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Find out moreAll engrossing, pure escapist, nail-biting anxiety, mind bending terror and psychological twists. We’re not sure why it’s so appealing. Good though, isn’t it! You might also like to browse our Crime and Mystery category.
With a wonderful premise and on point storytelling this is a truly fabulous and thrilling read. The manager of a set of holiday cottages has a hidden camera in the bedroom of a guest. The guest is murdered and the camera destroyed. What next? Hit rewind! I adore Catherine Ryan Howard’s novels, she plays with time and creates plot lines that deceive, outwit and impress. The chilling prologue to Rewind, so matter of fact yet descriptive, really hammers home. It feels like the end, it is the end for someone, yet of course it is just the beginning of the tale. As information is revealed and more characters introduced, even more questions are created. As I travelled backwards and forwards in time, the skill of the writing ensured I stayed fully involved and a part of the storyline. Rewind, so different, clever and powerful, is a sure-fire winner of a read for me, I absolutely loved it!
Compelling crime fiction with an ambitious female lead and a ruthless rich family at its fast-paced heart. The dirty secrets of a powerful wealthy family, the wife who drowned on the family’s estate, and the bloodhound instincts of an aspiring investigative journalist - such are the ingredients of this meaty crime novel. Two years ago Elizabeth Sinclair drowned in a lake at Conmere Resort Centre in the Lake District. Now travel writer Steph is visiting the centre for work. With aspirations to become an investigative journalist, Steph is intrigued by a Twitter message claiming that Elizabeth’s death was no accident. Though warned-off by her former Detective Chief Inspector mother who investigated the case, Steph thinks this “could be her chance to change the trajectory of her career” and so she plunges in. The unfussy style is threaded with tension as Steph uncovers a case that bristles with bribery, embittered brothers, scandalous cover-ups, adultery, corruption and violence, with unexpected truths exposed through two intriguing timeframes.
A hard-hitting punch of a crime thriller is waiting to be discovered, but also within the pages lies a provocative and emotionally stunning read too. This debut was the winner of the 2018 Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award, and believe me, I can completely understand why. Lelle has been driving the silver road looking for his missing daughter for three years, his endless search consumes his very being. Within the first page I knew I had fallen in love with the writing, which is exquisitely translated. The words connected with my very being, I could feel the words, look around me and see my surroundings. Stina Jackson balances the dark and light quite beautifully, while tense and foreboding, there is also a silvery thread of hope to be found that thrums gently in the background. The cover of The Silver Road beckons, it leads to a read that emotionally connects, opens feelings and allows access to thoughts. Oh, and that ending… the ending sent goosebumps shivering down my arms. A highly recommended read indeed and one of my picks of the month.
Oomph, my stomach went into free-fall as I read this clever, on-point, and absolutely thrilling tale. Manhattan’s elevators have been taken over, as the death toll rises and Manhattan comes to a stop, a journalist and two New York Detectives investigate. The prologue sets a chilling scene, I knew what was coming, it was peek through fingers time! Linwood Barclay adds new characters to the boiling pot without missing a beat. Layers of intrigue coupled with heart pounding action ensured I was on high alert at all times. As the tale slid forward, chimes and occasionally towering bells of realisation rang out. I adore Linwood Barclay’s books, I always throw myself in with abandon and know I can just enjoy a stunningly good read. Elevator Pitch is a flaming humdinger of a novel, it’s one of those, where at the end and I thought back, I slapped my hand to my head and exclaimed “of course!”. Dynamic and because it is just so readable, I’ve added Elevator Pitch as one of my Liz Robinson picks of the month.
MURDER Former SAS soldier David Shelley has plans for a safer and more stable existence, settling down to civilian life in London. But the shocking death of a young woman Shelley once helped protect puts those plans on hold. BETRAYAL The police rule the death a suicide but the grieving parents can't accept their beloved Emma would take her own life. They need to find out what really happened, and they turn to their former bodyguard, Shelley, for help. REVENGE When they discover that Emma had fallen into a dark and seedy world of drugs and online pornography, the father's need for retribution will take them into a war from which there may be no escape.
All civilisations think they are invulnerable. History warns us none is. 1468. A young priest, Christopher Fairfax, arrives in a remote Exmoor village to conduct the funeral of his predecessor. The land around is strewn with ancient artefacts - coins, fragments of glass, human bones - which the old parson used to collect. Did his obsession with the past lead to his death? As Fairfax is drawn more deeply into the isolated community, everything he believes - about himself, his faith and the history of his world - is tested to destruction.
The Lost Girls is a dark and twisty supernatural thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. Edinburgh student Rose MacLeod has been losing time for as long as she can remember. Days and weeks disappear, leaving terrifying gaps in her memory. Now she is seeing horrifying visions - waking nightmares of violence and death. Around the world young women like her are being killed, and Rose has a ringside seat. Mal Fergusson was raised to hunt demons across Scotland. With his father dead and his brother in a coma, he no longer believes in the grand battle between good and evil. Instead, he scrapes a living as an investigator and hit man for the supernatural Mafia of Edinburgh. Tensions are rising in Scotland's capital, and Mal must capture Rose to keep his demonic boss sweet - but is he really willing to harm an innocent to do so?
The chilling new psychological thriller from the author of the top ten bestseller The Book of You, a Richard and Judy pick. Perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and Fiona Barton. Someone is watching your every move... Holly Lawrence always wanted to be a spy, but the experience proved more dangerous than anything she imagined. Now, Holly lives in hiding under an assumed name. She avoids relationships and trusts no one. But Holly's new life begins to unravel when she encounters a young mother and her two-year-old child...a child who reminds her of a past she has tried hard to forget. This time, someone is spying on her, and Holly will need to decide how far she is willing to go to survive....
Daisy and Simon's marriage is great, isn't it? After years together, the arrival of longed-for daughter Millie sealed everything in place. A happy little family of three. And so what if Simon drinks a bit too much sometimes - Daisy's used to it, she knows he's letting off steam. Until one night at a party things spiral horribly out of control. And that happy little family of three will never be the same again. In Lies Lies Lies Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks explores the darkest corners of a relationship in freefall in a mesmerising tale of marriage and secrets.
Witty, profound and illuminating, this will surely see its acclaimed author receive many more accolades. Our setting is Lagos, 1976, where a new military regime has been in power for six months. Amidst a politically tense atmosphere - a countercoup is anticipated – Nigerian greetings-card shop owner Remi meets Frances, an American bead collector. The two women strike up a friendship of sorts, sharing views on the likes of motherhood, politics, their cultural and personal differences. Remi’s husband is deeply suspicious of Frances, and suspects she’s a spy, a view Remi thinks is absurd until the bloody coup comes, and she worries she was wrong to trust Frances. This immersive novel serves up many insights into Lagos life and politics, and Remi is a riveting narrator – an intelligent, intriguing woman who carries herself with composure and makes many shrewd observations about the world, from male power (“Perhaps that was why peace was unattainable. The inability of men to define what it meant to win or lose”), to the brutally simplistic approach of British colonialists (“Where were the considerations for intricacies like how our cultures and religions overlapped?”), and American self-preservation (“Everyone knew the United States picked and chose which countries to meddle with”). I came away feeling enlightened, and entertained by Remi’s wit.
Startling. Clever. Thrilling. Different. This book snatched my attention from the moment I entered, and the ending siren-called to me throughout. When new neighbour Roux joins the local book group, she suggests a game that quickly turns Amy’s life upside down. Amy has a secret, and Roux threatens to reveal all, unless Amy plays by her rules. The first chapter is oh so clever, my thoughts twisted, scattered, re-grouped. I was desperate to know where this was heading, and what was coming. I am not often tempted to peek at the ending, as I love the build, the tension, the reveal. I admit that I almost had to sit on my hands to stop myself from looking! Joshilyn Jackson has created two main characters who entered my mind, knocked down thoughts, and created turbulent feelings. I bristled with indignation, winced and flinched as I read. Never Have I Ever isn’t an easy, obliging read, instead it is wonderfully shocking, completely addictive, and thoroughly entertaining. I’ve chosen the fabulous Never Have I Ever as one of my picks of the month.
In a large house in London's fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up. In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note. They've been dead for several days. Who has been looking after the baby? And where did they go? Two entangled families. A house with the darkest of secrets. A compulsive new thriller from Lisa Jewell.
Picture it. You’re going on holiday. The bags are packed and the family is ready, you’re at the gate, the plane is boarding, you’ve decided to start your brand new, especially purchased thriller right away. Suddenly, you’re immersed into the corridors of intrigue, conspiracy, murder, espionage and you don’t know who to trust. The plane has left without you. So has the family. You haven’t even noticed. At least you have a good book … and the whole house to yourself for a week!
This section is crammed with dangerously compelling adventures that will have your nails bitten and nervous system tested to the full. From Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson and James Patterson to Fred Vargas, Bernard Minier and C.J Sansom, there’s enough here to keep you ‘head-down and out-of-it’ for years. There’s certainly time to read one more before the family gets back from Torremolinos … and that’s where we come in!