Darling Bud
Published on 4. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-00-881948-4 (ISBN)
Description
The brand-new gripping dark comedy thriller from the world of the Sweetpea series - Now a major TV series on Sky Atlantic, starring Ella Purnell!
'I'm not crying, you're crying!!?? Oh wait no, I'm definitely not crying because my jaw just dropped with that last paragraph!' ?????
'Wickedly funny, totally addictive, wholly original, dark and full of rage!' ?????
'Oh my god 10/10 no notes that was everything and more!!!' ?????
'WHY DID IT END THERE? WHERE IS THE REST OF THE BOOK????' ?????
Murder can be a family business ...
Even wallflowers have to bloom.
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.
But is murder in her roots?
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.
Or to unleash her thorns...
READERS LOVE C.J. SKUSE!
'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. Chilton
'Bluntness, brilliance and bloodshed. Darling Bud has it all' Asia Mackay
'This darkly comic novel... has the potential to become a cult classic' Daily Mail
'Dark, depraved and devilishly delicious. A full throttle savage and satirical thriller' John Marrs
'Hilarious, refreshing, dark and memorable. It doesn't disappoint, I loved it' Phoebe Morgan
'Visceral, chilling and absolutely downright thrilling: I wish I had read it sooner!' Reader review ?????
'Wickedly funny' Reader review ?????
'Brilliantly dark and twisted' Reader review ?????
'Think Bridget Jones but really really angry, readable and deeply dark and funny' Reader review ?????
'A deliciously dark and twisted read that had me well and truly gripped' Reader review ?????
'Bridget Jones meets Dexter! Brilliant, original and unputdownable!' Reader review ?????
'I'm not crying, you're crying!!?? Oh wait no, I'm definitely not crying because my jaw just dropped with that last paragraph!' ?????
'Wickedly funny, totally addictive, wholly original, dark and full of rage!' ?????
'Oh my god 10/10 no notes that was everything and more!!!' ?????
'WHY DID IT END THERE? WHERE IS THE REST OF THE BOOK????' ?????
Murder can be a family business ...
Even wallflowers have to bloom.
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.
But is murder in her roots?
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.
Or to unleash her thorns...
READERS LOVE C.J. SKUSE!
'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. Chilton
'Bluntness, brilliance and bloodshed. Darling Bud has it all' Asia Mackay
'This darkly comic novel... has the potential to become a cult classic' Daily Mail
'Dark, depraved and devilishly delicious. A full throttle savage and satirical thriller' John Marrs
'Hilarious, refreshing, dark and memorable. It doesn't disappoint, I loved it' Phoebe Morgan
'Visceral, chilling and absolutely downright thrilling: I wish I had read it sooner!' Reader review ?????
'Wickedly funny' Reader review ?????
'Brilliantly dark and twisted' Reader review ?????
'Think Bridget Jones but really really angry, readable and deeply dark and funny' Reader review ?????
'A deliciously dark and twisted read that had me well and truly gripped' Reader review ?????
'Bridget Jones meets Dexter! Brilliant, original and unputdownable!' Reader review ?????
Reviews / Votes
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 '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 '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 'This darkly comic novel...has the potential to become a cult classic' Daily Mail 'Filthy and funny... a compulsive read' Sunday Times 'This isn't a book for the squeamish or the faint-hearted ... think Bridget Jones meets American Psycho' Red 'Dark, depraved and devilishly delicious. A full throttle savage and satirical thriller' John Marrs, author of The One 'Hilarious, refreshing, dark and memorable. It doesn't disappoint, I loved it' Phoebe Morgan '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 'Pitch dark, laugh-out-loud hilarious - the Sweetpea series is pure genius escapism' Susi Holliday 'Fascinating, intriguing and twist after twist in the tale' Suzy K Quinn 'Dark and wickedly funny, and as dry and acerbic as Fleabag, it's hard not to love Rhiannon Lewis' Claire AllanMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
243 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-881948-4 (9780008819484)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
C.J. SKUSE was born in Weston-super-Mare. She has two First Class degrees in Creative Writing and Writing for Young People, and aside from being a novelist works as a Senior Lecturer at Bath Spa University. She previously wrote YA novels before turning her hand to crime, and is the author of THE ALIBI GIRL, SWEETPEA, IN BLOOM, DEAD HEAD, THORN IN MY SIDE and THE BAD SEEDS.