Come at once.

We have the place surrounded.

Excerpted from The Good Liar by Denise Mina. Copyright © 2025 by Denise Mina. Excerpted by permission of Mulholland. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.