Book Review: The Close (Maeve Kerrigan #10) by Jane Casey

“The neighbours are always watching…”

Set to be published on 2nd March, The Close, the tenth book in the Maeve Kerrigan series by Jane Casey, is set on Jellicoe Close which, at first glance, seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together. But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.

It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before. And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.

Book Review: All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

“Today is day 364. 364 days since my last night of sleep. 364 days since my son, Mason, was taken from his bed.”

Set to be published on 2nd February, All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham follows Isabelle Drake whose life changed forever one year ago when her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her — literally. She hasn’t slept in a year.

Isabelle’s entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she can’t go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster—but his interest in Isabelle’s past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Mason’s disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust… including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads.

BLOG TOUR: The Cruise by Catherine Cooper

“A glamorous ship. A mysterious cast of passengers. And a New Year’s Eve party that goes horribly wrong…”

Published earlier this month, The Cruise by Catherine Cooper is set on New Year’s Eve at a luxurious party on a large cruise ship in the Caribbean, when the ship’s dancer, Lola, disappears. The ship is searched and the coastguard is called, but there is no sign of her, either dead or alive.

Lola was popular on the ship but secretive about her background, and as the mystery around her deepens, each passenger becomes a suspect. Who was she arguing with the night she vanished? Why did she come aboard the cruise in the first place? What was she running from?

Book Review: The Locked Attic by BP Walter

“There’s something in my neighbour’s attic.”

Set to be released on 24th November, The Locked Attic by BP Walter follows recently widowed Stephanie who lost both her husband and son in a car accident. Now, she knows there’s more to the story, as her neighbour stands by window, watching her. Her son is dead, by her neighbour is not, and Stephanie is determined to find out the truth.

Book Review: The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke

Set to be published on 13th October, The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke is set in the midst of the woods where a house called Lichen Hall stands. This place is shrouded in folklore – old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who was not quite a child. Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.

Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something. Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in the grounds – and together they begin to unpick the secrets of this place.

As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knew – and risk what she holds most dear.

BOOK TOUR: The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone

“A remote village.
A deadly secret.
An outsider who knows the truth…”

Published earlier this month, The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone follows Maggie Mackay who has been haunted her entire life. No matter what she does, she can’t shake the sense that something is wrong with her. And maybe something is…

When she was five years old, without proof, Maggie announced that someone in the remote village of Blairmore in the Outer Hebrides had murdered a local man, sparking a media storm. Now, Maggie is determined to discover what really happened and what the villagers are hiding. But everyone has secrets, and some are deadly. As she gets closer to the horrifying truth, Maggie’s own life is in danger…

Book Review: Girl, Forgotten (Andrea Oliver #2) by Karin Slaughter

“A girl with a secret… An unsolved murder…
One final chance to uncover a killer…”

Set to be released on 23rd June and the second book in Karin Slaughter‘s Andrea Oliver series, Girl, Forgotten sees Andrea Oliver, now a US Marshal, arrive in Longbill Beach to investigate a cold case with links to her own past. Forty years ago, Emily Vaughn was killed on her prom night, but her murder remains a mystery. Her friends closed ranks, her wealthy family retreated inwards, and the small town moved on. But all that’s about to change. The killer is still out there, and Andrea must discover the truth before she gets silenced, too.

Book Review: One Of The Girls by Lucy Clarke

“ONE IS A LIAR.
ONE IS A STRANGER.
ONE IS A CHEATER.
WHO IS A KILLER?”

Set to be released on 26th May, One Of The Girls by Lucy Clarke follows a group of six friends who arrive on a beautiful Greek island, dreaming of sun-drenched beaches and blood orange sunsets, ready to lose themselves in the wild freedom of a weekend away with friends. On the first night, they swam under a blanket of stars. On the second night, the games began on our clifftop terrace. On the third night, the idyll cracked. And by the final night, there was a body on the rocks below…

Book Review: The Patient by Jane Shemilt

“She is his doctor. He will be her downfall.”

Set to be released on 28th April, The Patient by Jane Shemilt follows 49-year-old Rachel, a GP, a wife and a mother. When she welcomes Luc, a new patient, into her exam room, the attraction is instant. Having failed a patient with depression and anxiety recently, she gives him the drugs he needs. In doing so, risks everything. And when a secret is exposed, they’re both in the firing line. Not all patients are telling the truth.

Book Review: The Echo Man by Sam Holland

“The murders have begun… But the killer is just getting started… And he’s going to shock the world…”

Set to be released on 14th April, The Echo Man by Sam Holland sees a string of murders take place across England. Each is different in method, but each is horrifying and brutal. Jess Ambrose is plunged into the investigation when her house is set ablaze. With her husband dead and the police pointing at her, she runs. Her only hope is disgraced detective Nate Griffin, who is convinced Jess is innocent. Soon, Jess and Griffin discover the unthinkable; this murderer is copying the world’s most notorious serial killers. And now, imitation isn’t enough. The killer dubbed The Echo Man is ready to create his own masterpiece, and it will be more terrifying than anything that has come before.

Book Review: Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

“In the dead of night, madness lies…”

Set to be released on 31st March, Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough follows Emma Averell who worries that her crippling insomnia is a sign that she’s slowly going insane, just like the mother she’s worked so hard to leave in her past.

Emma loves her life — her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband. But it wasn’t always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and “normal,” but Emma can only remember her as one thing – a monster. And that monster emerged right around their mother’s fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now.

Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then she’s unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?

Book Review: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

“Only you – and the killer – hold the key…”

Set to be published on 3rd March, The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley is set in No.12 Rue des Amants, a beautiful old apartment block, far from the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower and the bustling banks of the Seine. Here, n nothing goes unseen. And everyone has a story to unlock. Meet the watchful concierge, the scorned lover, the prying journalist, the naïve student, and the unwanted guest. Something terrible happened here last night. A mystery lies behind the door of apartment three. Only you – and the killer – hold the key…

BOOK TOUR: A Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham

“She thought the murders had stopped. She was wrong…”

Published on 3rd February, A Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham follows Chloe Davis who, when she was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath. Now, 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren’t really there, or is she about to unmask a killer for the second time in her life?

BLOG TOUR: The Cult by Abby Davies

“A hidden community… A shocking abduction… A twisting case…”

Set to be published on 28th October, The Cult by Abby Davies is set across two timelines. The first is thirty years ago, in the English countryside, where a commune was set up. Led by Uncle Saviour, it was supposed to be a place of love, peace and harmony. But what started out as paradise turned into hell. Now, two young children have vanished from their home in the middle of the night. Their parents are frantic, the police are at a loss. DI Ottoline is leading the search – her only clue is a mask found in the woods. Could the key lie in events that took place decades ago, when a dream of a new way of life became something far more sinister?

Book Review: The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

“Upon the cliffs of a remote Scottish island stands a lighthouse. Mysterious and terrible events have happened on this island. It started with a witch hunt. Now, centuries later, islanders are vanishing without explanation. Coincidence? Or curse?”

Set to be published on 30th September, The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke is set on a remote Scottish island where the Stay family move into a 100-year-old lighthouse where single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural. The locals warn her about wildlings, but Liv doesn’t believe in witches or dark omens. But within months, Liv will only have one of her three daughters, Luna, left, after two of her sisters go missing. Twenty years later, Luna is drawn back to the place her family vanished when one of her sisters is found – only she’s the same age as when she disappeared. Now, it’s up to Luna to find out the truth. But what really happened at the lighthouse all those years ago?

Book Review: Freckles by Cecelia Ahern

“Five people. Five stars. Freckle to freckle. Star to star.”

Published on 2nd September, Freckles by Cecelia Ahern follows Allegra Bird, nicknamed Freckles, who is told by a stranger that: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” These words turn her highly ordered life upside down. In her current life as a parking warden, she has left her eccentric father and unconventional childhood behind for a bold new life in the city. But a single encounter leads her to ask the question she’s been avoiding for so long: who are the people who made her the way she is? And who are the five people who can shape and determine her future?

Book Review: The Chateau by Catherine Cooper

“A glamorous chateau, a couple on the brink, a secret that is bound to come out…”

Set to be published on 31st August, The Chateau by Catherine Cooper follows married couple Aura and Nick who have just moved to France and have bought a chateau to make a fresh start. Because they don’t talk about what happened in England. Their kids need them to stay together – whatever it costs. The ex-pat community is welcoming, but when someone is murdered at a lavish party, Aura and Nick don’t know who to trust. Someone knows exactly why they really came to the chateau. And someone is going to give them what they deserve.

Book Review: False Witness by Karin Slaughter

“You thought no one saw you. You were wrong.”

Set to be released on 24th June, False Witness by Karin Slaughter follows defence attorney Leigh Collier who has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised – her life is just as unremarkable as she’d always hoped it would be. But Leigh’s ordinary life masks a childhood that was far from average; a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence.

Then, a case lands on her desk – defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It’s the highest-profile case she’s ever been given – a case that could transform her career–if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realises that it’s no coincidence that he’s chosen her as his attorney. She knows him. And he knows her. More to the point, he knows what happened twenty years ago. And unless they stop him, he’s going to tear their lives apart.

Book Review: The Killing Kind by Jane Casey

“He tells you you’re special. He tells you he wants to protect you. But can you believe him?”

Set to be released on 27th May, The Killing Kind by Jane Casey follows barrister Ingrid Lewis who is used to dealing with tricky clients. But no one has ever come close to John Webster. After Ingrid defended Webster against a stalking charge, he then turned on her – following her, ruining her relationship, even destroying her home. Now, Ingrid believes she has finally escaped his clutches. But when one of her colleagues is run down on a busy London road, Ingrid is sure she was the intended victim. And then Webster shows up at her door…

Book Review: Murder: The Biography by Kate Morgan

“Whether in fact or fiction, murder can be all things to all people. At a basic level, it is a tale of good versus evil, where the roles of victim and villain are clearly laid out before us. More often than not, there is an element of mystery at its heart, a puzzle to be solved.”

Set to be released on 29th April, Murder: The Biography by Kate Morgan is a non-fiction book that follows the stories and the people involved in the history of murder. From a cannibalized cabin boy whose death at the hands of his hungry crewmates led the Victorian courts to outlaw a defence of necessity to murder, an incompetent GP whose violent disregard for his patient changed the law on manslaughter, to the last woman hanged in England in the 1950s who played a crucial role in changes to the law around provocation in murder cases, and a deranged Scottish aristocrat whose fratricidal frenzy paved the way for the defence of diminished responsibility. These, and many more, are the people – victims, killers, lawyers and judges, who unwittingly shaped the history of that most grisly and storied of laws.