Tag: thrillers

Maria always wanted a family. Now she’s found one.

Imogen has never been so busy – she’s juggling two jobs, has a young family and now she’s pregnant again.

Enter Maria, the perfect housekeeper. Hard working and capable, she seems like the ideal solution to Imogen’s chaotic life. But Maria isn’t at all what she seems – she has a sinister agenda of her own.

Little by little, she installs herself at the heart of Imogen’s family – doing the school run, cooking meals, caring for Imogen’s little girl.

But once she has won the family’s trust, Maria starts to do some digging. And discovers that Imogen has been keeping a terrible secret, a secret which Maria threatens to reveal unless Imogen starts to run this home the way Maria sees fit.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Imogen has no choice but to comply.

A terrible mistake. Because as the full scale of Maria’s horrifying plan becomes apparent, Imogen realises that everything she holds dear – her marriage, her family, her friends – all may fall victim to The Homemaker.

The Homemaker – the chilling psychological thriller from the best-selling author of The Visitors and What She Knew.

Goodreads Buy Link

Miranda Rijks is a writer of psychological thrillers and suspense novels. She has an eclectic background ranging from law to running a garden centre. 

She’s been writing all of her life and has a Masters in writing. A couple of years ago she decided to ditch the business plans and press releases and now she’s living the dream, writing suspense novels full time. 

She lives in Sussex, England with her Dutch husband, musician daughter and black Labrador.

This is her twentieth psychological thriller with Inkubator Books.

Facebook Instagram Twitter Website

My thoughts: this turned creepy really fast and all Imogen wanted was an extra pair of hands. Instead she got Maria – a dream of a housekeeper at first, then a steadily worsening nightmare.

Imogen runs a B & B out of her home, 2 nicely decorated bedrooms with ensuites, a freshly cooked breakfast in the morning. Allowing her to raise daughter Ava, and still offer a hotel consultancy service from home. Despite her husband telling her they don’t need the money, she wants to be independent. But the workload is increasing and she needs some help.

Hiring Maria, who can’t seem to do enough, should be great, but Maria forces her way further into their home and lives. And then Imogen’s friend Tom is killed in a hit and run, and events get worse and worse. Could Maria be behind it all?

Exploiting Imogen’s desire to find her biological parents, isolating her, harming Ava. There seems to be no extreme Maria won’t go to to get what she wants. With shocking results. Imogen needs to stop her, to save her family, but can she?

Twists and turns and shocking moments abound, and it turns the home into a terrifying place, the family might be sharing it with a killer.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

She’ll do anything to protect her family…
Libby Curtis never wanted children, until she met Nathan, a gorgeous widower with two young children. Now ten years later she can’t imagine her life without Sam and Sienna – she’d do anything for her precious kids. Anything….
So when a missing teenager is found lying on the side of the road, Libby’s first thoughts are for her own kids. Are they safe? Are they home?
What Libby doesn’t expect is for her children to be involved in the girl’s disappearance. But when she discovers an item in her stepson’s car linked to the victim Libby’s fears increase.
She can’t believe that the sweet boy she’s raised could do something like that. But if not Sam….who?
Libby must discover the truth before her family is ripped apart. But someone is determined to make sure their secrets stay hidden – even if the consequences are deadly…
Purchase

Amanda Ashby and Sally Rigby are a crime writing partnership. Both authors live in New Zealand, have been friends for eighteen years and agree about everything (except musicals). They decided to collaborate on a psychological thriller which they then entered into a competition, run by Boldwood, and which they won!

Facebook (Sally) Facebook (Amanda)
Instagram Newsletter Bookbub

My thoughts: I knew from the authors that this would be good, full of twists and turns, with characters you want to trust but aren’t sure of. And boy, does this deliver.

Libby is a paramedic and step-mum to teenage twins Sam and Sienna. Her marriage to Nathan seems solid but recently she thinks he’s been hiding things. Then a young woman is attacked, and Libby is first on the scene – the victim is a friend of her children and she can’t help but see her own kids in the same situation.

Being secretive is part of being a teenager, but Libby’s worried. Is Sam involved with what happened to Heather? Is Sienna up to something, having been spotted hanging around Heather’s house.

Then there’s Gemma, arrived in town investigating a serial killer from years ago, that might have links to Libby’s family. Can Libby keep it together and protect her family if one of them is a criminal?

The plot gets intense, twists and turns abound, I was totally hooked, utterly gripped and there were a few “no” gasps, especially towards the end as all the secrets came to light.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

My sister died. Her friends lied. And now I’m going to learn the truth…

A year ago, my twin sister Samantha left me a message: I need you.

A day later, she was dead. I always knew it was suspicious, but no one would listen.

But I’ve just found her journal, tucked into a hidden space in the window seat of our childhood bedroom. It shows who her best friends really are: the fraud. The liar. The cheat. The crush.

Now, they’re all together on a weekend away, in a beautiful wood-panelled cabin in the mountain. And I’m going too. One of them killed her, and I’m going to prove it.

But am I ready for the answers I’m seeking? Because I soon realize that my sister had dark secrets too…

And when fire breaks out on the mountain, leaving us trapped, I must decide: what will I risk to get justice for Samantha? Because finding the truth might cost me my life…

An absolutely compulsive thriller that will have your pulse racing as you flip through the pages at speed. If you like The Hunting Party, Ruth Ware and The Summer House, you’ll love The Weekend Away!

Amazon

Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children.

Website Facebook Instagram Twitter

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Miranda Smith here

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love

My thoughts: after her sister dies, Stella gives up her life of travel and photography to help her parents run the family dry cleaners, an invitation to join Samantha’s close friends on a weekend away in celebration of their friend leads to confrontation and violence, Stella knows there’s more to her twin’s death and finding a journal filled with secrets means she’s determined to get answers.

The weekend away gets really tense and scary when fire breaks out shortly after a major confrontation between the characters, talk about tension! After Jackson suffers an accident, and the others close ranks, Stella gets frightened, someone here is dangerous.

Utterly gripping, very intense and clever, loads of twists and turns. Never start a business with your friends is the message I’m taking away, especially if one of them is a psychopath!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Shortlisted for the 2020 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger award

Newly qualified offshore medic, Danny Verity, arrives on the Cuillin Alpha oil platform shortly before a storm damages the satellite system, severing the crew’s only mode of communication to the mainland.

Storm or sabotage?

Danny is forced to perform emergency surgery on an injured crewmate, whose accident he suspects was the result of sabotage. The man dies, a member of the crew disappears, and yet another is attacked.

Enter the Pied Piper, whose sinister announcements carry his threats through the entire platform.

While the North Sea rages around them, emotions and suspicions run high.

Danny knows he’s the only one who can stop the saboteur. But will the crew trust him?

With no way of calling in help and unable to risk escaping on the lifeboats, everyone aboard the oil platform is trapped. So is the killer… and Danny is determined to smoke him out.

Goodreads Buy Links

Chris Blackwater is a writer and chartered engineer from Leeds, England. His first novel Emergency Drill, book 1 in the Danny Verity, PI series, set on a North Sea oil platform, was shortlisted for the 2020  CWA Debut Dagger Award. His short stories have appeared in a variety of magazines and anthologies including contributions to the much-missed Mad Scientist Journal. 

Book two in the series, Dead Crude, is  set in Orkney. Apart from Danny Verity, it features other characters who survived Emergency Drill. He is  working on a third book in the series, called Head Hunting.

Chris began writing to entertain himself whilst working on offshore oil platforms and remote power stations. His career has taken him all over the world to unusual locations and introduced him to some remarkable characters. In recent years Chris has gradually drifted down to the south coast of England where he spends his spare time learning to sail and play the flute, though not at the same time.

Instagram Facebook Twitter Website

My thoughts: this is a fast paced, explosive (although not literally) thriller set on a North Sea oil platform. Danny is the new medic on crew – he didn’t expect it to be this eventful.

Starting with the death of another crew member, a series of sabotage events terrify the whole platform and cut them off from the mainland, unable to get help.

Danny joins forces with some of the others on the platform to unmask the Pied Piper claiming responsibility for the incidents, and stop them before anyone else gets killed. But with supplies running low and the power almost out, time is in short supply.

Danny is an interesting protagonist – a former Military Police Officer turned medic, he has skills and experience he tries to put into use during this terrifying case. He has to rely on people he doesn’t know very well, especially Gemma, who acts as his sidekick and insider, while hiding out after almost being killed.

Using his own experiences, which hopefully wasn’t as traumatic, the author sets up this new series of high octane thrillers with a bang.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

As we welcome the Rowe family to our beautiful clifftop hotel, a shadow passes over my husband’s face. In that moment I see it: my husband is hiding a terrible secret. Has he put us all in danger?

Mark and I pride ourselves on giving visitors to our hotel, high on the rugged Maine cliffs with views of the ocean, a vacation they won’t forget. But the Rowes arestrangely over-familiar when they arrive with their teenage daughter. The wife puts a hand on Mark’s forearm and her husband meets my eyes with a knowing look as I hold my little son tight. They gush that they loved their previous stay here… But I’m certain I’ve never seen them before.

Mark reassures me that the Rowes are just being friendly. We have so many visitors, maybe we forgot meeting them. When I am locked in the master bedroom for over an hour, he later soothes my panic and says it was just an accident. But I know one of the Rowes was out in the hallway listening to me cry for help. I hear one of them whispering a lullaby to my baby on his monitor. I cannot trust these people.

But as the relentless icy rain gives way to the biggest blizzard of the season and we become cut off, I realize my son and I are trapped. Mark knows more about the Rowes than he’s letting on. I’ll do anything to protect my gorgeous baby boy. But how far will I have to go, to keep him safe?

The Hotel is a totally twisty locked room thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Fans of Shalini Boland, Freida McFadden and Jeneva Rose will be glued to the pages!

Amazon

Audio: UK US

Listen to a sample here

Emily Shiner always dreamed of becoming an author. After spending years devouring stacks of thrillers, she decided to try her hand at writing them herself. Now she gets to live out her dream of writing novels and sharing her stories with people around the world. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains and loves hiking with her husband, daughter, and their two dogs.

It’s nice to meet you!

Facebook Instagram

Tweets by authoreshiner

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Emily Shiner here

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love

My thoughts: everyone in this book, except the toddler, has an agenda, you can’t trust any of them to be telling the truth. As two families with a lot of secrets get snowed in at a remote Maine B&B, things get ugly and deadly.

The Rowes book out the whole house, so there’s no other guests, nowhere to go and no way to avoid the confrontations that are coming. Cosy dinners can’t mask the tension, and once the power goes out, the danger increases.

The Rowes have something on Mark, who thinks his wife doesn’t know, but she does, and she has plans of her own, that don’t include her husband. But who is playing who? This tense cat and mouse game kept me gripped and then the twists as the book ends, shocking. You can’t run far enough.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.