“Police, what is your emergency?” “They’re in the house and they’re going to kill me…” “My name is Marco and I am flawed. I know that. And I was fine with it until it cost me my family. Now, I’ll do anything to get them back – even see a therapist. Which is a joke, because I am a therapist. At least I was before I was fired. Now, with nowhere else to go, I’ve had to move out of the city and into the house I inherited, here, in the idyllic fishing village of Porthcove, but only for as long as it takes to sell it. Because something isn’t right about this place. You see, I need the money, so I’ve started seeing some of the locals, you know, as patients, but I tell you, there’s something really disturbing about charming neighbours sharing chilling secrets. And it isn’t just that. It’s the other things. Strange, inexplicable things. It started with odd smells, creepy sounds, and then the intruders… oh God, the intruders. Now, a child has gone missing, the police are asking que...

  Autumn Sanderson goes by Lark now. No one in her new life can know who she was. No one from her old life can know where she is now.  Drowning in debt, Lark is desperate to land a job. When she finds herself at an interview for a mysterious company offering her an exorbitant salary, she jumps at the chance. But things aren’t quite what they seem... She soon learns of the company’s peculiar hiring process. Locked in a luxury cabin with five strangers who go only by their code names, Lark begins to question exactly what it is she signed up for. The company, riddled with secrets and led by a cryptic boss known only as Mr. X, has strange rules and even stranger challenges for their candidates. After each day’s competition, the candidates gather around the dinner table to eat, drink, and spill their darkest secrets.When Lark sees something she shouldn’t, she begins to ask questions, but soon gets a warning to stop. It’s obvious she’s in danger, but why? What does the company want?...

She offered them a place to stay. They wanted so much more. Hannah’s life is almost perfect. She’s a full-time mother to two young children and married to successful cardiologist Daniel.  The only thing missing is a project of her own. So she has poured heart and soul into converting their stone barn into a beautiful holiday rental.   Things take a dark turn when visitors Mike and Nadia come to stay. They are noisy, dirty and disrespectful. Hannah is incensed by their behaviour, worried they may wreck her lovingly restored barn.  But she gradually realises that property damage is the least of her worries. Nadia and Mike aren’t here just for a holiday - they have a deeper, darker purpose, one that threatens to destroy Hannah’s entire life.   Spiralling into a nightmare that grows worse with each passing day, Hannah has to find the courage to fight back. But Mike and Nadia are clever and ruthless and they know something that Hannah doesn’t - a shocking secret...

A SECRET BEACH. SEVEN STRANGERS. ONE KILLER… It should be like any other holiday. Beautiful beaches. Golden sunsets. Nothing for miles. Instead there’s a group of perfect strangers. All alone on an island – with secrets they’d kill to keep… SHORT THOUGHTS I needed this. After a couple of disappointing books in a row, I needed a cracker and I'm glad to say Lucy Clarke has delivered one. Ive read a few 'stranded on a island" books which all seemed to lack something (and I was kinda burned with the 'genre' with Lost......) but wow. Written in two timelines which are remarkably easy to follow, the book grabs you and DEMANDS you read more to find out what happens...and that twist?  Didnt see that coming at all!  At first it was unbelievable but then the book explains it all and it makes total sense. Buy it upon release day. Oh - and one more thing - thoroughly deserved Advanced copy provided by HarperCollins UK in exchange for a fair, balanced and unbiased review.

  Hannah knows the cage intimately. Small, the size of a shopping centre parking space. A bed, a basin, a table and chair. A hatch and metal drawer through which to exchange food and other items. Then there's him. Always there on the edges of her vision, no matter how hard she tries to block him out. Every day, the same thoughts run through Hannah's mind: What if he speaks to me? What if he hurts me? What if he gets out? SHORT THOUGHTS Set in a UK where instead of prisoners going to jail, they are placed  in the custody of the victim who has to become their jailor.  Electric fences surround the house to prevent escape with codes not available to the victim/jailer.  How would you feel if the man accused of murdering your husband/wife had to live in a cage in your kitchen and you were responsible for their care? I was very unsure about this book and nearly DNF near the start as I could not get into it but I am so glad I did.  One of the most original and rewarding...

Ten years ago, the small town of Bates, South Carolina was changed forever with the appearance of a slip of paper. Six names. Six people set to die. Six months later, they were gone. But the list maker was far from done with their town. Like clockwork, new lists come out every six months. To keep their names off of them, the citizens go to extraordinary lengths and keep terrifying secrets. Someone is controlling their town. But who? And, most importantly, why? When Connor and Jordyn Atwood move to Bates, they see first hand how far their new neighbors are willing to go to protect themselves. Will the Atwoods succumb to their newfound surroundings? Or will they fight to protect the town they now call their home?  With everything at stake and no one to trust, the Atwoods quickly learn the list maker has one important rule: do what you're told...or find your name on The List. Just imagine being told every six months the names of six children who are going to die soon...  How woul...

  A snowstorm, a highway, a lonely hotel.... Devastated by the deaths of her parents and disillusioned with life, Caroline Daynes is in America trying to connect with their memory. Travelling to her mother's hometown of Williamsfield in Pennsylvania, she is caught in a snowstorm and forced to stop at The Egress hotel - somewhere she'd planned to visit as her parents honeymooned there. From the moment she sets foot inside the lobby and meets the surly receptionist, she realizes this is a hotel like no other. Charming and unique, it seems lost in time with a whole cast of compelling characters sheltering behind closed doors. As the storm deepens, so does the mystery of The Egress. Who are these people she's stranded with, what secrets do they hide? And, in a situation that's becoming increasingly nightmarish, is it possible to find solace? SHORT THOUGHTS (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON GOODREADS JANUARY 2020) Wow. Every so often a book takes you completely by surprise. I'll ...

  'Mummy, she’s gone…’  Gemma Ballantine is getting ready for work one morning when her eldest child comes running down the stairs, saying the words every mother dreads.  The front door is open. And her six-year-old daughter has disappeared. Frantic with fear, Gemma starts a nail-biting search for her little girl. After what feels like forever, her mother-in-law Diane finds Katie wandering lost a few streets away. Relieved to have her youngest child back in her arms, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, Gemma thinks the nightmare is over.  But then her perfect family starts to fall apart. And she realises it’s only just beginning… SHORT THOUGHTS (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON GOODREADS OCTOBER 2018) Shalini Boland does it again! My first thoughts on seeing the synopsis was "oh no, not ANOTHER missing child psychological thriller" and I must admit that if it wasn't for the authors reputation, I probably would have skipped over it. I am so glad i didn't. This story i...

  Eden, Eli, Marwan, and Ilanka barely know each other beyond having a class or two together. But when they are all summoned via messaging app to an empty classroom after school, they find a small cube sitting on a desk. Its sides light up with rules for them: 'Do not tell anyone about the device. Never leave the device unattended.' And then, 'Take me with you... or else.' At first they think it's some kind of prank or a social experiment orchestrated by the school administration. Still, they follow its instructions until the newly-formed group starts to splinter. Nobody has time for these games - their lives are complicated enough. But the device seems increasingly invested in the private details of their lives. And disobeying its rules has scary - even life-threatening--consequences... SHORT THOUGHTS (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON GOODREADS JULY 2020) I must admit I am surprised how much I enjoyed this. I liked the sound of the blurb but then saw it was a young adult bo...