Next Up on the Reading List
Five Strangers
by E. V. Adamson
Description
Five strangers witness a brutal murder in broad daylight — but can they truly believe what they saw?
With its grassy hills and breathtaking city views, London’s Hampstead Heath is the perfect place to spend an afternoon with friends and loved ones—and on an unseasonably warm Valentine’s Day, the lawns are especially full. So when an aggressive lovers’ quarrel breaks out, there’s an audience of park goers nearby to hear the shouts traded back and forth, and to watch as the violence escalates suddenly to murder, then suicide.
For the five strangers who observed the gruesome act, the memory of the gore is unshakable. But one of them—disgraced journalist Jen Hunter—is compelled to question the truth of what she thought she saw. Are the facts of the case plain as day, or were they obscured, in the moment, by the glaring sunlight?
As she mounts an obsessive investigation for a seemingly-impossible alternative, the lives of the other witnesses begin to unravel, each in its own particular way. Soon one thing becomes clear: the crime they witnessed was more terrible, more twisted, and more far-reaching than they ever could have imagined.
About the Author:
E. V. Adamson is a pseudonym of award-winning journalist and author Andrew Wilson. He is the author of four acclaimed biographies, including one on Patricia Highsmith, and four Agatha Christie novels, which feature the Queen of Crime as a series sleuth.
Advance Praise
"An 'of-the-moment' mystery which keeps you wondering until the final page." - Jane Corry, author of I Made a Mistake
"It starts with a chilling act of murder and continues with twist after twist" - Claire McGowan, author of The Other Wife
"So perfectly pitched it gave me vertigo." - Kate Weinberg, author of The Truants
"Both a tightly-plotted, entertaining work of suspense and an unflinching study of the trauma of witnessing violence" - Louise Candlish, author of Our House
"Fantastic—I read this in one sitting" - Kate Mosse
The Stalker
by Sarah Alderson
Description
Two newlyweds. One remote island. It was meant to be the perfect escape…
Newly-weds Liam and Laura are spending their honeymoon in paradise: just the two of them on a remote island off the coast of Scotland.
But they soon discover that all is not as it seems, and the island has a tragic past. And they can’t shake the feeling of being watched…
When one morning, they wake to find a message scratched into the window, their worst fears are confirmed. They aren’t alone on the island. And this stranger wants them dead.
…but it became the perfect nightmare.
If you enjoy reading twisty psychological thrillers that leave your heart racing, then you’ll love The Stalker from bestselling author Sarah Alderson.
Readers love The Stalker:
‘WOW! WOW! WOW! What a read!’ NetGalley reviewer
‘It’s only June but I think this one will make my list of top favourites of 2021 – it’s THAT good!’ NetGalley reviewer
‘The blockbuster of the summer!’ NetGalley reviewer
‘Hands down one of the best thrillers I have ever read.’ NetGalley reviewer
‘THAT twist. I did not see it coming!’ NetGalley reviewer
‘This was such an engrossing thriller with perfect pace, suspense and characterisation.’ NetGalley reviewer
‘The island is the perfect setting for a creepy thriller and I was holding my breath with every page.’ NetGalley reviewer
‘The writing is evocative, and I felt the chill of both the Scottish Island wind and the increasing sense of dread felt by our newlyweds.’ NetGalley reviewer
‘This is the cleverest book I have read in a long while! Smoke and mirrors were used to great effect… undoubtedly a five-star read.’ NetGalley reviewer
‘A tense book with an ending that made my head spin.’ NetGalley reviewer
The Last Guest
by Tess Little
Description
A glamorous birthday dinner in the Hollywood Hills ends with the famous host dead and every guest under suspicion in this dark, cinematic suspense debut reminiscent of an Agatha Christie page-turner crossed with David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.
“A sharp, unshrinking look at the costs of submission—to power and control, to ambition and desire, even to the wish to protect those we love by forcing memory underground.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark
When Elspeth Bell attends the fiftieth birthday party of her ex-husband, Richard Bryant, the Hollywood director who launched her acting career, all she wants is to pass unnoticed through the glamorous crowd in his sprawling Los Angeles mansion. Instead, there are only seven other guests—and Richard's pet octopus, Persephone, watching over them from her tank as the intimate party grows more surreal (and rowdy) by the hour. Come morning, Richard is dead—and all of the guests are suspects.
In the weeks that follow, each guest comes under suspicion: the school friend, the studio producer, the actress, the actor, the new partner, the manager, the cinematographer, and even Elspeth herself. What starts out as a locked-room mystery soon reveals itself to be much more complicated, as dark stories from Richard's past surface, colliding with memories of their marriage that Elspeth vowed never to revisit. She begins to wonder not just who killed Richard, but why these eight guests were invited—and what sort of man would desire to possess a creature as mysterious and unsettling as Persephone.
The Last Guest is a stylish exploration of power—the power of memory, the power of perception, the power of one person over another.
The Lighthouse Witches
by C. J. Cooke
Description
"Utterly spellbinding....Witchcraft meets thriller."--Pop Sugar
Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found--but she's still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Nesting.
When single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a 100-year-old lighthouse on a remote Scottish island, it's an opportunity to start over with her three daughters--Luna, Sapphire, and Clover. When two of her daughters go missing, she's frantic. She learns that the cave beneath the lighthouse was once a prison for women accused of witchcraft. The locals warn her about wildlings, supernatural beings who mimic human children, created by witches for revenge. Liv is told wildlings are dangerous and must be killed.
Twenty-two years later, Luna has been searching for her missing sisters and mother. When she receives a call about her youngest sister, Clover, she's initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers--except she's still seven years old, the age she was when she vanished. Luna is worried Clover is a wildling. Luna has few memories of her time on the island, but she'll have to return to find the truth of what happened to her family. But she doesn't realize just how much the truth will change her.
Nanny Needed
by Georgina Cross
Description
A young woman takes a job as a nanny for an impossibly wealthy family, thinking she’s found her entrée into a better life—only to discover instead she’s walked into a world of deception and dark secrets.
“Wild, unpredictable, and utterly absorbing, Nanny Needed is a gasp-out-loud thriller that will make your head spin.”—Samantha M. Bailey, #1 bestselling author of Woman on the Edge
Nanny needed. Discretion is of the utmost importance. Special conditions apply.
When Sarah Larsen finds the notice, posted on creamy card stock in her building’s lobby, one glance at the exclusive address tells her she’s found her ticket out of a dead-end job—and life.
At the interview, the job seems like a dream come true: a glamorous penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC; a salary that adds several zeroes to her current income; the beautiful, worldly mother of her charge, who feels more like a friend than a potential boss. She’s overjoyed when she’s offered the position and signs the NDA without a second thought.
But in retrospect, the notice in her lobby was less an engraved invitation than a waving red flag. For there is something very strange about the Bird family. Why does the beautiful Mrs. Bird never leave the apartment alone? And what happened to the nanny before Sarah? It soon becomes clear that the Birds’ odd behaviors are more than the eccentricities of the wealthy.
But by then it’s too late for Sarah to seek help. After all, discretion is of the utmost importance.