The Second Woman

By Charlotte Philby

‘A timely, gripping and morally complex thriller’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

Two women are found dead.

Both had a secret.

Both had a choice.

Artemis leaves her home in Greece to start a shiny new life with her wealthy husband, Clive Witherall, in 1990s London. Finally she has escaped the ghosts of her past. Until she is discovered hanging from the stairs of their beautiful family home.

Two decades later, the apparent suicide of heiress Anna Witherall uncannily mirrors Artemis’ mysterious death.

What is the web of deceit that binds these two women? And what deadly secrets were they hiding?

‘Philby is a skilled and evocative writer’ FINANCIAL TIMES

‘Seriously stylish’ LUCY FOLEY

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‘I’m addicted to the deadly glamour of Charlotte Philby’s novels’ ERIN KELLY

‘Gripping’ CRIME MONTHLY

‘A page-turning thriller … Philby has created a new sort of spy novel – approaching this world of skulduggery and intrigue from an entirely unique perspective. This is a clever, gripping, unsettling and thoroughly entertaining read’ HOLLY WATT

‘Her thrillers have been a game-changer for the spy novel’ DAILY EXPRESS 

‘A gripping novel that spans decades and continents’ DAILY MIRROR

‘A stylish, heart-racing thriller’ YOU MAGAZINE, MAIL ON SUNDAY 

‘Brilliant’ BELLA MAGAZINE

Following on from Part of the Family and A Double Life, this finely worked novel concludes Charlotte Philby’s triptych about the choices women might make when under pressure’ THE TIMES

Format: Paperback
Release Date: 15 Feb 2022
Pages: 384
ISBN: 978-0-00-849572-5
CHARLOTTE PHILBY worked for the Independent for eight years as a columnist, editor and reporter, and was shortlisted for the Cudlipp Prize for her investigative journalism at the 2013 Press Awards. A former contributing editor and feature writer at Marie Claire, she has written for the New Statesman, Elle, The Telegraph, Guardian and Sunday Times, and presented documentaries for the BBC World Service and The One Show. Charlotte is the granddaughter of Kim Philby, Britain’s most infamous communist double-agent, the elusive ‘third man’ in the notorious Cambridge spy ring. This is her third novel.

”'I’m addicted to the deadly glamour of Charlotte Philby’s novels” - ERIN KELLY

‘A timely, gripping and morally complex thriller’ MAIL ON SUNDAY -

”'Each of Charlotte Philby’s novels bring a thought-provoking new angle to her characters - with old favourites and new intrigues emerging. The Second Woman is a page-turning thriller, but again, Philby has created a new sort of spy novel - approaching this world of skulduggery and intrigue from an entirely unique perspective. This is a clever, gripping, unsettling and thoroughly entertaining read” - HOLLY WATT

”'Following on from Part of the Family and A Double Life, this finely worked novel concludes Charlotte Philby’s triptych about the choices women might make when under pressure” - THE TIMES

”'Brilliant” - BELLA MAGAZINE

”'Gripping” - CRIME MONTHLY