Stiff Lips — Anne Billson

'That cracked mirror gave me the heebie-jeebies, and not just because it was impossible to forget what had once happened in front of it. One night, while brushing my teeth, I had the distinct impression that each half of my face was following its own separate game-plan. I'd already removed my glasses in readiness for bed, so I had to squint at the reflection to bring it vaguely into focus. One half of my face was drooling toothpaste over my chin like a rabid dog; the other was wreathed in yellowish shadow and scrutinising me through brown eyes so dark and narrow they appeared almost black.

Normally, I wouldn't have worried. Except that my own eyes were blue.'

Clare, stuck on the wrong side of town, is desperate to mingle with the artists and writers of trendy Notting Hill, like her friend Sophie. But how far will she go for a W11 postcode?

As far as sharing a flat with someone who died twelve years ago?

Clare's going to lead the good life if it kills her. And it's starting to look as though it might...

From the author of cult vampire novel Suckers comes a 'sexy, sardonic and distinctly spooky' tale of girls, ghosts and glitterati.

'A slick and remarkably controlled performance which more than equals her satisfying first novel Suckers. Ghost tales invariably leave me cold. I read this one in a single highly enjoyable sitting' (Paul Rutman - Sunday Telegraph)

'With Stiff Lips, Billson overturns the clichés of the horror genre, establishing, in their stead, her own original voice' (Lucy O'Brien - The Independent)

'Sexy, sardonic and distinctly spooky... a tale to make you shiver - if you don't die laughing first' (Cosmopolitan)

'Stiff Lips achieves an authentic and unsettling nastiness' (Sunday Times)

'A vastly entertaining story... As well as being a successful ghost story, Stiff Lips is an amusing satire... Funny and spooky - an excellent combination' (Sopia Watson - The Spectator)