“Something else had happened…Something so terrible that she was too frightened to search her memory for it…”

The newspapers reported the case with relish. Jane (Jinx) Kingsley, fashion photographer and heiress, tries to kill herself after being unceremoniously jilted by her fiance, Leo Wallader. Leo has since disappeared – together with Jinx’s best friend, Meg Harris. But when she wakes from her coma, Jinx can remember nothing about her alleged suicide attempt. Then the memories begin to surface – memories of utter desperation and absolute terror… Jinx is told that shortly before her suicide bid Leo called off their wedding in order to marry Meg. Nevertheless Jinx is also convinced that she would never try to kill herself over Leo…Surely it was she who wanted to break the engagement. With the help of Dr Alan Protheroe of the Nightingale Clinic, Jinx slowly begins to unlock her nightmares and piece together the fragments of the last few weeks. The truth about what happened to her lies deep within her mind. But what other terrifying memories is she about to disturb?

“Had she felt as lonely as this a week ago? Could she have done it? God help her if she had…”

Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award 1995

‘This is contemporary crime writing at its absolute peak.’ Manchester Evening News

‘Walters sets a new standard for British mysteries, with her fine characterizations and intelligent prose; she has a winner here.’ Library Journal

‘Walters unfolds the dark complexities of Jinx’s past with a master’s hand, balancing sympathy and terror all the way to the introduction of a pivotal character on the very last page.’ Kirkus Reviews

‘Violence may well be offered to anyone who tries to part you from this marvellous, dramatically intelligent novel. It shimmers with suspense, ambiguity and a deep unholy joy.’ Mail on Sunday

‘Minette Walters breathes a brooding sense of terror into a deceptively simple plot, and continues to prove she is a seductive writer with an imagination that makes her dangerous to know.’ The Sunday Express

‘A brooding novel of high quality.’ The Times

‘Walters creates characters who are there to be loved, loathed and finally understood. Namby-pamby attitudes towards them will not do. The pace of the book is dictated by the speed with which the heroine pieces together what she might or might not have done; the reader becomes her conspirator and despite the clues, the denouement is a shattering surprise.’ Night and Day, The Mail on Sunday

‘The Dark Room is a highly intelligent novel, brilliantly organised and very well written: both gripping and a pleasure to read.’ Evening Standard