Book Review: The Sanctuary by Emma Haughton

“Very few people get to stay here. And some don’t get to leave …”

Set to be published on 24th November, The Sanctuary by Emma Haughton follows Zoey who doesn’t remember anything about last night. But she knows something went badly wrong. For she is no longer in New York. She’s woken up in the desert, in a white building she doesn’t recognise, and she’s alone.

When she discovers she’s been admitted to The Sanctuary, a discreet, mysterious, isolated refuge from normal life, to avoid jail, she is stunned. She knows she has secrets, troubles, but she thought she had everything under control. But as she spends more time with other residents, she begins to open up about what she’s running from. Until she realises that not everyone in The Sanctuary has her best interests at heart, and someone might even be a killer . . .

Book Review: The Prisoner by BA Paris

“Secrets. Suspicion. Survival.”

Set to be published on 3rd November, The Prisoner by BA Paris follows Amelie who has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a career for herself in the magazine industry, she meets, and agrees to marry, Ned Hawthorne. Now, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is or why has she been taken. But what she does know is that she feels safer here, imprisoned, than she ever felt with her husband, Ned.

Book Review: The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager

“Be careful what you watch for…”

Set to be published on 7th July, The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager follows Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, who has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake.

One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other, the sooner it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage isn’t as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. What she doesn’t realize is that there’s more to the story than meets the eye, and that shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces.

Book Review: First Born by Will Dean

“THE LAST THING A TWIN EXPECTS IS TO BE ALONE…”

Set to be released on 14th April, First Born by Will Dean follows Molly who lives a quiet, contained life in London. Naturally risk-averse, she gains comfort from security and structure. Her identical twin Katie is her exact opposite: gregarious and spontaneous. They used to be inseparable, until Katie moved to New York a year ago. Molly still speaks to her daily without fail. But when Molly learns that Katie has died suddenly in New York, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. Katie is part of her DNA. As terrifying as it is, she must go there and find out what happened. As she tracks her twin’s last movements, cracks begin to emerge. Nothing is what it seems. And a web of deceit is closing around her.

Book Review: Her Perfect Twin by Sarah Bonner

“HER PERFECT TWIN. YOUR NEW OBSESSION.”

Set to be released on 20th January, Her Perfect Twin by Sarah Bonner follows identical twin sisters Megan and Leah, who haven’t spoken for nearly five years. So when Megan discovers photographs of her estranged identical twin sister on her husband’s phone, she wants answers. Leah already has everything Megan has ever wanted: fame, fortune, freedom to do what she wants. And when Megan confronts Leah, an argument turns to murder. The only way Megan can get away with killing her twin is to become her. But then lockdown hits. How can she continue living two lives? And what happens if someone else knows her secret too?

Book Review: Survive The Night by Riley Sager

“In order to win, Charlie must do only one thing… survive the night.”

Set to be released on 23rd December, Survive The Night by Riley Sager follows Charlie Jordan as she is being driven across the country by a serial killer. Maybe. Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Charlie met by the college rideshare board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news – the Campus Killer, who’s tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again.

Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Charlie begins to notice discrepancies in Josh’s story. As she begins to plan her escape from the man she is becoming certain is the killer, she starts to suspect that she could very well end up as his next victim. A game of cat and mouse is about to play out. In order to win, Charlie must do only one thing… survive the night.

READALONG: Do No Harm by Jack Jordan

“I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES. WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?”

Set to be released in May 2022, Do No Harm by Jack Jordan follows surgeon Anna Jones whose son has been kidnapped. To save his life, she has been given a choice. Kill a patient on the operating table, or never see him again.

READALONG: The Dark by Emma Haughton

“ONE DEAD BODY. TWELVE SUSPECTS. TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR DARKNESS.”

The Dark by Emma Haughton is set in the most inhospitable environment – cut off from the rest of the world – where a killer is on the loose. A&E doctor Kate North has been knocked out of her orbit by a personal tragedy. So when she’s offered the chance to be an emergency replacement at the UN research station in Antarctica, she jumps at the chance. The move seems an ideal solution for Kate: no one knows about her past; no one is checking up on her. But when she finds out that the previous doctor, Jean-Luc, died in a tragic accident while out on the ice, she begins to suspect that Jean-Luc’s death wasn’t accidental at all. And the more questions she asks, the more dangerous it becomes for them all…

Book Review: The Last Guests by J. P. Pomare

“Ever get the feeling that you’re being watched?”

Set to be published on 24th August, The Last Guests by J. P. Pomare follows married couple Lina and Cain who don’t make it out to their vacation home on gorgeous Lake Tarawera as often as they’d like. So when Cain suggests that they rent the property out on weekends, Lina reluctantly agrees. What could go wrong? At first, Lina is amazed at how quickly guests line up to spend a weekend – and at how much they’re willing to pay. But both Lina and Cain have been keeping secrets. When a visit takes a deadly turn, Lina becomes convinced that someone out there knows something they shouldn’t.

Book Review: The Stranding by Kate Sawyer

“Her world fell to pieces. From the bones, she built a new life.”

Set to be released on 24th June, The Stranding by Kate Sawyer is set in the before and after of a world is changed beyond recognition. Before, Ruth lives in the heart of the city. Working to the rhythm of her vivid and complicated life, and stuck in a claustrophobic relationship. So she chooses to leave behind the failing relationship, but also her beloved friends and family, and travels to the other side of the world in pursuit of her dream life working with whales in New Zealand. But when she arrives at her destination, she finds instead that the world, and life, she left behind no longer exists. Far from home and with no real hope of survival, she finds herself climbing into the mouth of a beached whale alongside a stranger. When she emerges, it is to a landscape that bears no relation to the world they knew before.

Book Review: The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

“The way I see it, you mostly stop loving a person the same way you stop respecting them. It can happen all at once, if something enormous and terrible falls over the two of you. But for the most part, it happens by inches, in a thousand tiny moments of contempt that unravel the image you had of the person you thought you knew.”

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey is set to be released on 18th February and follows Evelyn Caldwell who should be enjoying an evening in her honour, celebrating her award-winning scientific research. But Evelyn has things on her mind. Things like Nathan, her husband, who has left her for a younger, better woman. A woman who shouldn’t exist. A woman who is now pregnant, but shouldn’t be. A woman who is strikingly familiar. Too familiar to be a coincidence.