Hayfield author’s first ever published novel hailed as ‘astonishing’

Abigail Dean’s psychological crime thriller Girl A - set for release this month - is described as ‘the biggest thriller mystery since Gone Girl’ by Elle magazine.

And in the US it has even caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey - set to be featured in her list for 2021.

Thirty-two-year-old Abigail told how the novel’s pre-release success was ‘like a dream come true’ - though she added ‘the book itself has much fewer cliches’.

Girl A is the story of a woman - haunted by memories of growing up in a criminal cult - who returns to her childhood home with her six siblings after the death of her mother in prison.

Set in a fictional town, Abigail described how the bleak yet ‘tender’ scenery was inspired by the moors in the Peak District.

Lawyer Abigail, who now lives in London and is a lawyer for Google, wrote the backbone of Girl A in three months while between jobs.

After her first novel - which she penned as a teenager - was rejected by publishers she felt the need to ‘get real’ and focused on a career in law.

However she told how after getting tired of ‘crazy hours’ at her previous job and now in her 30s she decided to give it another go.

In the book the main character Lex Gracie - a successful New York lawyer - returns to England when she and her brothers and sisters inherit the ‘house of horrors’ from their mother.

She said: “One of the big things I’ve always been interested in is sibling relationships.

“I’m an only child and never having had that relationship has made me fascinated by it.

“I wanted to write about the different dynamic between children - how they grow up together through the same events but all perceive them in a different way.”

She told how High Peak readers might recognise a cricket scene as inspired by Hayfield’s ‘beautiful’ green.

The book will be released on January 21 - available at Amazon, Waterstones and on order at independent bookshops.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor