Book Review: The Institution by Helen Fields

“They’re locked up for your safety.
Now, you’re locked in with them.”

Set to be published on 2nd March, The Institution by Helen Fields follows forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine who has five days to catch a killer. On a locked ward in the world’s highest-security prison hospital, a scream shatters the night. The next morning, a nurse’s body is found and her daughter has been taken. A ransom must be paid, and the clock is ticking. Connie is renowned for her ability to get inside the mind of a murderer. Now, she must go deep undercover among the most deranged and dangerous men on earth and use her unique skills to find the girl – before it’s too late. But as the walls close in around her, can Connie get the killer before The Institution gets her?

Book Review: The Winter Killer (DI James Walker #3) by Alex Pine

“New Year. New Bride. New Murder.”

The third book in Alex Pines’ DI James Walker series and set to be published on 13th October, The Winter Killer is set on New Year’s Eve as the clock strikes midnight, when DI James Walker receives a phone call that puts paid to his Christmas break. During the wedding of the year at a lakeside hotel, the bride’s sister has vanished.

When Rachel left the wedding breakfast before her speech, newly-wed Libby was furious. But as the night went on with no sign of her maid-of-honour, Libby started to realise something was wrong. Before the wedding night is out, the lake is being searched for a body. Something old, something new. One guest is a killer. The question is: who?

Book Review: The Demon Code (Joe Mason #2) by David Leadbeater

The second book in David Leadbeater‘s Joe Mason series, The Demon Code is set high in the Italian alps, cut off from the outside world, where a chapel sits, battered by winds and icy blizzards. The priests who guard this sacred place have sworn to protect the dangerous treasure that lies within their walls. But when Joe Mason and his team are called to the remote church, they find its ancient stones reduced to rubble, the priests murdered in cold blood and their precious cargo stolen.

As Mason pursues the thieves across continents and dangerous waters, he wonders what incredible secret the priests laid down their lives for… And if he can recover it before it claims more innocent victims, and brings the downfall of civilisation as we know it…

Book Review: The Last Girl To Die by Helen Fields

“The island watched and wept…”

Released today, The Last Girl To Die by Helen Fields follows private investigator Sadie Levesque who has been hired by the Clark family to find their sixteen-year-old daughter, Adriana, who has gone missing. The family have only recently moved to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland, as Sadie finds herself faced with hostile locals and indifferent police.

Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before. The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die?

Book Review: The Cabin In The Woods by Sarah Alderson

“In the middle of nowhere, there’s no one to hear you scream…”

Set to be released on 7th July , The Cabin In The Woods by Sarah Alderson is set in a cabin in a wood, where a woman stands by the window, fearing the night. For what’s done in the dark will come to light. She must run fast to escape her lie, or she’ll be the next to die…

Book Review: The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor

“He framed her. Now she’ll destroy him.”

Set to be published on 23rd June, The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor follows Olivia Sutherland who, five years ago, was wrongfully convicted of plotting to murder her husband. Now she’s finally free, Olivia has three goals: repair her relationship with her teenage daughter, clear her name, and bring down her husband – the man who framed her. Just how far is she willing to go to get what she wants? And how far will her husband go to stop her? Because his lies run deeper than Olivia could ever have imagined – and this time it’s not her freedom that’s in jeopardy, but her life…

Book Review: When She Disappeared by Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry

“Someone is determined to bury what happened.”

When She Disappeared by Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry sees Margo return to her hometown of Lake Moss. She hasn’t been back since her school friend went missing fifteen years ago. But as she returns, the news breaks: Jessie’s body has been found. Digging out her old diary, and steeling herself to face unfriendly ghosts of the past, Margo sets out to help a documentary crew as they investigate the infamous case the police bungled. In a town where everyone knows everyone – but they all have secrets – the killer is certain to be close to home…

Book Review: The Vatican Secret (Joe Mason #1) by David Leadbeater

The first book in the new Joe Mason series, The Vatican Secret by David Leadbeater follows ex-MI5 operative Joe Mason who is thrown into the hunt for the Vatican’s most treasured possession – a book of secrets, passed down from pope to pope – when it’s stolen by an ancient clandestine society. Mason and his rag-tag crew become embroiled in a global chase to find the book before the Vatican’s deepest secret can be revealed…

Book Review: The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott

“No one expected them to go there. The question is: will any of them leave?”

Set to be released on 3rd February, The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott follows six friends who travel to a remote island north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They’ve rented The Lighthouse – a stunning, now abandoned building that was once notorious for deaths at sea. On the first evening, James goes missing, but is found the next morning, terrified, refusing to say a word about where he’s been. The party vow to put the strange night behind them, but more unexplained things begin to occur. It’s clear James knows something, but nothing will persuade him to give up the secrets of the island. Is he protecting his friends from a terrible truth, or leading them into more danger?

Book Review: Hide by Nell Pattison

“Seven friends. One killer. You can run, but you can’t hide…”

Set to be published on 9th December, Hide by Nell Pattison follows a group of seven on a nature hike – Emily, the sister who never lets her hearing loss hold her back. Lauren, the sister who always feels a step behind. Morna, who doesn’t get on with Lauren. Ben, whose feelings for Emily border on obsession. Dan, the quiet newcomer to the group. Kai, who isn’t just on the hike to enjoy the wildlife. And Alec, the one who knows all their secrets. As the sun sets, a gunshot rings out on the nature reserve. One of the seven is dead. And one of their number killed them.

Book Review: Lethal Game (DI Joel Norris #2) by Charlie Gallagher

“He knows your name. Where you live. The car you drive. If you don’t play, your family will die. If you lose, you will.”

Set to be published on 11th November, Lethal Game by Charlie Gallagher is the second book in the DI Joel Norris series which sees the DI alongside DS Lucy Rose begin to investigate the death of a young woman, murdered on a quiet country lane, they can’t imagine what lies ahead. This killer uses his victims like chess pieces in a life-sized contest, with the highest stakes imaginable. Now, Norris and Rose are pawns at the mercy of a twisted rulebook. Can they beat him at his own game before the next round begins and more innocent lives are taken?

Book Review: The Killer in the Snow (DI James Walker #2) by Alex Pine

“The first fall of snow can be fatal…”

The second book in the DI James Walker series, The Killer in the Snow by Alex Pine is set a year since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season. But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter. Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier.

Book Review: Trick or Treat (DS Imogen Grey #7) by Katerina Diamond

“A stranger. A child. A liar who will stop at nothing…”

The seventh book in Katerina Diamond‘s DS Imogen Grey series, Trick or Treat sees six-year-old Marcus taken from outside his house on Halloween. There is only one witness: a frightened teen determined to keep himself hidden. After an anonymous tip-off, Detective Imogen Grey is called out to an expensive Exeter street, caught up in the buzz of the holiday. But when the police visit Marcus’s house, his parents claim everything is fine. Imogen is sure there is more to the family than meets the eye. But just how much more, she could never have imagined.

Book Review: The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter

“They’re saying he’s a monster. And they’re saying she knew.”

Set to be released on 27th May, The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter follows Beth and Tom Hardcastle, the envy of their neighbourhood – they have the perfect marriage, the perfect house, the perfect family. When the police knock on their door one evening, Beth panics. Tom should be back from work by now. What if he’s crashed his car? She fears the worst. But the worst is beyond imagining.

Book Review: Her Last Holiday by CL Taylor

“You come to the retreat to be healed. You don’t expect to die.”

Set to be released on 29th April, Her Last Holiday by CL Taylor follows IT teacher Fran who’s sister, Jenna, disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo two years ago. Now, she’s heading to Soul Shrink Retreats’ latest event, after Tom, the now infamous man behind the company, is released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never revealed what happened to the third victim: Jenna. Determined to find out the truth, Fran finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive? Or does someone out there want Jenna’s secrets to stay hidden?

Book Review: The Shadow Man by Helen Fields

“A sleeping woman watched over by the stranger who had hidden for hours in the shadowed bay of her bedroom curtains. That’s all there was to the scene. He was a spider, patient and unmoving, poised to drop and stun his prey. There was no malice to it. Only need.”

Set to be released on 4th February, The Shadow Man by Helen Fields follows Forensic Psychologist Connie Woodwine and Detective Brodie Baarda as they try to find a kidnapper lurking the streets of Edinburgh who is collecting his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe. Elspeth, Meggy and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go. Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth. Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare. He’s all too real. And he’s watching.

Book Review: The Open House by Sam Carrington

“Everyone’s welcome. But not everyone leaves…”

Due to be released on 10th December, The Open House by Sam Carrington follows Amber Miller who, after separating from her husband, Nick, is trying to sell their family home. But despite the desirable location, the house isn’t moving. Not a single viewing so far. When their estate agent suggests an open house event, Amber agrees, even though she’s worried about their gossiping neighbours attending and snooping around their home. But Amber has more to worry about than nosy neighbours, because thirteen people enter her house that afternoon, and only twelve leave.