The Opposite of Murder
On sale
29th January 2026
Price: £22
Genre
Sophie Hannah’s jaw-dropping, twisty, unguessable new thriller has readers hooked!
‘This murder mystery really did blow my mind. It kept me awake at night! Absolutely brilliant’ ?????
‘Sophie Hannah at her twisty, absorbing, brilliant best’ ?????
‘INGENIOUS! I challenge anyone to unravel this clever whodunit’ ?????
‘Sophie Hannah could well be our modern Christie, such a deliciously complicated plot. Her best yet!!’ ?????
‘This lived up to its press for me. I loved every page – a truly impossible puzzle!!’ ?????
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?
PRAISE FOR SOPHIE HANNAH:
‘Such a clever, twisty book – I loved it!’ HARRIET TYCE
‘A new novel by Sophie Hannah is a cause for celebration!’ ALEX MICHAELIDES
‘One of the best crime writers currently working’ SCOTSMAN
‘High concept and so satisfying’ GILLIAN McALLISTER
‘Brain-bending’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
‘This murder mystery really did blow my mind. It kept me awake at night! Absolutely brilliant’ ?????
‘Sophie Hannah at her twisty, absorbing, brilliant best’ ?????
‘INGENIOUS! I challenge anyone to unravel this clever whodunit’ ?????
‘Sophie Hannah could well be our modern Christie, such a deliciously complicated plot. Her best yet!!’ ?????
‘This lived up to its press for me. I loved every page – a truly impossible puzzle!!’ ?????
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?
PRAISE FOR SOPHIE HANNAH:
‘Such a clever, twisty book – I loved it!’ HARRIET TYCE
‘A new novel by Sophie Hannah is a cause for celebration!’ ALEX MICHAELIDES
‘One of the best crime writers currently working’ SCOTSMAN
‘High concept and so satisfying’ GILLIAN McALLISTER
‘Brain-bending’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Reviews
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
Original and thrilling. Sophie Hannah is a genuine storyteller. The definition of unputdownable
Clever, complex and compelling
An ingenious puzzle of a novel that crackles with energy and menace
Such a clever, twisty book - I loved it!
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
This one will keep you guessing . . . a properly tricky puzzle
Oh this is very clever indeed . . .
This clever author is well known for her unreliable narrators. Once again she has come up with an engrossing tale... Witty and unpredictable