The Final Hours of Muriel Hinchcliffe M.B.E

Muriel, a former bestselling romantic novelist, and Ruth, a journalist, are best friends. Inseparable since they were little, they’ve shared everything; unable to be without each other, even after the most vicious of fights.

Now fate has left them living together in a North London home, with Ruth caring for Muriel in her deteriorating health, playing Scrabble, arguing and making up, passing the days in monotony, ignoring the scars of their relationship. Then one afternoon, Muriel makes a shocking and sinister announcement, sending Ruth’s world into chaos. Only one thing is certain. Life, as she knows it, will never be the same again. . .

The Final Hours of Muriel Hinchcliffe M.B.E is the deliciously dark debut novel from Claire Parkin. An intensely gripping story of toxic friendship, jealousy and revenge, it is perfect for fans of A Tidy Ending and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

Claire Parkin was born and brought up in a village just outside Cardiff, and graduated from King’s College London with an MA in 19th Century English and American Literature. She worked as a journalist on women’s general-interest magazines for many years, writing for Essentials, Woman & Home and Candis, where she was known for being able to turn her hand to pretty much anything - from interviewing boxing champs and war correspondents, to learning how to pole dance and the correct way to iron a shirt. Other career highlights include taste-testing eight varieties of mince pie during an August heatwave, begging Victoria Beckham to donate a dress to a charity raffle, and visiting six second-hand car dealerships in one afternoon, in a bid to expose sexism in the motoring industry.