When Callie rents a beach cottage in Whitstable, she doesn't expect for its owner to be glamorous influencer Vanessa Lowe. Vanessa has it all. A beauWhen Callie rents a beach cottage in Whitstable, she doesn't expect for its owner to be glamorous influencer Vanessa Lowe. Vanessa has it all. A beautiful home, a loyal husband, three perfect children, and a growing number of adoring online fans. Callie has long admired her world from afar. But when Vanessa invites her in, the closer Callie looks, the more she suspects that there's more to Vanessa than meets the eye. So when Vanessa's son disappears, Callie must question everything she knows. Is Vanessa a mother in despair? Or is she a woman who'll do whatever it takes to cover up the cracks . . .
This is one of those thrillers that keeps you just off kilter all the way through, enough to set your teeth on edge and not trust anyone but still keeps you totally entranced and unable to look away! It’s such a skill and in Taylor’s case, brilliantly deployed.
It felt a bit Broadchurchian in its scope, with quite a few characters who you trust and then you don’t. I kept reframing my perception as I read. My first impression of Vanessa Lowe, the instagram influencer was not good, she is too good to be true and I did not trust her at all, manipulative and with a perfect looking facade. I liked Callie much more and felt more on her side as the story unfolds. Rachel was difficult to pick, more aloof and I wasn’t certain of her either, so many seeds of doubt are sown, the truth tantalisingly out of reach!
‘She thought she already had a handle on Vanessa’s myriad grins, but she realises now that her new friend was only ever at half wattage before.’
Full of insta trickery, how do we know what is real and what’s not? It cleverly opens your eyes to social media, its effect on our mental health, the impact on children and should we be over sharing so much. It’s certainly made me think!
‘What we put online is only about 5% of the real picture. So why does she feel like she’s watching a lie being told in real time?’
And then just as you think, that’s it, WHAM! What a twist, so clever and unexpected and I did not see it coming. A fantastic thriller, darkly deceiving, you won’t be able to put it down!...more
Abigail is a proud member of the New America Baptist Church. Living miles away from the nearest town in South Carolina, she is safe from the depraved Abigail is a proud member of the New America Baptist Church. Living miles away from the nearest town in South Carolina, she is safe from the depraved modern world. She is a good daughter. A valued member of the community. So when she is the sole survivor of a fire that burns her family's home to the ground, it seems like a tragic accident. Until a surprising discovery is made: before the fire, Abigail let a stranger in. Who was the stranger? What started the fire? And was the outside world always the threat - or did danger lurk within the community's walls?
‘Under his guidance. Have a blessed day.’
The tension is wound taught like a bow string in this book. The community gives me the creeps, much in a Handmaids Tale type way, yet I couldn’t look away.
‘Seriously, this place is so repressed I’m surprised no one here has lost the plot and gone on a killing spree.’
In a closed religious community where women have to submit to their husbands. Men’s word is law, and especially Abigail’s fathers word, the pastor. There is extreme control, gas lighting, abuse and fear.
Daddy, Pastor Heywood, really is one of the most unpleasant characters I have ever read. I liked Abigail, it was interesting to see her mind open up to the world around her, to see the fight develop in her.
Laure Van Rensburg really is a master of her craft, this book is gripping, SO SO tense and I just loved it! ...more
Wow! This book was SO addictive! I didn’t want to put it down!
How best to describe this? Compulsive, explosive, scorching, shocking, glamorous and oh Wow! This book was SO addictive! I didn’t want to put it down!
How best to describe this? Compulsive, explosive, scorching, shocking, glamorous and oh so dark!
The ultimate TV reality show, seven contestants, one island, seven days and one big prize…to die for. Laura is an undercover reporter tasked with getting the inside scoop on her fellow contestants and blowing the ‘game’ wide open. But once the show starts, she finds herself at the mercy of the shadowy production, who will do anything to these people for clicks and viewer numbers. There is a whole box of Pandora’s secrets to open, and oh boy, does it open. It really is not a spoiler as it’s in the first chapter that someone ends up dead and we get to read through the eyes of the contestant, the producer and the viewer to see who the victim is and what happens.
It is actually quite a difficult read, we all watch reality shows and it really brings home what can happen and the choices that contestants, producers and viewers make can have huge ramifications, certainly for the contestants. There’s a real insiders knowledge to this one and it’s enticing, voyeuristic but I still wanted to read on.
At times disturbing and horrifying, yet gloriously entertaining, it is a mash up of Lord of the Flies, Big Brother and Love Island - just brilliant!
‘It’s sickening. Your show is nothing more than a gladiator sport.’...more
‘I turn thirty in two days. Sunday. I was meant to have my life in order by now, but I guess I can move my deadline to thirty-five.’
Blimey, this one h‘I turn thirty in two days. Sunday. I was meant to have my life in order by now, but I guess I can move my deadline to thirty-five.’
Blimey, this one had me hooked from the start! My heart was beating so fast, it’s dark, really tense and sets your teeth on edge.
Em needs to get to the airport. Her sister is getting married on Sunday, her mother is ill and her father is dead. She’s been screwed over at work, split up with her girlfriend and that’s all before London grinds to a halt in searing heat, oh and there’s a serial killer on the loose. Women are turning up dead at the rate of 3 a week. I mean, it’s just one disaster after and other, Em is in deep do-do. She’s sick of men always getting their own way, not listening and generally being a£&£holes .
She refuses to let them win and pretty soon things are spiralling out of control.
‘Aren’t we all brought up to believe that good girls die last?…with a serial killer, it could be any one of us. Even us nice girls. Ooooh, the thrill!’
This book is pacy and smart. It feels a bit dystopian in some respects but it smacks you in the face, hard and makes you take notice. Em is angry, raging and who can blame her frankly, this book is every woman and for every woman. Searing, harsh, in your face and fabulous!
‘Bad guys don’t listen when we scream, they chase us when we run, they don’t ever want to see who we really are - but they will always be scared of witches.’
Roach - bookseller, loner and true crime obsessive - is not interested in making friends. She has all the company she needs in her serial killer booksRoach - bookseller, loner and true crime obsessive - is not interested in making friends. She has all the company she needs in her serial killer books, murder podcasts and her pet snail, Bleep. That is, until Laura joins the bookshop. Smelling of roses, with her cute literary tote bags and beautiful poetry, she's everyone's new favourite bookseller. But beneath the shiny veneer, Roach senses a darkness within Laura, the same darkness Roach possesses. As Roach's curiosity blooms into morbid obsession, it becomes clear that she is prepared to infiltrate Laura's life at any cost.
‘I have this familiar, disquieting sense of fragmentation…I no longer belong to myself, like I’m public property for other people to consume.’
I have found this deliciously dark, gripping and compelling. I couldn’t trust either Roach or Laura. Both as messed up as each other, I found it deeply unsettling to read, and as things slowly unravel we discover more about each character and their back history and there is a sadness to it that underpinned the story for me.
‘A sob story, a tragedy. A warning. A lesson.’
One that I just couldn’t look away from despite feeling wrung out by the end! ...more
This was one intense, powerful and sensual read. Full of beautiful people who tell you constantly how beautiful they are and how jealous they are! FirThis was one intense, powerful and sensual read. Full of beautiful people who tell you constantly how beautiful they are and how jealous they are! First impressions are of control and minute descriptions, highlighting that fact that Kane Black has this minimalist yet obsessive life living with the memory of his dead wife Lily.
Until he spots her on a New York street…
‘Her astonished recognition is intimate and unmistakable. So is the fear.’
This just grabbed me….is she dead, or isn’t she? I questioned everything!
And with that I was hooked; full of scheming, dysfunctional, power hungry and just unlikeable people. It is dark, sexy, scorchingly intense and you can’t help but get drawn into their story and their lives. I wanted to know what was going to happen, who would survive the fallout because there was always going to be HUGE fallout in this one. I loved the teasing nature of the chapters, keeping you just off centre, never quite knowing, constantly reframing your perceptions of these unreliable narrators.
I have to admit the end really got me, huge twist and I just smiled, I’d been led along by the nose looking in the opposite direction and then blam!
A darkly scorching domestic thriller - I need to read Too Far, the second in this Blacklist duology, October feels ages away! ...more
Maria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who's losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans forMaria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who's losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans for Brian, the sweet man with the terrible boss. She cleans for the mysterious Mr Balogan, with the terrible neighbours. If you're thinking of hiring her, you should probably know that Maria might have killed the terrible husband, the terrible boss and the terrible neighbours. She may also have murdered the man she loved. She didn't set out to kill anyone, of course, but her clients have hired her to clean up their lives, and she takes her job seriously - not to mention how much happier they all are now. The trouble is, murder can't be washed out. You can only sweep it under the carpet, and pray no one looks too closely...
I thought this might be a bit of a thriller, serial killer type vibe, and it is BUT it is also a story of friendship and kindness and caring. Maria just loves Elsie and Elsie loves Maria, they are family, just not related. It just made me feel happy, despite the body count ...more
To the outside world, the Goodlights are perfect. Julia is a lawyer, Paul a stay-at-home dad who has dedicated his life I’ll Never Tell - Philippa East
To the outside world, the Goodlights are perfect. Julia is a lawyer, Paul a stay-at-home dad who has dedicated his life to helping their daughter Chrissie achieve her dreams as a talented violinist. But on the night of a prestigious music competition, Chrissie goes missing. She puts on the performance of a lifetime, then completely disappears. Suddenly every single crack, every single secret that the family is hiding risks being exposed. Because the Goodlights aren’t perfect. Not even close.
Well I was totally absorbed in this from the start! It is a gripping and addictive read, a missing girl, distraught parents….or are they? We jump around in time and at some points I wasn’t quite sure where I was. The characters are largely unlikeable but I just found I could not put this book down! Containing themes of control and abuse, I didn’t know who to trust, there are repeated allusions to the past with the world as we think it tipped on its end, the not knowing and not trusting upped the ante hugely. There are secrets, betrayals and twists galore and this is one screwed up family; it makes fabulous reading!...more
Three couples. One murder. A holiday to die for . . .
Oh this was such a juicy read!
Three couples arrive at a villMy Husbands Killer - Laura Marshall
Three couples. One murder. A holiday to die for . . .
Oh this was such a juicy read!
Three couples arrive at a villa on the Amalfi Coast, ready to enjoy a sun-soaked weekend with their oldest friends - and one new face. Liz, Trina, Poppy and Saffie have been friends forever but by the end of the weekend, Liz’s husband is dead. How can she mourn him, when on the day of his funeral she discovers he was having an affair? The only suspects are the women she went on holiday with, her oldest, closest friends. They are keeping secrets from each other, was Andrew’s death an accident or was it murder?
Well this was a teasing, gripping and just fabulous read! I was hooked and had my detective radar going pretty fast and blasted through this one super quick!
I really didn’t much like any of the characters, I couldn’t trust any of them, even Liz. But my perceptions of them got reframed as I read and those I thought I could have liked - well, let’s just say that there are so many twists and turns that by the end you’ll be like…wait…what?!!
A superb fast paced thriller, will it catch you out? Read it and see!...more
Harriet Reed is marrying into one the most famous, rich and closed off families in the the US. Meeting her fiancé Edward Holbecks family for the firstHarriet Reed is marrying into one the most famous, rich and closed off families in the the US. Meeting her fiancé Edward Holbecks family for the first time, his father Robert gives her a tape to listen to, a novel he is thinking of writing.
But when Harry listens to the tape it is a confession of not one but several murders. Trapped by her own dark secrets and history, she realises she has to find out the truth but she is finding that she cannot trust the entire Holbeck family and the games they are making her play.
‘This Christmas invitation feels like some sort of Balmoral test. A test to weed out those who fit in with the family and those who do not.’
This story is so twisted it’s unbelievable! With an utterly bonkers dysfunctional family it made me think of those big powerful families that you read about; the Royals, the Kardashians and it just really engaged my antenna. What it’s like to be in a family ‘firm’, you can almost imaging the Holbecks as an amalgamation of these real life families. And that is so clever!
‘If I manage to survive some unspoken codes, hell, if I manage to survive, then perhaps they will accept me as one of them.’
Glossy, dazzling and full of family secrets, this is heart thumpingly good! I didn’t much like the characters, although I was rooting for Harry I’m not sure how much I actually liked her! They were all selfish, self-centred people - except the gorgeous Billy, but he was a 3 year old! And seemingly with more sense than the rest of them put together! I mean the whole Krampus thing was nuts!
‘You’re a Reed, and us Reeds - we have no history to live up to at all.’
This book really kept me buzzing with anticipation and I was guzzling this one up so fast. It has a sheen of glamour to it but there’s a dark side too and slowly, as the temperature rises to boiling point, the tension is palpable! I began to have my suspicions of one particular family member about 3/4 way through and wrote it down. I was right in my thinking but with so many secrets unravelled, my enjoyment was not spoiled in the slightest, in fact I did a little air punch at the reveal!
What a book, what a twist, fabulous!
✩✩✩✩✰
With thanks to Jess Barratt, Simon & Schuster UK and Catherine Steadman for my copy of this book to review...more
Twenty years ago: One rainy night, Olivia Rutherford is driving three friends home when a figure in the road causes her to swerve and crash. RegainingTwenty years ago: One rainy night, Olivia Rutherford is driving three friends home when a figure in the road causes her to swerve and crash. Regaining consciousness, she finds herself alone in the car - her friends have vanished and are never seen again. Now: Journalist Jenna Halliday visits the close-knit community of Stafferbury to persuade Olivia to talk and solve the mystery of the girls' disappearance. But Olivia won't speak. What happened? Jenna believes Olivia is hiding something, the people of the village seem frightened and there are a lot of hidden secrets to be uncovered.
Wow! I was gripped from the start with this one. This book is so full of foreboding and atmosphere, creepy and tense, I could feel the tension rising as I read. It has really great flow to read, written from different characters POV it works well. A truly eerie read I got totally sucked in, imagining the surroundings of Jenna’s cabin isolated in the forest, reading this at night is not a good idea I can tell you! I was turning over all sorts of possibilities in my mind and was quite jumpy too. I didn’t trust anyone and my perceptions of the characters kept reframing. I was rooting for Jenna but of the other characters, with the twists and turns I didn’t know what to think! On tenterhooks I raced towards the end and oh it was good!
A perfectly creepy thriller for the autumn season.
Thanks so much to Penguin UK Books and Claire Douglas for my copy of this book to review...more
This isn’t just a good book, it’s a great book. I’m just putting it out there, I didn’t much like the characters, although Lily did grow on me and I lThis isn’t just a good book, it’s a great book. I’m just putting it out there, I didn’t much like the characters, although Lily did grow on me and I liked the flashback element to the story. Some of this story is creepy as, ‘mamas doll’ and testing of the off orange juice spring to mind. It fizzes with tension which builds and builds as you read. This is dark, dysfunctional, addictive and I couldn’t put it down once I started!
I just don’t know how writers imaginations work, where do these ideas come from? ...more
Emily Toller has tried to forget her time at university and the events that led to her suddenly leaving under a cloud. She has done everything she canEmily Toller has tried to forget her time at university and the events that led to her suddenly leaving under a cloud. She has done everything she can to forget the shame and the trauma—and the people involved. She has tried to focus on the life she has built with her children and husband, Nick. But events like that can’t just be forgotten. Not without someone answering for what they’ve done. When an invitation arrives to a University reunion, everything clicks into place. Emily has a plan. Because if you can’t forget—why not get revenge?
This book has vibes of The Secret History set in Cambridge. A cliquey set of largely unlikeable characters with one of them being a bit of an outsider, something happens that splits them apart from the rest and then we slowly find out about the fall out. I have to admit I wasn’t sure about this one to start with but as I got into it, I got more and more addicted and ended up gobbling it up!
Emily the main character I found to be very self absorbing to start, a bit selfish, uptight and unlikeable. I much preferred her husband Nick, laid back and frankly a bit more of a grown up. But as the stories of these people unfold, we find out Emily’s story in flashback, what happened to her at Cambridge, why she left and her plan for revenge. This plot winds tighter and tighter as you read, the tension is palpable and the twists - well, just brilliant! You will not know who to trust and I just had a massive smile on my face because Polly Phillips pulled a blinder with the ending, just superb!
I would say this is the perfect summer thriller read!
✩✩✩✩
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Thanks so much to Harriet at Simon and Schuster UK and the Squadpod for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review...more
Emily had made a bad decision and could now lose her job, so she returns to her safe place, home on the Cornish coWe All Have Our Secrets - Jane Corry
Emily had made a bad decision and could now lose her job, so she returns to her safe place, home on the Cornish coast. But when she arrives she finds there is a stranger living with her father. She doesn’t trust her convinced she is lying she becomes obsessed with finding the truth.
This is one to get the heart thumping, it’s such a page turner and I whistled through it. I got sucked in straight away. I didn’t quite trust any of the characters, even Emily. I wanted to; but something just kept me on edge. Tense, suspenseful and gripping, I ended up just sitting and reading and reading and ignoring everything else!
‘It occurs to me, as I listen to the coroners solemn voice, that death is a five letter word unlike no other.’
The narrative comes from two opposing standpoints, alternating between Emily and Francoise, the woman living with her father. We also get flashbacks to Harolds time in the war. This story really grows and changes as you read and my perception of the characters kept changing and reframing, so much so that I just can’t make my mind about them, it’s true - we really do all have our secrets!
‘We are partly bad. And partly good. But only one of us killed our father. Which means one of us is lying.’
I really enjoyed this book, I am often drawn towards one character in a novel but in this case I found it difficult due to the swirling nature of the plot. Both are interesting women and I think in all honesty I really liked the fact that I just didn’t know who to root for! This is full of deceit, has a lot of drama, digs into complex themes such as abortion and assisted dying and is just totally unputdownable!
‘All around, the house unfolds like a scene in a penny dreadful.’
Steven and Ellie are on an anniversary break, time Nobody But Us - Laure Van Rensburg
‘All around, the house unfolds like a scene in a penny dreadful.’
Steven and Ellie are on an anniversary break, time alone with each other, to explore each other, a perfect romantic trip away. But all is not as it seems, neither of them are who they say they are…
‘The flames animate her hair with an orange glow. He sees Medusa.’
Oh my word, this was just edge of your seat stuff from the start! With chapters alternating between the characters we are given little glimpses of their lives and it really spun me out. It is so clever how little breadcrumbs are dropped for us through the book. I didn’t trust either of them, I automatically was rooting for Ellie, it’s the woman in me but what was she up to? I found myself racing through this one, desperate to know what was going to happen and read it in one sitting!
‘He’s not that guy, with her or with any of them.’
Inspired by the MeToo movement, there are triggers here for some. Articulating what so many women feel, there is grooming, lack of male understanding, arrogance, gaslighting and abuse. So be aware this could be a difficult read for some people.
‘The delusion he can’t be held responsible is so embedded in him.’
I found it dark, brooding, sharp and utterly gripping. It had such creepy Hitchcockian vibes and would make an amazing ‘hide -behind -the -cushion’ film! The tension is wound so tightly and it really played with my emotions lurching from suspicion to horror to revulsion to pity to exultation and back again. I had no idea who to trust or what would happen.
‘Women are not playthings.’
This is about control, revenge, obsession and consent, it is frightening, in your face and utterly compelling. An absolute must read for 2022!
✩✩✩✩✩
Thanks so much to MichaelJBooks, Laure Van Rensburg and the amazing Squadpod ladies for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review...more
Well I knew I was going to be in for a treat with this book, having read She’s Mine previously and knowing how the secrThe Loyal Friend - AA Chaudhuri
Well I knew I was going to be in for a treat with this book, having read She’s Mine previously and knowing how the secrets and tension build, I was not disappointed!
Jade a local yoga instructor doesn’t turn up for her lesson. No one seems concerned, except her friend Natalie, who, on visiting her house finds she is missing and it seems in suspicious circumstances. Everyone has secrets, including Natalie herself, Susan reliant on alcohol, Grace hiding something from her past and what of Jade herself? Will she be found before it’s too late?
This was a really pacey, twisting thriller. Moving between different POV’s and timelines, we gradually get to know the characters. None of them are particularly likeable but that didn’t stop me reading! I was totally hooked into their stories, reading quickly as I needed to know the outcome. Quite a few difficult themes are explored including jealousy, friendships, family, child abuse and revenge.
And then twists! I was, wait, whaaat?! At the end of each chapter things ramp up, I couldn’t stop reading!
Alex has a real knack of being able to keep you guessing, I really didn’t trust anyone at all! Although there are a few little clues, I was left clueless - Hats of to Alex for a brilliantly realised ending!
A gripping twisting psychological thriller, just fabulous!
✩✩✩✩✰
Thanks so much to AA Chaudhuri, Hera Books, Danielle Louis and the Squadpod for my copy of this book and spot on the upcoming blog tour...more
Both Of You - Adele Parks Synopsis: Leigh Fletcher, devoted wife and stepmum, goes to work one day and never returns home.
Same week, different world … Both Of You - Adele Parks Synopsis: Leigh Fletcher, devoted wife and stepmum, goes to work one day and never returns home.
Same week, different world … Kai Janssen leaves her sexy, wealthy husband and their luxurious penthouse, and vanishes into thin air.
Both husbands seem distraught, claiming they have no idea where their wives have gone.
DC Clements wants answers. Did these women run away or were they taken? Most importantly, where are they now? When the detective discovers a shocking link between the missing women, it’s clear the truth can devastate. Now Clements must work against a ticking clock, before both wives disappear forever.
This was a really gripping book that I raced through. I felt like something was just at the corner of my eye, just niggling and out of reach. It is clever and manages to keep you off kilter as you read. I thought I knew who the mysterious perpetrator was and I guessed the twist before it came but I still felt utter shock when it was actually in black and white on the page!
This was a great domestic thriller to start the year!...more
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