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The Golden Child

A blockbuster new thriller from the global bestselling author and TikTok phenomenon

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The Golden Child

By: Lucinda Berry
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Brought to you by Penguin.

ONE LIE TO SAVE HER FUTURE. ONE DECISION TO DESTROY HIS.

An intensely gripping, unbelievably tense new psychological thriller from global bestselling author Lucinda Berry that asks one haunting question: If you had to choose, which child would you save?

Ella and Bentley are Irish twins - eleven months apart, inseparable since birth. Ella is the golden girl: disciplined, driven, bound for success. Bentley is the screwup: reckless, restless, always one bad choice away from disaster.

Until the night Ella makes a mistake that can’t be undone.

After a wild party, Ella gets behind the wheel - and hits a classmate. Panicked and terrified that her future will implode before it begins, she calls the one person who has never failed her: Bentley.

He’s there in minutes. He sees the blood. The fear in his sister’s eyes. And he makes a split-second decision that will change all their lives.

He tells Ella to go home.

He takes the blame.

But secrets never stay buried. And when someone discovers the truth, their family must make an impossible choice: protect their brilliant, promising daughter? Or save the son whose future has always teetered on the brink...


© Lucinda Berry 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Domestic Thrillers Family Life Genre Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense
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Critic reviews

A startling psychological narrative that rivets from page one. (Karin Slaughter)
Absolutely riveting. The Golden Child is a tense and heart-wrenching exploration of family and culpability. I could not put this down. (Mary Watson)
A gripping and wonderfully tense psychological drama about how one well-intentioned lie can have disastrous life-changing consequences. I raced through it! (B.A. Paris)
Lucinda Berry writes with such power and compassion, all balanced on a razor-sharp knife's point in The Golden Child. If you're a fan of Jodi Picoult with a thriller edge, you'll love Lucinda Berry (Sarah Pekkanen)
Lucinda Berry at her absolute best! The Golden Child forces you to decide how far you’d go to save your family, and how far you’d go to get away from them (Daniel G. Miller)
Every family insists they don't have a favourite child. The Golden Child dares to ask what happens when that comforting belief is put to the test. Lucinda Berry masterfully weaves together the perspectives of every member of a fractured family, revealing how each sees the same tragedy through a different lens...This is a sharp, emotionally resonant psychological thriller that will leave you questioning not only every character, but the stories families tell themselves to survive. You'll be reading through the night (Carter Wilson)
Praise for Lucinda Berry (:)
Lucinda Berry is just so so brilliant...thrilling, addictive (Lisa Jewell)
A leading voice in the genre and a force to be reckoned with (Jeneva Rose)
Those looking for an emotional rollercoaster ride will be rewarded
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