A Sharp Scratch

Hardback Published on: 29/05/2025
Price: £16.99
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Bookseller Reviews

View all
A Sharp Scratch
Gripping, dark atmosphere
Dive into the confused, slightly blurry thoughts of Betsy, as she struggles with her mental health in a mix of narrative and memories, and tries to unravel... READ MORE
Franck, Preston

Synopsis

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Things We Do To Our Friends, comes a timely, gripping novel about the dark underbelly of wellness culture

'DARWENT HAS A GREAT CAREER AS A THRILLER WRITER AHEAD OF HER' SUNDAY TIMES

We can fix you.

It's a promise that Betsy has heard far too many times. From the child psychologist, from her husband, and from the wellness trends that scream at her from her screen.

So far, it's been a lie.

But this time, she believes it. Because Betsy has been offered a place at Carn - a luxurious, unorthodox retreat, where healing really is possible. At Carn, she discovers that her imperfections make her unique, not weak. She isn't broken, just special.

All Betsy has to do is follow the rules . . .

---

Praise for Heather Darwent
'Satisfyingly dark, cleverly plotted' Emma Flint, Little Deaths
'Smart, sophisticated, seductive' S J Watson, Before I Go To Sleep
'Startlingly lovely, like a fine, dark silk shivering on your skin' Julia Heaberlin, We Are All the Same in the Dark
'A deeply compelling story of friendships turned rotten' Rosemary Hennigan, The Truth Will Out
'Dark academia and twisted friendships in gothic Edinburgh - what more could you want?' Cailean Steed, Home

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
  • ISBN: 9780241740453
  • Number of pages: 320
  • Dimensions: 241 x 164 x 27 mm
  • Weight: 517g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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A Sharp Scratch
Books like this one remind me of why I love reading!
Betsy struggles with sleeping (and that's putting it lightly). It doesn't matter where she goes, no one seems to be able to help her. That is, until one d... READ MORE
Quinty Caspers
A Sharp Scratch
A toxic cesspool of brilliance
A Sharp Scratch was a scathing indictment of the wellness industry in a brilliant, bizarre book. You become enmeshed in the mystery of it all and the compl... READ MORE
Emily (ashortbooklover)
A Sharp Scratch
Couldn't put this down - loved it!
Loved this gripping, unsettling, creepy book - already looking forward to reading again! Definitely recommend to any horror/thriller lovers and eagerly awa... READ MORE
Eve Palfrey
A Sharp Scratch
Weird in all the right ways
I absolutely devoured this. I was drawn in by the 'wellness but at what cost' premise as I'd recently read 'Natural Beauty' by Ling Ling Huang and was c... READ MORE
Megan Carr
A Sharp Scratch
Fell down the Carn rabbit hole and loved it.
I finished this book almost as soon as I laid my hands on it, which with a toddler at home is no mean feat. Every spare moment was dedicated to another cha... READ MORE
Charlotte Hailstone
A Sharp Scratch
I was swept away with Betsy
I loved the slow burn of this book. The unknown and the unreliable narrator. I was swept along with Betsy to Carn. I was intrigued by the concept of a r... READ MORE
Georgie M
A Sharp Scratch
Darkly terrifying
I really loved The Things We Do to Our Friends, so I was looking forward to A Sharp Scratch and I was not disappointed. From the first few pages of I was h... READ MORE
Mary Picken
A Sharp Scratch
Brilliant
An absolutely unique book. I loved this writer’s first book and wondered what she would follow that up with. Well……it’s dark, it’s beautifully written and ... READ MORE
SuzyCO
A Sharp Scratch
thrillingly grotesque!!
this book was spectacularly grotesque and wildly thrilling. i was gripped from the get go and could not put this down. i went into this completely blind, o... READ MORE
shelby baker
A Sharp Scratch
An unsettling read
3.5 rounded down It’s insomniac Betsy’s wedding day to Harry, it’s a hot day and as the day unfolds it’s not quite as expected. It changes her and her ... READ MORE
Celia Short
A Sharp Scratch
Atmospheric, tense, and deviously good
A Sharp Scratch by Heather Darwent is my whole new personality for May. This book sinks its sinister claws in you from page one and grips you tighter and t... READ MORE
Emma Kelly
A Sharp Scratch
Dark and Thrilling
Dark and delicious (although maybe delicious is not a good descriptor!). Betsy and three other women afflicted by mysterious ailments are invited to stay ... READ MORE
Is This Mutton
A Sharp Scratch
Unsettling, but draws you in!
This turned out to be quite different than I expected it to be, however, it does draw you in from the beginning. It's dark, tense, and overall it's very un... READ MORE
L
A Sharp Scratch
grotesquely gripping !!
i was extremely lucky to get this one early and have not stopped thinking about it since. this book was spectacularly grotesque and wildly thrilling. i... READ MORE
shelby baker
A Sharp Scratch
A peek-through-your-fingers suspenseful read!
"To not be understood at all was the loneliest place to live." Excuse me whilst I piece my brain back together! This was such a suspenseful read - I... READ MORE
Jessica Wootten
A Sharp Scratch
Gripping and twisty!!!
This is a gripping and twisty psychological thriller that dives deep into the darker side of wellness culture—exploring its manipulative dynamics, cultish ... READ MORE
Angela Corredor Martos
A Sharp Scratch
Weird sort of gothic horror
Can non-pharmaceutical therapy cure neurodivergence? Betsy, plagued by insomnia and prone to acting out her abhorrent dreams, is about to find out. Despi... READ MORE
Denis
A Sharp Scratch
Unique
An absolutely unique book. I loved this writer’s first book and wondered what she would follow that up with. Well……it’s dark, it’s beautifully written and ... READ MORE
SuzyCO
A Sharp Scratch
Probably a good story in here somewhere
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. I don't like to give two stars so I will say 2.5 rounded up to 3. I have not ... READ MORE
am/am/am
A Sharp Scratch
Dark and gripping
Thank you netgalley and publisher. This book had a slow start for me. The story followed a woman on her wedding day, but the day doesn't go as she had e... READ MORE
Lorraine Van Hese
A Sharp Scratch
Four stars!
Unsettling and difficult to pin down, this is a story that lingers. Betsy’s wedding day to Harry is hazy and disjointed, her memories blurred as if seen th... READ MORE
The Secret Book Review
A Sharp Scratch
What is real and what is a dream?
What is real and what is a dream? Betsy has a sleep disorder, she has been an insomniac since a child, her parents found her condition hard to understand.... READ MORE
Margaret Moore