A Lesson in Cruelty is the fourth psychological thriller by Harriet Tyce. Moving away from the Edinburgh setting of It Ends at Midnight, this novel shifts its focus to Oxford and a remote Scottish island, weaving together the lives of three deeply flawed women whose paths collide through a dark web of lies, obsession, and murder.

Anna wants a fresh start after three long years behind bars.

Lucy craves the attention of the only man she can’t have, her alluring Oxford professor.

Marie has spent too long as a recluse living by someone else’s rules.

When three strangers stumble upon an elaborate web of lies and the dead body at the heart of it, they will discover the true price of getting the life they desire so badly.

But will it be too late?