'Daddy,' she said - and disappeared, never to be seen again

She sleeps, a pale girl in a white room.

Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl's face appear in the rear window.

She mouths one word: "Daddy."

It's his five-year-old daughter, Izzy.

He never sees her again.

Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights travelling up and down the motorway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe  Izzy is dead.

Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the motorway. Not searching. But running. Trying to keep one step ahead of the people who want to hurt them.

Because Fran knows the truth. She knows what really happened to Gabe's daughter. She knows who is responsible. And she knows what they will do if they ever catch up with her and Alice. 

CJ Tudor's love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert. Her first novel, The Chalk Man, was a Sunday Times bestseller and has sold in more than 40 countries. 

• Article provided by Penguin Random House