I’m the author of 26 twisty psychological thrillers, many of which are Amazon bestsellers. I’ve sold over three-quarters of a million books and particularly enjoy writing about dysfunctional families and unpleasant neighbours! Several of my novels touch upon this theme: The Visitors, The New Neighbour, and Violets Are Blue, to name just three. And yes, I have drawn upon some difficult experiences I’ve had with neighbours... I’m a full-time author and I’m also an avid reader of thrillers and enjoy nothing more than reading a book with an ending that makes me gasp!
I love a book where the idyllic life people see from the outside is NOT accurate.
This story followed one family as their life spiraled out of control and I was enthralled with the shifting perspectives and the way the story peeled back the layers of this seemingly perfect family. It’s dramatic, messy, and full of tension.
While not all of the twists surprised me, I still found it a gripping, entertaining read. I certainly wouldn’t want to be living next to these neighbours!
The wife: Eve is desperate for her life to be perfect. Living in a beautiful house, with gorgeous views of the countryside, is all she's ever wanted. And she'll do whatever it takes to hold onto her dream life.
The son: Joe is a model student; he never puts a foot wrong. He knows his mother wouldn't tolerate it. Until the night of his sixteenth birthday party, when things go horribly wrong and someone in the house is left fighting for their life. As the blue flashing lights of the police…
When I finally accepted that I’m analytical, it was surprisingly liberating. I think that’s why I enjoy trying to figure out a story and its characters and what will happen next. Because of this, it’s delightful when a story genuinely surprises me. I especially appreciate magical elements that defy reality. I’m also a motivational speaker and filmmaker, two powerful story-telling mediums, so I love books that inspire me in some way, challenge my perspectives, and leave me thinking about them for days. When a book is so well written that I can turn off my brain and lose myself in the story, it’s a fabulous escape for me.
I love an intriguing premise and an unexpected twist. This book promised both, and it really delivered!
I think we are all curious about what goes on behind the closed doors of our neighbors, though the truth is usually incredibly mundane…especially when compared to this story! From the first page to the last, I couldn’t put down this psychological thriller.
Because I love a tale of great suspense, I find myself growing impatient whenever a story starts to peter out without any satisfying resolution. That was not the case with this book. It delivered great, well-developed characters and an unexpected ending. Bravo!
‘OMG!!! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!… The most heart-racing book I’ve read in a long time, if not ever!!! It had me hook, line and sinker from the first page and I could not put it down!!!… Clear your day because it is truly unputdownable… What an absolute twist!!!… If you read one book in your life, make sure it is this!!!!’ Bookworm86, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sometimes, the most perfect families are hiding the most terrible secrets. How well do you know the people next door…?
Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty, tree-lined avenue with its white houses. The new…
Dr. Power is promoted to a chair of forensic psychiatry at Allminster University and selected by the Vice Chancellor for a key task which stokes the jealousy of the Deans, and he is plunged into a precariously dangerous situation when there is a series of deaths and the deputy Vice…
Thrillers with female leads and complex relationships are crammed into my bookshelves. As an only child whose school was an hour’s bus ride away with many friends living further away than that, I would have killed to have had a tight group of friends to hang out with. Well, maybe I wouldn’t have gone that far but it has left me fascinated by groups of friends who’ve known each other since the first day of school, ones who have each other’s backs through thick and thin. And I’m even more interested in what happens when they turn on each other.
Shiver is one of the best books I read last year. Essentially it’s a locked room mystery set in the world of professional snowboarding. Milla gets an invitation to reunite with friends from her snowboarding days, but they’ve not been together since their friend, Saskia, went missing. And then, as is the way with edge-of-your-seat thrillers, they can’t get off the mountain, the storm’s closing in and someone is watching them. The truth about Saskia will come out one way or another. Milla and Saskia had been competitors, rivals, and then friends. It’s a complicated friendship and a fascinating look at professional sport and women at the top of their game, what they will sacrifice, and what they’ll do to win.
In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm.
When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she's expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. It might have been a decade since she saw them last, but she's never forgotten the bond they forged on this very mountain during a winter spent fiercely training for an elite snowboarding competition.
As an author, it’s all about character for me. I like to find characters doing the unexpected, finding strength when they thought all was lost, and fighting back when it seems hopeless. I write these kinds of characters, and often it’s a woman in the lead role where they face additional challenges and obstacles in their path—solely because of their gender. Working for 29 years in some of the toughest prisons in the country, I worked with strong, kickass women. I can't but help for some of their influence to bleed out on the page. I know you’ll enjoy these titles as much as I did.
Domestic suspense is having a moment. These aren’t your “damsel in distress” stories where a woman waits for someone to save her. I like women who bounce back hard after a setback, and this book is exactly that.
Without spoilers, when Stella’s husband goes missing after a bombing, she can’t accept the fact she has to start over. I love the fact she wants answers, and when she doesn't get them, she strikes out on her own.
Kimberly Belle creates strong female lead characters in her books, and if you’re like me, they keep you turning the pages. Kimberly is always one of my must-buy authors—The Paris Widow is no exception.
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Marriage Lie, don't miss this gripping thriller from Kimberly Belle, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Shari Lapena.
A DREAM HOLIDAY
Stella and her husband Adam are on the trip of a lifetime, a three-week tour across Europe. But then the unthinkable happens. On the last day of their holiday, a Parisian cafe explodes with Adam inside.
A SHOCKING ACCUSATION
What initially looks like a gas leak turns personal when the gendarmerie identify Adam as the target of the explosion, and they confront Stella with some startling allegations about her beloved…
My administrative career covered a mix of legal and hospital work which provided a wealth of real-life scenarios to fuel my own convoluted story ideas. Thrilled to take early retirement and pursue a writing career, I have since published five romantic suspense novels. I strive to produce quality stories on par with the countless amazing romantic suspense authors I have enjoyed since my teen years. Storyline prompts surround us. A dark bunkie, screaming neighbor, or even an oddly shaped bag of garbage can trigger my suspicion. My favorite spot to walk is the peaceful shores of Lake Huron, where my twisted imagination soars, and my best stories come to life.
Young love and late-night high school parties along a riverbank create a classic setting for antics, which seem innocent enough until the dangerous bad boy, star quarterback, son of the town’s most powerful family takes over.
This explicit novel leaves the romance at the start and takes a dark twist with sibling rivalry, hidden family secrets, revenge, and triggers galore. It will have you reading long into the night to see how this party ends and trust me, it will leave a lasting impression.
"Alexandrea Weis is one of the most talented authors around, and in a short time her novels are destined to stand along with authors such as Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jeffery Deaver." ~The Strand Magazine "A psychological portrait akin to Lord of the Flies." ~Midwest Book Review SOME TRUTHS ARE BETTER KEPT SECRET. SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER OFF DEAD. Along the banks of the Bogue Falaya River, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy of oaks, blocked from prying eyes, the teens of St. Benedict High gather here on Fridays. The rest of the…
I'm an award-winning journalist, a frequent New York Times contributor (and former business columnist for The Times), and the author of, most recently, Duped: Double Lives, False Identities and the Con Man I Almost Married. Duped was turned into the #1 Spotify-original podcast, Impostors: The Commander, which I hosted and executive produced. I was also a producer/reporter on The NY Times Presents documentary film To Live and Die in Alabama, about the execution of Nathaniel Woods. As of press time, my greatest accomplishments have been summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro (with a broken wrist!), learning to play the cello at 35, and naming Karamel Sutra for Ben and Jerry’s.
I read this novel when it came out in 2014, before I even got my own book deal. I was fascinated by the premise: A marriage counselor who had no idea that her own marriage was a sham, and her husband a psychopath. It hit home for sure. I prefer the book to The Undoing, the recent film on which it was based.
"A great psychological thriller...I couldn't put it down". (Daisy Goodwin). It is a New York Times bestseller. Grace Sachs, a happily married therapist with a young son, thinks she knows everything about women, men and marriage. She is about to publish a book called You Should Have Known, based on her pet theory: women don't value their intuition about what men are really like, leading to serious trouble later on. But how well does Grace know her own husband? She is about to find out, and in the place of what she thought she knew, there will be a violent…
Ophelia, a professor of Dante, is stricken when she discovers that her husband Andy has been cheating on her with a winsome colleague. What follows is Ophelia’s figurative descent into hell as she obsessively tracks her subjects, performs surveillance in her beat-up Volvo, and moves into the property next door…
This is the creepiest book I have read in years. It crawled under my skin and stayed there.
A brisk, fast-moving read about a normal young woman who is inhabited in both a subtle and sinister way by a demon. This is a true page-turner. I read it on a weekend, and it spooked me in a way a book has not done in a long time.
It also packs a sudden punch of sadness at the end—truly a scary, well-done novel. Read if you dare!
'A dark, seductive cocktail of a thriller, with a splash of black humour and a twist of horror.' Francine Toon, author of Pine
There was no reason to assume anything out of the ordinary was going on. Strange noises in the apartment. Impulsive behaviour. Intense dreams. It wasn't like everything went wrong all at once. Shoplifting. Fighting. Blackouts. There must be a reasonable explanation for all this.
'It will scare the pants off you. It is a perfect horror novel.' Paul Tremblay 'A short, sharp shocker . . . Relentlessly creepy.' Sunday Times 'Deeply scary.' The Times 'Terrifying.' Daily Mail…
Sarah
Vaughan's novels cover current issues impacting women and dissect them to expose the
truth. I was pulled into this story, following the main character, Emma Webster, a member of parliament, as her life unravels. She's trying to do her
best as a mum and a professional woman but makes terrible choices. Is she
telling the truth about the death of a tabloid journalist she knows?
Emma's
daughter is bullied at school, and when she gets involved, she makes things a
hundred times worse. Meanwhile, she's on the receiving end of trolling and threats
sent to women MPs. Her marriage has broken down, so she has a risky relationship
that almost destroys her. The lack of support from some other women is
chilling.
The courtroom drama, where barristers, experts, and witnesses have their own agendas, is convincing. I listened to Reputation as an audiobook while
recovering from minor surgery, and…
From the bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal, now a major Netflix series... Reputation: it takes a lifetime to build and just one moment to destroy. 'Sarah Vaughan has done it again. Superb' Shari Lapena
Emma Webster is a respectable MP.
Emma Webster is a devoted mother.
Emma Webster is innocent of the murder of a tabloid journalist.
Emma Webster is a liar.
#Reputation: The story you tell about yourself. And the lies others choose to believe...
'Uncannily timely... As dark and gripping as you'd expect from the author of Anatomy of a Scandal' Observer
Life is an adventure! Part of the adventure is exploring this fascinating world – from the Mississippi River of Mark Twain to the Mesopotamian valley in my book, Searching for Eden. But an even more exciting adventure is the exploration of self these books are about. I continue to be challenged by that adventure. I have explored my “dark side” during times of divorce and financial crisis, and I have explored my brighter, giving side as I have served as a Christian minister throughout the U.S. and Haiti, an AmeriCorps volunteer teaching ESL classes, and as a teacher of chess to young people. I continue to enjoy this exciting adventure!
What I especially liked about Devolutionis that some spy novels portray the protagonist as a larger-than-life superhero who knows more than everyone else and is never beset by personal uncertainty and struggle. John Casey, however, has created a character in Michael Dolan who has been wounded by a past trauma, and shows his humanity. I found myself identifying with him. I have never been able to identify with seemingly invulnerable superheroes. John Wayne or 007, I am not, nor will I ever be. Still, in Devolution, Michael Dolan is a man who is committed to the truth and fighting for what is right. Confronting truths about himself helps him to do that powerfully.
Michael Dolan is a stoic perfectionist and former special operations pilot working a staff job at the Pentagon when he is approached by the CIA with an improbable request, to help prevent impending terrorist attacks in Europe. As his deep-cover role in OPERATION EXCISE evolves, Dolan finds that of all the demons he must prevail against, the most terrible are from within...
Fans of Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity will appreciate the internecine struggle and cryptic complexity of the protagonist, Michael Dolan, as will fans of Tom Clancy's Patriot Games who savor a page-turner about an unlikely spy thrust into…
When twins Cassie and Ana return to their childhood home in rural Connecticut to grieve their mother's death, they find an old manuscript written by their mom’s longtime friend. It’s a murder mystery, with their mother a key character.
Is it fiction, or confession? The manuscript reveals terrible secrets that…
I've been writing for 20 years, and the more I learn about the craft, the less interested I am in big, bombastic thrillers about the end of the world. Now I'm more impressed by books that do a lot with a little. Some talented writers can spin a gripping story out of nothing more than two people in a room (Stephen King's Misery is one of my all-time faves). The domestic noir genre lends itself to this kind of minimalism. Sure, serial killers are scary, but not as scary as the thought that your spouse might not be who they seem.
Casey wakes up in the hospital to discover that she cannot move, or see, or speak. She infers from the conversation around her that she's been hit by a car. Soon, she realizes the supposed "accident" was, in fact, an attempt on her life. Soon after that, she starts to wonder if her husband was involved. But she is utterly defenseless and unable to warn anybody about what she thinks she knows.
This is a masterclass in suspense. This book breaks every rule I thought I knew about giving characters agency and taking them on a journey—imagine an unputdownable thriller in which the main character doesn't even get out of bed for 300 pages. It should be impossible. But Joy Fielding just cracks her knuckles and says, "Hold my gin."
Beautiful, happily married and the owner of a successful interior design business, Casey Marshall couldn't be more content with her life. Until a car slams into her at almost fifty miles an hour, breaking nearly every bone in her body, and plunging her into a coma. Lying in her hospital bed, Casey realizes that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything. She quickly discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free…
