The Amber Fury

A dark psychological page-turner about an inexperienced teacher who builds a powerful—and ultimately dangerous—connection with her students. When you open up, who will you let in? When Alex Morris loses her fiancé in dreadful circumstances, she moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Alex takes a job at a Pupil Referral Unit, which accepts the students excluded from other schools in the city. These are troubled, difficult kids and Alex is terrified of what she's taken on. There is one class—a group of five teenagers—who intimidate Alex and every other teacher on The Unit. But with the help of the Greek tragedies she teaches, Alex gradually develops a rapport with them. Finding them enthralled by tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge, she even begins to worry that they are taking her lessons to heart, and that a whole new tragedy is being performed, right in front of her.

Shortlisted for the Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award 2014

"I stayed up all night to finish The Amber Fury. It's gripping and compelling, a real page-turner, written with humanity and warmth." —S.J. Watson, author, Before I Go to Sleep

"A handsomely structured psychological mystery, and a moving exploration of grief." —Lionel Shriver, author, We Need to Talk About Kevin

"Haynes' debut is not only a gripping thriller, but also a beautifully drawn portrait of grief and how we find our way back to life. I loved it." —Madeline Miller, author, The Song of Achilles

"A gripping first novel . . . impossible to put down." —Herman Koch, author, The Dinner

"Compelling, wise, compassionate, and devastating, Natalie Haynes' masterfully-wrought drama of rage, loss and redemption stirs both contemplation and tears. Her debut marks the arrival of a forceful, thrilling new talent." —Liz Jensen, author, The Uninvited and The Rapture

"Gripping and elegiac, funny and achingly sad, Haynes' tale pulls you along like a river to the falls. Hypnotic." —Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer; screenwriter, Toy Story

Natalie Haynes is a writer, broadcaster, reviewer, and classicist. She judged the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2010, The Women's Prize for Fiction in 2012, and the Man Booker Prize in 2013.