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Darling Bud
- Author
- C.J. Skuse
- Narrator
- Emily Jackman
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 4 June 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 20 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
What to expect
Sixteen-year-old Ivy is your average teenager. She’s annoyed by the scratchy labels on her school uniform, old men who wolf-whistle, and her mother the serial killer.
Ivy was raised far away from the shadows of Rhiannon Lewis, the Sweetpea killer, but when the local predator – better known as Ivy’s football coach – is found dead, could it be that she has discovered a taste for blood?
As suspicion grows deeper, Ivy’s only way out is to get some motherly advice. But when the internet’s unlikeliest vigilantes determine that Ivy must be punished for her mother’s crimes, she must decide whether to control the rage burning inside her.
READERS LOVE C.J. SKUSE!‘I was completely hooked from start to finish…Absolute perfection!' ★★★★★
'Oh my god 10/10…That was everything and more!!!!!…That ending!!!!!!…I loved it so much!!!' ★★★★★
‘Addictive…Dripping with sharp wit & tension…SMASHED IT. 20/10…Read this book, you will not regret it!' Reader reviewer, ★★★★★
‘Visceral, chilling and absolutely downright thrilling: I wish I had read it sooner!’★★★★★
'Oh my god 10/10 no notes that was everything and more!!!' ★★★★★
Critics Review
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Praise for Darling Bud'Ivy is a new star in the Sweetpea universe. A riotous read following a wise-cracking teenager doing normal teenage stuff like trying to belong, and non-normal teenage stuff like coping with being the daughter of a famous serial killer. Bluntness, brilliance and bloodshed. Darling Bud has it all’ Asia Mackay
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'This is everything I loved about Sweetpea: all the vicious bite, razor wit, and glorious – and rather comedic- darkness. C.J. Skuse is a master of the darkly comic thriller’ H.J. Garbett
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'I loved this book … Ivy is just as acerbic (and deadly?) as her mother. Full of CJ Skuse's trademark wit, Darling Bud is a killer addition to the Sweetpea saga’ L.M. ChiltonPraise for C.J. Skuse'I loved this book! It was everything I've come to love from the Sweetpea series, rebooted for a new generation. Ivy is just as acerbic (and deadly?) as her mother. Full of CJ Skuse's trademark wit, Darling Bud is a killer addition to Sweetpea saga’ L.M. Chilton
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‘This darkly comic novel…has the potential to become a cult classic’ Daily Mail
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‘Filthy and funny… a compulsive read’ Sunday Times
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‘This isn’t a book for the squeamish or the faint-hearted … think Bridget Jones meets American Psycho’ Red
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‘Dark, depraved and devilishly delicious. A full throttle savage and satirical thriller’ John Marrs, author of The One
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‘Hilarious, refreshing, dark and memorable. It doesn’t disappoint, I loved it’ Phoebe Morgan
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‘You MUST read this book especially if you like your (anti) heroes dirty-mouthed, deadly and dark, dark dark. ADORED IT' Fiona Cummins, author of Rattle
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‘Pitch dark, laugh-out-loud hilarious – the Sweetpea series is pure genius escapism’ Susi Holliday
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‘Fascinating, intriguing and twist after twist in the tale’ Suzy K Quinn
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‘Dark and wickedly funny, and as dry and acerbic as Fleabag, it’s hard not to love Rhiannon Lewis’ Claire Allan
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- C.J. Skuse
- Narrator
- Emily Jackman
- Duration
- 10 hours 20 minutes
- Release Date
- 4 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9780008819507
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Comical (humorous) crime and mystery, Humorous fiction, Psychological thriller, Thriller: serial killers, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: love / relationships
Synopsis
Murder can be a family business… Sixteen-year-old Ivy is your average teenager. She’s annoyed by the scratchy labels on her school uniform, old men who wolf-whistle, and her mother the serial killer. Ivy was raised far away from the shadows of Rhiannon Lewis, the Sweetpea killer, but when the local predator – better known as Ivy’s football coach – is found dead, could it be that she has discovered a taste for blood? As suspicion grows deeper, Ivy’s only way out is to get some motherly advice. But when the internet’s unlikeliest vigilantes determine that Ivy must be punished for her mother’s crimes, she must decide whether to control the rage burning inside her. READERS LOVE C.J. SKUSE! ‘I was completely hooked from start to finish…Absolute perfection!' ★★★★★ 'Oh my god 10/10…That was everything and more!!!!!…That ending!!!!!!…I loved it so much!!!' ★★★★★ ‘Addictive…Dripping with sharp wit & tension…SMASHED IT. 20/10…Read this book, you will not regret it!' Reader reviewer, ★★★★★ ‘Visceral, chilling and absolutely downright thrilling: I wish I had read it sooner!’★★★★★ 'Oh my god 10/10 no notes that was everything and more!!!' ★★★★★
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