The Opposite of Murder

The gripping new thriller from Sunday Times bestseller Sophie Hannah, the Queen of the unguessable mystery!

What if the only way to prevent a murder is by confessing to it?

Jemma Stelling has confessed to a murder - one she can't have committed. She has an unshakeable alibi: when Marianne Upton was stabbed to death outside her home, Jemma was at the police station confessing to a murderous obsession with Marianne and a plan to kill her in precisely the way she was killed.

So is Jemma innocent? Or is she an ingenious, cold-blooded murderer?

Review

Why would somebody confess to a murder they have yet to commit? Hannah answers this with her trademark flair, creativity and stylish prose. I loved it -- Gillian McAllister

Such a clever, twisty book - I loved it! -- Harriet Tyce

An ingenious puzzle of a novel that crackles with energy and menace -- Nicci French

Original and thrilling. Sophie Hannah is a genuine storyteller. The definition of unputdownable -- Michael Wood

Clever, complex and compelling -- Louise Beech

Teasing and bizarre, Hannah's writing is not for everyone, but it might appeal if you like the idea of an author simultaneously telling a detective story and drolly deconstructing the genre ― The Times

This one will keep you guessing . . . a properly tricky puzzle ― Platinum

Oh this is very clever indeed . . . ― Belfast Telegraph

This clever author is well known for her unreliable narrators. Once again she has come up with an engrossing tale... Witty and unpredictable ― Daily Mail

About the Author

Sophie Hannah is a Sunday Times, New York Times and Amazon Kindle No. 1 bestselling author whose books have sold millions of copies and are published in 51 countries. She was the first person to write and publish new Hercule Poirot mysteries, at the request of Agatha Christie's family and estate. In 2023 she won the Dagger in the Library Award, and in 2013 she won the UK National Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year prize for her novel The Carrier. Sophie is also an award-winning poet whose work is studied at GCSE level across the UK, and has been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. Her murder mystery musical, The Mystery of Mr E, was released as a feature film in 2023. Sophie is the founder and coach at Dream Author Coaching, and her recent self-help book about how to make brilliant decisions, The Double Best Method, was an Amazon top ten bestseller. Sophie lives with her husband, grown-up children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an honorary fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.