The Lying Guest
  • Published: 20 April 2025
  • ISBN: 9781787304505
  • Imprint: Harvill Secker
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $45.00

The Lying Guest

Formats & editions
Paperback
23 Sep 2025
Tr. Paperback
15 Jul 2025
EBook
20 Mar 2025
Hardback
20 Apr 2025
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When Dr Anika’s patient dies on the operating table and the media pick up on Anika's parasomnia, she has no choice but to escape to Sri Lanka. But returning to her past means facing it too, and Anika needs to be careful of who she can trust…

You don’t know her, but she’s watching you…

Hardworking and overworked, Anika is a talented surgeon at a London hospital. It’s been some time since she’s had a decent night’s sleep, let alone a holiday. Not ideal for someone with parasomnia – a rare, often stress-induced, condition that causes sleepwalking blackouts.

When a patient dies on her operating table, important people start asking questions and the media turns against her with zeal. She quickly becomes a pariah at work. Shafted to endless night shifts and then on suspended leave.

It seems her only respite is to escape on a conveniently all-expenses-paid housesitting gig in Sri Lanka and keep a low profile until the drama passes, and the verdict on her case – and career as a surgeon – is decided.

Despite everything, she’s excited to visit the place she used to summer as a child. But what should be a restorative beach break is really a trip back into a murky, haunted past, which has been waiting for her all along.

Will she finally wake up to face her troubles? Or is she cursed to sleepwalk through life?
  • Published: 20 April 2025
  • ISBN: 9781787304505
  • Imprint: Harvill Secker
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $45.00
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About the author

Mahi Cheshire

Mahi Cheshire was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in London. She works as a GP and has a degree in Psychology. She loves travelling, kundalini yoga and boxing, all of which provide inspiration for her writing. She lives in London with her husband and baby daughter.

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Praise for The Lying Guest

A brilliantly crafted, wonderfully atmospheric thriller, full of secrets, suspense and simmering tension, I was gripped from page one, while the shocking twist had my jaw on the floor. Cheshire is a huge talent in the thriller genre.

A.A. Chaudhuri, author of UNDER HER ROOF

A taut, twisty, edge-of-my-seat medical thriller. The tension is constantly ramped up immersing the reader in Anika’s condition, the lush setting of Sri Lanka forcing her to question her memories and even her mind itself, and with an ending that was just ‘chef’s kiss’ perfect. I loved it!

Ronali Collings, author of ANYONE BUT HIM

Terrific ... Gets creepier by the page

Ajay Chowdhury, author of THE DETECTIVE KAMIL RAHMAN series

A beautifully written, sun-kissed thriller ... Will leave you gasping

Carly Reagon, author of THE INFIRMARY

The Lying Guest is a whip-smart, crime thriller with heart. Cheshire introduces us to Anika, an enigmatic protagonist, set within a vividly drawn backdrop where you feel the heat of the sun and the grains of sand between your toes. You will be transported into the lives of the characters and the vibrant, rich landscapes of the island of Sri Lanka. With reveals and twists until the very end, this page-turner ensures you will keep reading at lightning speed

Christie J. Newport, author of THE RAVEN'S MARK and THE ORDINARY MAN
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