A bereaved husband is faced with a devastating choice in Brutal , an engrossing, gritty thriller from the top ten bestselling author of Running Scared , Mandasue Heller. When Frank Peter's wife dies, he feels that his once-idyllic life on the Yorkshire Moors is over. And with a daughter emigrating to Australia and a son who has his own marital problems, Frank feels resigned to a life of loneliness. Then, one night, he finds a frightened young woman hiding at the back of his farmhouse. She explains that her name is Irena and was brought to this country by a man who promised her the world - and then forced her into prostitution. Frank offers her a bed for the night, but it's the middle of winter. When heavy snowfall prevents her from leaving the next day, he's forced to extend the invitation. But the longer Irena stays, the easier it becomes for the men she's trying to escape from to find her.

People-trafficking could just be the tip of the iceberg, and Frank has no idea what these people are really capable of . Praise for Mandasue Heller: 'A real blinder' - Martina Cole, author of the DI Kate Burrows series 'Captivating from first page to last' - Jeffrey Deaver, author of The Never Game 'Heller doesn't mince words' - Peterborough Evening Telegraph Readers love Brutal : 'I literally couldn't stop reading it' 'So many twists and turns' 'Brilliant from start to finish'.