Precious You: A Novel by Helen Monks Takhar

Advance Reader's Copy/Uncorrected Proof. Collectible item. 

An Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) is a paperback book published prior to the hardcover retail editions. These uncorrected proofs are published in very limited quantities. Many serious collectors consider ARCs/Uncorrected Proofs to be the true first edition.  They're "not for sale" because they're intended solely for publicity and media reviews, making them rare and very collectible. ARCs may lack the final artwork, formatting, and binding of the finished product. The text of an advance edition may also differ slightly from the market book (the final version that is distributed for sale), because changes may be made after advance readers make comments or find errors in the manuscript. 

An obsessive power struggle between an editor and her millennial intern turns dangerous in this debut psychological thriller—for readers of Luckiest Girl Alive and You.

“An incredibly addictive thriller that examines women in the workplace, ageism, and the clash of generations. It’s creepy and unnerving, with observations that are often dead-on.”—Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife

Trusting you was my first mistake. To Katherine, twenty-four-year-old Lily Lunt is a typical “snowflake.” It seems like the privileged, politically correct millennial will do whatever she can to make it big as a writer, including leveraging her family’s connections. To Lily, Katherine Ross, a career woman in her early forties, is a holdover from another era: clueless, old-fashioned, and perfectly happy to build her success on the backs of her unpaid interns.

When Lily is hired as the new intern at the magazine where Katherine is editor in chief, her arrival threatens the very foundation of the self-serving little world that Katherine has built. She finds herself obsessively drawn to Lily, who seems to be a cruel reminder of the beauty and potential she once had—things Lily uses against Katherine as she slowly begins to undermine her, sabotaging her work and turning the magazine’s new publisher against her. Is Katherine being paranoid? Or is Lily seeking to systematically destroy her life? As Katherine tries to fight back, a toxic generational divide turns explosive and long-buried secrets are exposed—with deadly consequences for both. . . .

Gripping and provocative, Precious You delivers an unsettling, provocative take on the contemporary workplace, turning the professional roles women play on their heads in a razor-sharp, revenge-driven thriller for our age.

Advance praise for Precious You

“Breathtaking. A brilliant, butt-kicking romp through the Gen X/Millennial clash and the horrors of cutthroat corporate life. I couldn't put it down.”—Alex Marwood, Edgar Award–winning author of The Wicked Girls

“What a wild ride. I’m obsessed with it! I felt so seen, so many times. This book, while so twisted and dark, will resonate with many, many women.”—Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Last Girl Lied To

“An intergenerational clash between two women, played out to a shocking finale. Nail-biting.”—Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange

“A deliciously dark, addictive, and twisted page-turner.”—Alice Feeney, New York Times bestselling author of Sometimes I Lie

“Twisted, dark, and shocking . . . Absolutely terrific.”—Jo Spain, internationally bestselling author of The Confession

“Dark, disturbing, compulsive . . . I was genuinely terrified reading this.”—Adele Parks, internationally bestselling author of I Invited Her In

“I gulped this down in a single afternoon. . . . Audacious, dark, and smart, with one of the most shocking scenes I’ve read in a while.”—Phoebe Locke, author of The July Girls

“Disturbing, zeitgeisty, and twisted, Precious You will make you second-guess everything and change the way you look at your colleagues forever.”—Phoebe Morgan, author of The Doll House and The Girl Next Door

“What a debut! Twisty, explosive, and hugely compelling, with hints of Gone Girl . . . Excellent.”—Will Dean, author of Dark Pines and Red Snow

“A brilliantly twisted tale . . . LOVED it.”—Lisa Hall, author of Have You Seen Her

“If you like dark and twisted thrillers with venom in their veins, add this to your wish list!”—Anita Frank, author of The Lost Ones

“A slick, fast-paced, compelling novel that asks genuine questions. I loved it and was hooked from beginning to end.”—Kate Hamer, internationally bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat

“A delicious generational struggle.”—New York Post “Best Books of the Week”

“An addictive thriller . . . A hypnotic dance of obsession, gaslighting, and revenge that doesn’t let up until its final unnerving reveal.”—People “Best New Books”

“Absolutely haunting . . . An exceptional debut due to its strong female characters and thrilling conflicts, while touching on important subjects such as feminism and workplace dynamics . . . I don’t believe I will forget these characters, nor their story, anytime soon.”—Marta Paraschiv, The Nerd Daily

“Epic . . . Takhar uses the competition between these two women to encourage more solidarity between women, but we can embrace this message and also still vicariously enjoy the characters’ increasingly high-takes maneuvers against each other.”—CrimeReads “12 Novels You Should Read This March”

“Guaranteed to start the mother of all office fights between Generation X and millennials, Monks Takhar’s enjoyable poisonous debut updates All About Eve for our image-obsessed age.”—The Independent “What to Read in 2020”

“This twisty tale of office rivalry sits at the point where women’s commercial fiction meets psychological thriller. . . . Unmissable.”—The Bookseller “One to Watch”