These ciphers are a significant aspect of Alice and Annie’s relationship and also play a crucial role in the resolution of the mystery that underscores the entire text, allowing the reader to feel as though they are active participants in its conclusion. It is by no means an easy existence and is made all the more difficult when Annie unknowingly becomes embroiled in a murder mystery that will threaten her life and the lives of everyone she holds dear.

Dead to Me opens with the momentous meeting of two teenage girls from opposite sides of the tracks, who have more in common than they first realise. Much like the films on which this novel was patterned, McCoy creates a world painted in complicated shades of grey, asking some tough choices of her characters, and of society as a whole, in the process. At over 500 pages, it's a long read, but the pages literally flew by as I became more and more engrossed in this epic historical saga.For further information about your statutory rights, contact your local authority Trading Standards department or consumer advice center (for example the Citizen's Advice Bureau if you are in the UK).

I grew to love both Verity and Ruby and when events in their lives spiralled out of control, I cared deeply for them and kept reading on to see what happened next.New readers will delight in this read and eagerly reach for another book in Lesley's extensive repertoire.