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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.
The Gilded Cage by Camilla Lackberg is an intriguing psychological thriller and disturbing domestic noir. Faye seems to have it all – the perfect husband, the perfect daughter, the perfect house, the perfect life... Yet she’s spent much of her life running away from her very dark past. The book shows that no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors and who people really are. The book is set in the Swedish city of Stockholm. Its beautiful vivid descriptions are perfect for audiobook – I felt as though I could see the characters and their surroundings just as much as I could hear them. The narrator has a chilling voice, which certainly adds atmosphere, and the narrative makes astute observations of people’s mannerisms and interactions, bringing the characters and story to life. The book does contain quite a bit of explicit sexual content though, so maybe check who’s listening in the background! The Gilded Cage switches between the past and present, following Faye and her husband Jack from the moment they met until the present day. This is a tale of love, friendship, betrayal and revenge, featuring secrets, lies, manipulation and shocking revelations. Faye certainly isn’t who her friends and family think she is – she’s craving love and attention from her often-distant husband and will do anything to get it. She’s very mixed up and very chilling – a character that’s difficult to warm to and one that you’ll love to hate. But is she really a psychopath and how much has she been shaped by her past? The Gilded Cage is a book that will thrill, shock and entertain its readers – and certainly not for the fainthearted!
Achingly painful and stunningly beautiful, be prepared to fall long and hard for We Begin at the End. This is a crime novel that will stay with me, and is now firmly ensconced on my list of favourite books. Duchess, full of awareness of the difficulties of life at just 13 years old, throws her family’s life into chaos when Vincent King is released from prison after 30 years. The first few sentences caught and held me, the prologue sets a shiver inducing scene. By the time the first chapter began I was already in thrall to Chris Whitaker’s writing. I felt, really felt the pain, the love, the joy, the desolation, each feeling clamouring to have its say. Duchess has stamped her way into my mind and will remain there, occasionally elbowing my attention into remembering. I adore her, she feels vibrantly alive to me. The ending felt truly perfect, and not that I would deface a book of course, but imagine ‘Highly Recommended’ stamped all over We Begin at the End. We have chosen this as a Book of the Month, Liz Pick of the Month, and a LoveReading Star Book too, because it is so completely gorgeous. I’m just sad that I don’t have the opportunity to experience it again for the very first time.
The Gilded Cage by Camilla Lackberg is an intriguing psychological thriller and disturbing domestic noir. Faye seems to have it all – the perfect husband, the perfect daughter, the perfect house, the perfect life... Yet she’s spent much of her life running away from her very dark past. The book shows that no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors and who people really are. The book is set in the Swedish city of Stockholm. Its beautiful vivid descriptions. I felt as though I could see the characters and their surroundings. The narrative makes astute observations of people’s mannerisms and interactions, bringing the characters and story to life. The book does contain quite a bit of explicit sexual content though, so maybe check who’s listening in the background! The Gilded Cage switches between the past and present, following Faye and her husband Jack from the moment they met until the present day. This is a tale of love, friendship, betrayal and revenge, featuring secrets, lies, manipulation and shocking revelations. Faye certainly isn’t who her friends and family think she is – she’s craving love and attention from her often-distant husband and will do anything to get it. She’s very mixed up and very chilling – a character that’s difficult to warm to and one that you’ll love to hate. But is she really a psychopath and how much has she been shaped by her past? The Gilded Cage is a book that will thrill, shock and entertain its readers – and certainly not for the fainthearted!
The second novel in the DI Birch series from Claire Askew arrives with a whammy of a storyline that hustles along and causes thoughts to skip all over the place. Fabulously readable, What You Pay For was a head down and read in one sitting book for me. Highly recommended.
Jack Reacher is back in a brand new white-knuckle read from Lee Child. It's a random universe, but once in a blue moon things turn out just right. In a nameless city, two rival criminal gangs are competing for control. But they hadn’t counted on Jack Reacher arriving on their patch. Reacher is trained to notice things. He’s on a Greyhound bus, watching an elderly man sleeping in his seat, with a fat envelope of cash hanging out of his pocket. Another passenger is watching too ... hoping to get rich quick. As the mugger makes his move, Reacher steps in. The old man is grateful, yet he turns down Reacher’s offer to help him home. He’s vulnerable, scared, and clearly in big, big trouble. What hold could the gangs have on the old guy? Will Reacher be in time to stop bad things happening? The odds are better with Reacher involved. That's for damn sure.
A new instalment of an explosive thriller series. $1.5 billion has gone missing although the thief dies before he is captured by infamous Hong Kong crime boss, Dragon Head, who wants his money back to build an army of hackers. Unwittingly dragged into the middle of this is Colonel Aleksandr Talanov. With those he cares about at risk, will Talanov be able to save everyone and also work out how to do the right thing? I loved this plotline and was intrigued from the start, eager to know how this impossible situation could be resolved. Dragon Head gets into the action straight away using multiple perspectives in the narrative to give you an insight into each of the characters. I enthusiastically read on as Talanov was pulled further into the complicated investigation. I understand that there are previous Aleksandr Talanov books however I have not read them. I didn’t experience any problems keeping up and I think Dragon Head can be enjoyed as a standalone. For those who want to follow Talanov from the very beginning, start off with the first book, Department Thirteen. I thought Dragon Head is a highly descriptive and fast-paced page-turner. I hope that the Epilogue is explained by future books. The chapters are easy to fly through and I ended up in a “just one more chapter loop”. Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
A blistering, gripping, and absolutely fascinating novel. Set aside plenty of quality time as I was consumed, and read it all in one heady, breathtaking go. It’s based on the true story of Nancy Wake, named by the Gestapo as The White Mouse, as she evaded their capture by slipping through check points in France during The Second World War. It is almost impossible to comprehend the wartime life of Nancy, it feels as though all of it is brilliant but astonishing fiction. Darby Kealey and Imogen Robertson have created a living, breathing, headstrong woman and I shook my head in wonder and shock at some of her escapades. She’s not perfect, she makes mistakes and at times appears somewhat gung-ho, with no apparent regard for the safety of herself or her team, yet this woman was quite simply incredible. The authors have made changes to timelines and invented some episodes which they fully explain in the Historical Notes. A major film production is underway, and I recommend reading the book just as soon as you can (before the film) as it is fabulous. Nancy Wake has entered my heart, and we just had to choose Liberation as a LoveReading Star Book.
Just outside a sleepy Highland town, a gamekeeper is found hanging lifeless from a tree. The local police investigate an apparent suicide, only to find he's been snared as efficiently as the rabbit suspended beside him. As the body count rises, the desperate hunt is on to find the murderer before any more people die. But the town doesn't give up its secrets easily, and who makes the intricate clockwork mechanisms carved from bone and wood found at each crime? Whirligig is a tartan noir like no other; an expose of the corruption pervading a small Highland community and the damage this inflicts on society's most vulnerable. What happens when those placed in positions of trust look the other way; when those charged with our protection are inadequate to the challenge; when the only justice is that served by those who have been sinned against? This debut crime novel introduces DI James Corstophine - a man still grieving for a wife lost to cancer; his small close-knit team of passed-over police and their quiet Highland town. He's up against a killer who plays him as easily as a child. For a man whose been treading water since the death of his wife, he's facing a metaphorical flood of biblical proportions as he struggles to understand why these murders are happening, and who is behind each carefully planned execution. All the time, the clock is ticking.
A breathtaking, riveting, fabulous reading experience awaits in this absolute belter of a thriller. Colter Shaw starts to investigate the case of a missing student, it appears that the kidnapper is playing a game that is about to turn deadly. The prelude sounded a klaxon, the chapter heading and dramatic content ensured I was on full alert. Each short, wonderfully written chapter added layer upon intricate layer and increased the tension. Jeffery Deaver is a master storyteller, his stories are so incredibly easy to read yet wonderfully clever. This book is full of intoxicating action, I also found myself wondering and considering as my thoughts and feelings were thoroughly provoked. Colter Shaw is someone you would want on your side, a hunter with humility and empathy. I am sooo excited that this is the start to a new series, I simply can’t wait to find out more about Shaw! ‘The Never Game’ is a book you can escape into and fully immerse yourself in until you have to come up for air - absolutely wonderful!
A former detective is starting over in a small town, but his past won't let him go in this gripping new stand-alone from the world's bestselling thriller writer. The Inn at Gloucester stands alone on the rocky New England shoreline. Its seclusion suits former Boston police detective Bill Robinson, novice owner and innkeeper. As long as the dozen residents pay their rent, Robinson doesn't ask any questions. Yet all too soon Robinson discovers that leaving the city is no escape from dangers he left behind. A new crew of deadly criminals move into the small town, bringing drugs and violence to the front door of the inn. Robinson feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. His sense of duty compels him to fight off the threat to his town. But he can't do it alone. Before time runs out, the residents of the inn will face a choice. Stand together? Or die alone.
A deadly collision puts Dirk Pitt on the trail of an ancient mystery stretching back thousands of years . . . When a rogue cargo freighter strikes an oil tanker in the Detroit River, the oil spill is the worst marine disaster in years. Dirk Pitt's NUMA team lead the clean-up operation, with the help of new green tech firm, BioRem. But when one of NUMA's best divers dies suspiciously while working on the wreck, Pitt fears there's more to BioRem than simply saving the environment. Discovering a trail of unexplained deaths which appear to be linked to BioRem's sites around the world, Pitt unravels a mystery from our past that could jeopardise mankind's future. But someone is determined to make sure Pitt and his associates don't survive to learn the truth...
Sweden’s most notorious serial killer. Jurek Walter was shot and killed years ago. The police moved on and managed to forget the darkness that had tainted their lives. Has come back from the dead. But now someone is leaving a trail of broken bodies across Sweden and the clues all point to Walter. Detective Joona Linna is convinced his worst nightmare is becoming a reality: the man who tore apart his family has returned to finish the job. He doesn’t just kill you. He buries your loved ones alive. When Joona’s partner is taken – and locked inside an underground coffin – he finds himself with an impossible choice: leave her to die or walk into the trap set by the only man he ever feared.
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!