The Girl in Cell A is Vaseem’s first psychological thriller. The book releases in hardback (and e-book or audio) on 1 May 2025 in the UK, with the USA hardback to follow in July (though US e-book and audio are also out on 1 May). It is my first standalone novel, and my first thriller set in America.

The book is set in the small mining town of Eden Falls, run by the Wyclerc dynasty and its ruthless patriarch Amos Wyclerc. Convicted of murdering Amos’s heir when she was just seventeen, Orianna Negi has always maintained her innocence. But there are holes in her memory, a blind spot over that fateful day. Did she really kill Gideon Wyclerc? And what happened to Gideon’s teenaged daughter, Grace, who vanished that same day, eighteen years ago? Forensic psychologist, Annie Ledet, is tasked with unlocking Orianna’s faulty memory and separating the real woman from the true crime celebrity she has become in the years since the killing. But as their sessions progress, Annie reaches into Orianna’s past to a shattering truth…

I would be immensely grateful if you considered pre-ordering it. It is available from bookshops and online. Here are some order links: 

Waterstones / Foyles / Amazon / Blackwells / Bookshop.org / WHSmith  … and e-book from Apple / Barnes&Noble

And here I am talking about the book …

Why should you order The Girl in Cell A?

If you love a big meaty read with all the claustrophobia of a small town setting and the twists and turns of a psychological thriller then this is one for you. 

Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what some of the top thriller writers in the world are saying about the book:

Masterful. A beautifully written, twisting psychological thriller ~ CHRIS WHITAKER

A triumphantly mind-bending puzzlebox of a book that will have you questioning everything ~ RUTH WARE

A thrillingly written and carefully researched journey into the dark world of forensic psychotherapy, amnesia and murder. Complex, completely convincing characters and twist you’ll never guess. A masterful achievement ~ ALEX MICHAELIDES

Blade-sharp, corkscrew-twisty, a thriller that gleams like metal. But The Girl in Cell A cuts deeper than that: it’s a novel bold enough to peer through the windows of small-town homes, behind the doors of psychiatric examination rooms, and, ultimately, into the dark soul of a community you won’t soon forget. ~ A.J. FINN

Both epic family tale and riveting psychological thriller, The Girl in Cell A is an utterly absorbing story with an ending that will leave you reeling ~ SHARI LAPENA

A fabulous thriller where small-town America and the sins of its inhabitants make for a wonderful page-turner ~ STEVE CAVANAGH

A superb psychological thriller. What a mammoth task Vaseem has taken on and the fact that he pulls it off is astonishing. A terrific reading experience with a total shocker of an ending ~ LIZ NUGENT

Masterful. So clever I think it melted my brain. This clever, intense, beautifully written mystery about family, loyalty and lies had me frantically turning the pages and suspecting everyone. Impossible to put down ~ C.L. TAYLOR

An utterly captivating, multi-faceted psychological thriller that keeps you turning the pages. A real triumph! ~ B.A. PARIS

A triumph. A gripping thriller, a saga of a family and its terrifying secrets and a tale of redemption to break your heart ~ NICCI FRENCH

Vaseem Khan turns his razor sharp intellect away from the Indian subcontinent to the backroads of rural America, but the results are the same. A thrilling, thought-provoking, suspenseful novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat ~ S.A. COSBY

Epic, ingenious storytelling and a brilliantly realised small town setting where everyone is a suspect. A fantastic thriller ~ TM LOGAN

An epic crime novel with an evocative setting, a cast of characters who feel real and a multitude of twists and turns. If you liked The Silent Patient or All The Colours of the Dark, you’ll love this. ~ MARK EDWARDS

Kept me up at night, and reading when I should have been working. Compelling, intriguing and deeply satisfying, with an ending that will stay with you, Vaseem Khan takes the unreliable narrator to a whole new level. A brilliant fever dream of a book’ ~ CHRIS HAMMER

The Girl in Cell A weaves gracefully between past and present to provide an insight into American small town life which is both epic and razor-sharp.  Khan’s Eden Falls is so claustrophobic, so vivid, you’ll never forget your time in this town. ~ ABIGAIL DEAN

A compelling, pacy, multi-layered mystery that shows us the most dangerous secrets are the ones we keep from ourselves ~ ERIN KELLY

Impeccably crafted, with compelling characters and a brilliantly portrayed location, THE GIRL IN CELL A is a gripping thriller that twists in ways that you will never expect. Surprising and totally addictive! ~ SAM BLAKE

Full of unexpected, mind-bending twists, THE GIRL IN CELL A explores memory, truth, and lies in a small American mining town. If you liked ANNA O, you’ll marvel at this tense and surprising novel ~ NITA PROSE

Once again, here are some order links: 

Waterstones / Foyles / Amazon / Blackwells / Bookshop.org / WHSmith  … and e-book from Apple/ Barnes&Noble