After You Fell


J.S. Lark - 2019
    Creepy, disturbing and genuinely thrilling, this is one page-turner you won’t be able to forget! As one life endsLouise Lovett’s death was a tragedy. But questions still swirl about exactly what happened to Louise that day. Did she fall … or was she pushed?A new life startsHelen Matthews’ donor heart saves her life. But as her new heart beats inside her, Helen feels the pull of its previous owner – despite what everyone is telling her, Helen is certain she has one final message to pass on.And a dark obsession beginsAs the lives of Helen and Louise become ever more entangled, Helen’s obsession gets increasingly out of control.  And the fragile new life she has built begins to fall apart… Readers can’t get enough of After You Fell… ‘A very different, enthralling read that I really didn't want to put down’ Eleine Brent, Goodreads‘I found myself turning pages late into the night to see what would happen…a unique story’ Jennifer Motz, Netgalley‘Wow, just as I thought I was right about the ending, I am proven wrong on the very last page’ Kimberley Bigelow, Goodreads‘The blurb describes this as creepy, disturbing and genuinely chilling which is spot on… A clever premise, a brilliant read’ Nikki’s Book Blog

Wall of Silence


Tracy Buchanan - 2020
    Can she uncover it before the police do? Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving.One evening, Melissa arrives home to the unimaginable: her husband lies stabbed on the kitchen floor, their children standing calmly around him…With horror, she realises that one of them is to blame. But which one? And why would they attack their own father?Her loyalties torn, in a split second she decides to protect her children at all costs—even if that means lying to the police. But when someone in the neighbourhood claims to know more than they should, Melissa discovers that some secrets are beyond her control…Can she find out the truth of what happened before the rumours spread? And can the family unite to escape the spotlight of scandal—or are none of them as innocent as Melissa insists?

Talking to the Dead


Harry Bingham - 2012
    . . . At first, the murder scene appears sad, but not unusual: a young woman undone by drugs and prostitution, her six-year-old daughter dead alongside her. But then detectives find a strange piece of evidence in the squalid house: the platinum credit card of a very wealthy--and long dead--steel tycoon. What is a heroin-addicted hooker doing with the credit card of a well-known and powerful man who died months ago? This is the question that the most junior member of the investigative team, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths, is assigned to answer.But D.C. Griffiths is no ordinary cop. She's earned a reputation at police headquarters in Cardiff, Wales, for being odd, for not picking up on social cues, for being a little overintense. And there's that gap in her past, the two-year hiatus that everyone assumes was a breakdown. But Fiona is a crack investigator, quick and intuitive. She is immediately drawn to the crime scene, and to the tragic face of the six-year-old girl, who she is certain has something to tell her . . . something that will break the case wide open.Ignoring orders and protocol, Fiona begins to explore far beyond the rich man's credit card and into the secrets of her seaside city. And when she uncovers another dead prostitute, Fiona knows that she's only begun to scratch the surface of a dark world of crime and murder. But the deeper she digs, the more danger she risks--not just from criminals and killers but from her own past . . . and the abyss that threatens to pull her back at any time.

The Interview


Gill Perdue
    A missing man. A coded fairy tale. Detective Laura Shaw seems to have it all: a supportive husband, a happy two-year-old and a great career. She is her team's top victim interviewer, a genius at getting vulnerable people to open up.That's until she meets Jenny - a 14-year-old assault victim who talks only in fairy tales. Jenny's stepfather is missing and the blood on her clothes isn't her own, so Laura's colleagues need answers fast.But Laura's strange behaviour makes the girl shut down even more, leaving her bewildered partner, Niamh, desperately trying to rescue the situation.It seems that this case has triggered something deep within Laura, and Jenny is not the only one with secrets. As the clock ticks down, Laura teeters on the brink of disaster, grappling with the biggest question of all: Is every life worth saving?

One In Three


Tess Stimson - 2020
    One of them killed him . . .Louise has had to watch her husband, Andrew, start a new family in the four years since he left her. The ‘other woman’ is now his wife – but Louise isn’t ready to let Caz enjoy the life that was once hers, or to let go of the man she still loves.As Louise starts to dig into Caz’s past, the two women’s pretence of civility starts to slip. But in trying to undermine each other, they discover more about the man they both married.And when Andrew is murdered at a family party, both women are found standing over the body.And when Andrew is murdered during the anniversary celebrations, both women are found standing over the body.It’s always the wife. But which one?

Death Note


Caroline Mitchell - 2016
    Now she’s back. Or is she?Women who’ve had to give up children for adoption are being killed. A knock at their front door begins a nightmare from which they will never wake up.East London Detective Ruby Preston and her team must hunt down a disturbed individual before someone else is taken. But when bodies start turning up, staged in perfect, domestic scenes, it carries the echo of a memory in Ruby's mind. The tinkling of a music box. A mother and child reunion...Then just as Ruby thinks they've made a breakthrough, she receives a sinister email, and the case takes a terrifying personal twist. Can Ruby catch the killer before they strike again? Or will her troubled past catch up with her first?Previously published as Love You To Death

His Kidnapper's Shoes


Maggie James - 2013
    He has always been mine. And he always will be. On some level deep inside, Laura Bateman knows something is wrong. That her relationship with her son is not what it should be. That it is based on lies.But bad things have happened to Laura. Things that change a person. Forever.For twenty-six-year-old Daniel, the discovery that his mother is not who he thought comes close to destroying him. As his world turns upside down, he searches for sanity in the madness that has become his life. Daniel is left with nothing but questions. Why did Laura do something so terrible? Can he move past the demons of his childhood?And the biggest question of all: can he ever forgive Laura? Revised edition: This edition of His Kidnapper's Shoes includes editorial revisions.

Date Night


Samantha Hayes - 2019
    Inside, the TV is on and a half-eaten meal waits on the table. My heart stops when I find our little girl is alone in the house and our babysitter, Sasha, is missing…Days later, when I’m arrested for Sasha’s murder and torn away from my perfect little family, I’ll wish I had told someone about the threatening note I received that morning.I’ll hate myself for not finding out who the gift hidden inside my husband’s wardrobe was for.I’ll scream from the rooftops that I’m innocent – but no one will listen.I will realise I was completely wrong about everything that happened that night…But will you believe me?

The Murderer's Son


Joy Ellis - 2014
     Twenty years ago: a farmer and his wife are cut to pieces by a ruthless serial killer. Now: a woman is viciously stabbed to death in the upmarket kitchen of her beautiful house on the edge of the marshes. Then a man called Daniel Kinder walks into Saltern police station and confesses to the murder. But DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans of the Fenland Constabulary soon discover that there is a lot more to Daniel than meets the eye. He has no memory of the first five years of his life and is obsessed with who his real mother is. With no evidence to hold him, Jackman and Evans are forced to let him go, and in a matter of days the lonely Lincolnshire Fens become the stage for more killings and Daniel has disappeared. In a breathtaking finale, the truth about Daniel’s mother comes to light and DI Jackman and DS Evans race against time to stop more lives being destroyed. The detectives: DS Marie Evans lost her husband in a motorbike accident and has personal connections to the case. DI Rowan Jackman leads the investigation. He is extremely smart and has a knack for bringing out the best in his diverse team, which includes the mysterious computer specialist Orac. Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the shocking ending. THIS BOOK IS NOT PART OF THE NIKKI GALENA SERIES BUT TAKES PLACE IN THE SAME STUNNING AREA Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell.

Presumed Guilty


Tess Gerritsen - 1997
    With her knife.Miranda is the obvious suspect, and she looks even guiltier when her bail is posted by an anonymous donor. Was this an act of kindness designed to buy her time to clear her name? Or is someone trying to manipulate Miranda and draw her into the dark and secret world of a murdered man, where everybody's presumed guilty?With her world falling around her, Miranda is determined to discover who killed Richard. But proving her innocence may become secondary to staying alive.…

The Drowning Girls


Paula Treick DeBoard - 2016
    Ever since she and her family moved in, she's felt like an outsider amongst the Stepford-like wives and their obnoxiously spoiled children. Still, she's determined to make it work—if not for herself, then for her husband, Phil, who landed them this lavish home in the first place, and for her daughter, Danielle, who's about to enter high school. Yet underneath the glossy veneer of The Palms, life is far from idyllic. In a place where reputation is everything, Liz soon discovers that even the friendliest residents can't be trusted—and almost everyone has secrets they'd do anything to protect. So when the gorgeous girl next door befriends Danielle, Liz can't help but find sophisticated Kelsey's interest in her shy and slightly nerdy daughter a bit suspicious. But while Kelsey quickly becomes a fixture in the McGinnis home, Liz's relationships with both Danielle and Phil grow strained. Now even her own family seems to be hiding things, and it's not long before their dream of living the high life quickly spirals out of control…

Poison


Jacqui Rose - 2020
    Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers’ Queenie and Martina Cole. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE YOU SHOULD NEVER CROSS In a life of crime, loyalty means everything – even if you don’t always see eye to eye. But when Vaughn Sadler speaks up to get Franny Doyle sent down, he’s broken every rule in the book to win checkmate. AND OTHERS YOU SHOULDN’T UNDERESTIMATE… Holed up in prison, Franny has more than one score to settle – but she’s starting with Vaughn. Because you don’t grass on your own, no matter what. And though she may be behind bars, she will get revenge – whatever the cost. Before, there was just bad blood running through her veins. But now, there is poison…

When She Was Bad


Tammy Cohen - 2016
    But their comfortable routine life is suddenly shattered when an aggressive new boss walks in ....Now, there's something chilling in the air.Who secretly hates everyone?Who is tortured by their past?Who is capable of murder?

How It Happened


Michael Koryta - 2018
    Can we stop now?"Kimberly Crepeaux is no good, a notorious jailhouse snitch, teen mother, and heroin addict whose petty crimes are well-known to the rural Maine community where she lives. So when she confesses to her role in the brutal murders of Jackie Pelletier and Ian Kelly, the daughter of a well-known local family and her sweetheart, the locals have little reason to believe her story.Not Rob Barrett, the FBI investigator and interrogator specializing in telling a true confession from a falsehood. He's been circling Kimberly and her conspirators for months, waiting for the right avenue to the truth, and has finally found it. He knows, as strongly as he's known anything, that Kimberly's story—a grisly, harrowing story of a hit and run fueled by dope and cheap beer that becomes a brutal stabbing in cold blood—is how it happened. But one thing remains elusive: where are Jackie and Ian's bodies?After Barrett stakes his name and reputation on the truth of Kimberly's confession, only to have the bodies turn up 200 miles from where she said they'd be, shot in the back and covered in a different suspect's DNA, the case is quickly closed and Barrett forcibly reassigned. But for Howard Pelletier, the tragedy of his daughter's murder cannot be so tidily swept away. And for Barrett, whose career may already be over, the chance to help a grieving father may be the only one he has left.How It Happened is a frightening, tension-filled ride into the dark heart of rural American from a writer Stephen King has called "a master" and the New York Times has deemed "impossible to resist."

Yesterday


Felicia Yap - 2017
    Monos, the majority, have only one day’s worth of memory; elite Duos have two. In this stratified society, where Monos are excluded from holding high office and demanding jobs, Claire and Mark are a rare mixed marriage. Clare is a conscientious Mono housewife, Mark a novelist-turned-politician Duo on the rise. They are a shining example of a new vision of tolerance and equality—until…...a beautiful woman is found dead, her body dumped in England’s River Cam. The woman is Mark’s mistress, and he is the prime suspect in her murder. The detective investigating the case has secrets of his own. So did the victim. And when both the investigator’s and the suspect’s memories are constantly erased—how can anyone learn the truth?Told from four different perspectives, that of Mark, Claire, the detective on the case, and the victim—Felicia Yap’s staggeringly inventive debut leads us on a race against an ever-resetting clock to find the killer. With the science-fiction world-building of Philip K. Dick and the twisted ingenuity of Memento , Yesterday is a thriller you’ll never forget.