Cat Clarke

Cat Clarke writes suspense fiction for younger audiences, examining secrecy, belonging, grief, and the emotional consequences of difficult choices. A Kiss in the Dark follows Kate and Alex through an intense first relationship shadowed by a concealed truth. Clarke lets both characters speak, shifting perspective as attraction gives way to questions about identity, honesty, and whether affection can survive betrayal. Quercus issued the novel in 2014. The book belongs to the strand of her work that combines contemporary realism with thriller pacing rather than treating romance as a simple resolution. Born in Zambia and raised in Edinburgh and Yorkshire, Clarke later worked as an editor at Scholastic UK before concentrating on fiction. Her other novels include Entangled, Undone, Torn, The Lost and the Found, and Girlhood. She has also collaborated with V. E. Schwab under the shared pseudonym Evelyn Clarke. A Kiss in the Dark shows her characteristic interest in how a secret changes meaning when readers finally hear from the person who kept it.