Killing Me Softly

The gripping new novel from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author

De: Christie Watson

'Compelling, moving, incredibly funny, brilliantly disturbing, yet filled with so much humanity'
Joanna Cannon

'Eye-opening, jaw-dropping, spell-binding'
M J Arlidge

'A deliciously dark, twisty, funny novel inhabited by a gloriously complex cast of harassed, heroic and haunted nurses'
John Sutherland

'Thrilling as a murder mystery, beautifully written, it grabs you by the heart and refuses to let go'
Charlie Gilmour

Unexpected deaths and untoward incidents are becoming alarmingly frequent at City Emergency Department. A&E Senior Sister, Aoife, begins to question whether her new nurses are incompetent - or worse. Earnest recruit Eden cares deeply for her patients and carries the Code of Conduct around in her pocket, reporting everyone whose views don't align with hers. But despite her self-righteousness, Eden keeps making mistakes. Is she dangerous?

It is Sophie who worries Aoife the most. Acerbic, over-confident and seemingly lacking in empathy, how Sophie ever became a nurse is beyond her. When Sophie begins an affair with Aoife's best friend, Michael, a man twenty-five years her senior, tensions escalate further, threatening to eclipse the fact that lives are at stake.

Aoife is the nurse we'd all want. Compassionate to the core. She's the nicest, kindest nurse in the world. Until she is tested to the limit . . .

Fearless, fast-paced and darkly funny, Killing Me Softly is a jaw-dropping novel about the hidden extremes of nursing and three complex women who hold the lives of their patients - and each other - in their hands. Unexpected deaths and untoward incidents are becoming alarmingly frequent at City Emergency Department. A&E Senior Sister, Aoife, begins to question whether her new nurses are incompetent - or worse. Earnest recruit Eden cares deeply for her patients and carries the Code of Conduct around in her pocket, reporting everyone whose views don't align with hers. But despite her self-righteousness, Eden keeps making mistakes. Is she dangerous?

It is Sophie who worries Aoife the most. Acerbic, over-confident and seemingly lacking in empathy, how Sophie ever became a nurse is beyond her. When Sophie begins an affair with Aoife's best friend, Michael, a man twenty-five years her senior, tensions escalate further, threatening to eclipse the fact that lives are at stake.

Aoife is the nurse we'd all want. Compassionate to the core. She's the nicest, kindest nurse in the world. Until she is tested to the limit . . .

Fearless, fast-paced and darkly funny, Killing Me Softly is a jaw-dropping novel about the hidden extremes of nursing and three complex women who hold the lives of their patients - and each other - in their hands.©2026 Christie Watson (P)2026 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Reseñas de la Crítica

Eye-opening, jaw-dropping, spell-binding . . . I loved its originality, daring and deliciously dark humour (M J Arlidge)

Compelling, moving, incredibly funny, brilliantly disturbing, yet filled with so much humanity. Only Christie Watson could combine all these qualities and turn them into such a page turner (Joanna Cannon)

Killing Me Softly is a visceral and eviscerating portrait of life at the sharpest edge of the NHS, the emergency department. Thrilling as a murder mystery, beautifully written, it grabs you by the heart and refuses to let go (Charlie Gilmour)

A deliciously dark, twisty, funny novel inhabited by a gloriously complex cast of harassed, heroic and haunted nurses, told by someone who has seen and done it all. A visit to A&E will never be the same again (John Sutherland)

Christie Watson is already something of a national treasure and reading Killing Me Softly reminded me why. Racy, hilarious and unputdownable, Watson's novel also manages to tackle many of the urgent issues facing our NHS in a way that is both urgent and salutary. A must-read for anyone coming into contact with our beautiful but broken health system which, let's face it, is all of us (Gabriel Weston)