Rachel Jenner, fotograf och ensamstående mamma, låter sin åttaårige son Ben springa före till en repgunga när de är ute i skogen en söndag eftermiddag. Ben är utom synhåll bara en kort, kort stund. Sen är han borta och Rachel befinner sig mitt i varje förälders värsta mardröm. Allt blir svart.
Vad var det egentligen som hände den där ödesdigra eftermiddagen? Och finns det fortfarande en chans att hitta Ben vid liv?
Utredningen tilldelas kriminalkommissarie James Clemo, som lägger ner all sin tid och kraft på det medieuppmärksammade, prestigefyllda fallet. Men i takt med att ledtrådar rinner ut i sanden, lögner kommer fram i ljuset och chockerande hemligheter avslöjas, blir läget allt mer desperat för alla inblandade. Fångad mellan den förkrossande oron över sin son, trycket från polisutredningen och den hårt dömande allmänheten, inser Rachel att det inte finns en enda person hon kan lita på.
Bränd himmel är en mästerligt konstruerad psykologisk thriller om hur ett ögonblicks ouppmärksamhet får de mest fruktansvärda konsekvenser och om hur allmänheten fäller sin obönhörliga dom.
From New York Times bestselling author Gilly Macmillan comes this original, chilling and twisty mystery about two shocking murder cases twenty years apart, and the threads that bind them.
Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby were murdered in the city of Bristol, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime, but decades later, questions still linger.
For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood best friends. The loose ends of the police investigation consume him so much that he decides to return to Bristol in search of answers. Hoping to uncover new evidence, and to encourage those who may be keeping long-buried secrets to speak up, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don’t want the case—along with old wounds—reopened so many years after the tragedy, especially Charlie’s mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands.
When a long-dead body is found in the same location the boys were left decades before, the disturbing discovery launches another murder investigation. Now Detective John Fletcher, the investigator on the original case, must reopen his dusty files and decide if the two murders are linked. With his career at risk, the clock is ticking and lives are in jeopardy…
How well do you know the people you love...?
Best friends Noah Sadler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable. But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol's Feeder Canal, Abdi can't--or won't--tell anyone what happened.
Just back from a mandatory leave following his last case, Detective Jim Clemo is now assigned to look into this unfortunate accident. But tragedy strikes and what looked like the simple case of a prank gone wrong soon ignites into a public battle. Noah is British. Abdi is a Somali refugee. And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol. Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth. Neither of them know how far they will have to go, what demons they will have to face, what pain they will have to suffer.
Because the truth hurts.
Penguin Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Nanny by Gilly MacMillan.
The tension is simmering. The lies are piling up. Who do you trust?
'With its buried secrets, shifting allegiances, and creeping sense of dread, The Nanny pulses with tension until its shocking conclusion. I absolutely loved it!' SHARI LAPENA
Seven-year-old Jocelyn loves her nanny more than her own mother.
When her nanny disappears one night, Jo never gets over the loss.
How could she vanish without saying goodbye?
Thirty years on, Jo is forced to return to her family home and confront her troubled relationship with her mother. When human remains are discovered in the grounds of the house, Jo begins to question everything.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks at the door and Jo's world is destroyed again as, one by one, she discovers her childhood memories aren't what they seemed.
What secrets was her nanny hiding - and what was she running away from? And can Jo trust what her mother tells her?
Sometimes the truth hurts so much you'd rather hear the lie.
Just like Jocelyn, readers love THE NANNY:
'a gripping read with an original premise... I very much enjoyed all the characters'
'meaty and twisty ... armchair detectives will have a lot of fun with this'
'a compelling read ... I read it with a sense of fear and dread'
'Dare you get engrossed in this book? ... this is a book that should do really well'
'A spellbinding read'
'A lot of twists and turns ... it definitely grabbed my attention from the outset'
'From the first page I wanted to know all the dark secrets this family were hiding. It's a seriously addictive read and I never knew who to trust' AMY LLOYD, author of THE INNOCENT WIFE and ONE MORE LIE
'A brilliant blend of missing person drama with some seriously spooky Gothic overtones.' GLAMOUR MAGAZINE
'Secrets, lies, jealousy and betrayal... Elegantly structured and infused with a creeping sense of dread' SARAH VAUGHAN
'The plot sucked me in and the insidious build had me turning the pages rapidly' JANE SHEMILT
'The Nanny will make you doubt everyone - including yourself. Some families are built on a bedrock of lies. This one is no exception. Clever and deliciously addictive' JANE CORRY
'I was blown away by The Nanny. Original, twisty, unpredictable and taut with its buried secrets, the old creepy house and complex relationships. I never knew who to trust and the ending shocked me. This deserves to be huge!' CLAIRE DOUGLAS
'A tense, assured and atmospheric thriller which will keep you guessing from page one right through to the shocking denouement. Brilliantly absorbing' MEL McGRATH
Zoe Maisey is a seventeen-year-old musical prodigy with a genius IQ. Three years ago, she was involved in a tragic incident that left three classmates dead. She served her time, and now her mother, Maria, is resolved to keep that devastating fact tucked far away from their new beginning, hiding the past even from her new husband and demanding Zoe do the same.
Tonight Zoe is giving a recital that Maria has been planning for months. It needs to be the performance of her life. But instead, by the end of the evening, Maria is dead.
In the aftermath, everyone-police, family, Zoe's former solicitor, and Zoe herself-tries to piece together what happened. But as Zoe knows all too well, the truth is rarely straightforward, and the closer we are to someone, the less we may see.
In her enthralling debut, Gilly Macmillan explores a mother’s search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller as gripping and skillful as The Girl on the Train and The Guilty One.
In a heartbeat, everything changes…
Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.
Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.
As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.
Where is Ben? The clock is ticking...
