Stags

Nine students.

Three bloodsports.

One deadly weekend.

A twisting thriller for fans of Looking for Alaska.

It is the autumn term and Greer MacDonald is struggling to settle into the sixth form at the exclusive St. Aidan the Great boarding school, known to its privileged pupils as S.T.A.G.S.

Just when she despairs of making friends Greer receives a mysterious invitation with three words embossed upon on it: huntin' shootin' fishin'. When Greer learns that the invitation is to spend the half term weekend at the country manor of Henry de Warlencourt, the most popular and wealthy boy at S.T.A.G.S., she is as surprised as she is flattered.

But when Greer joins the other chosen few at the ancient and sprawling Longcross Hall, she realises that Henry's parents are not at home; the only adults present are a cohort of eerily compliant servants.

The students are at the mercy of their capricious host, and, over the next three days, as the three bloodsports - hunting, shooting and fishing - become increasingly dark and twisted, Greer comes to the horrifying realisation that those being hunted are not wild game, but the very misfits Henry has brought with him from school... M. A. Bennett is half Venetian and was born in Manchester and raised in the Yorkshire Dales. She is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she studied Shakespeare's plays as a historical source. She also studied art and has since worked as an illustrator, an actress and a film reviewer. She also designed tour visuals for rock bands, including U2 and the Rolling Stones. Her first YA novel, S.T.A.G.S., was published in 2017 and was shortlisted for the YA BOOK PRIZE 2018, won the Warwickshire Secondary Book Award 2019 and Gold in the Sussex Coast Schools Amazing Book Award 2019, both voted by students, and won the Great Reads 'Most Read' 2018 Senior Award. Follow her at @MABennettAuthor on Twitter and at @mabennettauthor on Instagram. Shortlisted for the YA BOOK PRIZE 2018 and Winner of the Great Reads 'Most Read' 2018 Senior Award. Shortlisted for the YA BOOK PRIZE 2018. A hugely pacy narrative with a compelling premise for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Pretty Little Liars Slick package will ensure instant pickupability Fantastic new talent, available for events Teaser campaign to include invitations to the S.T.A.G.S. weekender, followed up with samplers a month later and then finished copies a month after that - sent to key trade, media and online influencers National author tour including literary salons, schools, libraries and bookstore stops MA Bennett reinvigorates the boarding-school thriller... This is a darkly compelling examination of the allure of privilege, and the unscrupulous means by which it preserves itself. A cracking debut psychological thriller set in an elite boarding school ruled by a set of six pupils known as the Medievals. Think Enid Blyton meets The Hunger Games! Bennett creates a chilling atmosphere on every page. She describes the gorgeous grounds of Longcross, the de Warlencourt home, in rich detail, but never allows readers to relax for long. A threatening servant or an explosion of gunfire always lurks around the corner. The book reads like a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or an Agatha Christie mystery for modern teens. A very readable story in the hands of an experienced writer. Recommended MA Bennett is brilliant at keeping the reader in suspense. The pacing and plot development is brilliantly executed and will have you on the edge of your seat, desperate to find out what happens next until the very last page, I couldn't put it down once I'd started. There's a brilliant twist at the end, I won't spoil it but trust me, It's a good one! I can't recommend this book enough, it's definitely in my top ten 2017 reads and I'll definitely be buying a finished copy when it's out. Part traditional, part modern, thriller and boarding school drama, with echoes of everything from Agatha Christie to The Hung