Who do you trust? Meet Theodora. And Mona. Two women, from completely different walks of life, forced by circumstances to live together under one roof. Both women are at their wits' end, scared of losing the one thing that's most precious to them. So when tensions boil over, who will go to the most extreme lengths to survive? Will it be Theodora, finally breaking under the pressure? Or Mona, desperate to find a way out?In a tale of modern day slavery and paranoia, two women tell their sides of the story. Who do you trust? 'The author skilfully plays with [the two narrators'] versions of reality as this dark and brooding novel races towards its genuinely scary conclusion' Sunday Mirror 'Penny Hancock cranks up the tension in The Darkening Hours, so when a murder is committed we don't know who to believe. This thriller about a stressed-out radio presenter who demands more and more from her elderly father's put-upon carer is frighteningly plausible' Thriller of the Month, Good Housekeeping

Mona, a migrant domestic worker is employed by London housewife, Theodora. At first Theodora only asks Mona to clean and occasionally cook for her, but as unwanted pressures from a demanding elderly father and a lazy, unemployed son begin to take their toll, Theodora deflects these onto Mona. Slowly, imperceptibly, Theodora's demands increase until she is treating her as nothing better than a slave. Mona is trapped. She needs to send money back to her daughter to pay for her education and then Theodora takes her passport from her. Controlling Mona becomes Theodora's goal, and Mona is going to have to take extreme measures of her own to escape the control of her increasingly abusive employer. So when a murder is committed, who is to blame? Is it Theodora at the end of her tether, or Mona, desperate to find a way out?