Showing results by publisher "Hachette UK - Bookouture" in Thriller & Suspense

Tucking her little boy Ollie into bed one night, Sarah notices his beloved teddy bear, which she bought him when he was born, is missing and in its place is a new toy given to him by her ex-husband’s new girlfriend, Laura. When she asks Ollie about it, he begins to shift uncomfortably before whispering, "Laura told me a big secret, and she said I can never tell you." Soon, Ollie is asking to spend more time with his dad and Laura, and shrinking away from Sarah. Then, when she calls to him in the garden one day, Ollie doesn’t answer back.

I haven’t lived here long. The house is small and a little run-down, but each piece of faded floral wallpaper I peel away feels like unwrapping the second chance I never thought I’d get. I’m finally free to wear what I want, and I don’t flinch when I accidently burn dinner. My new home is warm, and the kids are safe inside. Anywhere would feel idyllic after the nightmare marriage I’ve just escaped.

Looking out at our beautiful estate, the home I thought we’d raise our future children in, I watch helplessly as my husband Paul takes his mistress’s arm and leads her inside. My heart twists as they laugh together, without a care in the world. If he and Marianne think they can start over without me, they’re gravely mistaken. I worked myself to the bone for him, keeping our home pristine, supporting his art, using funds from my business to keep us afloat. Tears fill my eyes as I remember all the lonely nights I spent waiting for him to come home.

One evening as the sun is setting, Amelia Madison’s car slides into the sea off Mason’s Pier. Her body is never found. Two years later, Elena Langdon meets Nicholas Madison. She is grieving the loss of her mother, he is grieving for his wife. Together, they can help each other. Now, Elena is living with Nicholas. But Elena doesn’t really know him. She doesn’t know what he is capable of. And she doesn’t know what really happened to Amelia. Until the day she discovers the torn page of a letter and the words she reads chill her to the bone.

Her chest tightens, her heart speeding up. The kitchen is chaos. She steps on something hard, and looks down. Toy dinosaurs are scattered everywhere. But her son is nowhere–her baby boy is gone.

The bright yellow walls of the maternity ward are plastered with images of perfect families. Stroking my bump, I can’t stop tears from falling down my cheeks. I know I made the best choice for my baby girl, but surrounded by happy-looking couples, I’m desperately aware I’m about to give birth all alone. But when my midwife, Jackie, introduces herself, I relax. She holds my trembling hand and reassures me with her warmth. I know she’s here to help.

Mein Mann ist tot. Eine Fremde steht vor meiner Tür. Sie sagt, mein Haus gehört ihr ... Nur wenige Tage nach dem plötzlichen Tod meines Mannes klingelt es an der Tür. Vor mir steht eine fremde Frau. Sie hat einen kleinen Jungen auf dem Arm und trägt genau das gleiche Diamantenarmband am Handgelenk wie ich. Als ich sie hereinbitte, bemerke ich, wie beim Anblick unseres geräumigem, liebevoll eingerichteten Zuhauses ihre Augen groß werden. Sie wirft einen Blick auf die silbergerahmten Familienfotos und meine kleine Tochter, die sich hinter mir versteckt. Sie sieht mich mit ernsten blauen Augen an

Kelly is taking her twin daughters to their first day of school, ushering them into the classroom, her heart breaking to think they might not need her any more, when she turns around and sees that her newborn baby is gone. As a desperate search ensues, baby Noah is quickly found - parked in front of a different classroom. But when Kelly reaches forward to comfort him, she finds something tucked beside his blanket. A locket that belonged to her sister Freya. A locket Kelly hasn’t seen since the day Freya died.

Detective Katie Scott has never seen two people more in love than her aunt and uncle as they danced together on the night of their wedding anniversary party. But the next morning, when Katie finds her aunt’s body sprawled across the floor, that perfect image is shattered forever. All fingers point to Katie’s uncle, Pine Valley’s sheriff and protector. Grieving, but certain of her uncle’s innocence, Katie is consigned to the cold case division after she’s discovered searching the house for clues. Does someone want to keep her as far away from this investigation as possible?

When camp counselor Carolyn Sable’s body is found floating in a lake beside Eagle Ridge Summer Camp, Detective Katie Scott must dig deep to stay focused. As a child, Katie spent many happy weeks at that camp toasting marshmallows on the fire with her best friend, Jenny...until the day Jenny disappeared. The loss will always haunt Katie, but Carolyn’s inconsolable family need answers. Searching the area, the devastating discovery of two more bodies sends the case into a tailspin.

Cassie Durham’s friends reported her missing when she didn’t return home from a local bar a few days ago. Now, Cassie sits in darkness, her last breath taken days before. Beth notices the rouged cheeks and bright blue eyeshadow are nothing like the pictures she’s seen of Cassie alive. Did someone add the heavy makeup and pose her like this after death?

Hidden away in an isolated cabin on the edge of her farm, seven-year-old Aisling Connolly shivers as the cold night air whistles through her thin jacket. It’s been two days since the men came, since her mammy told her to run like she’d never run before, to not look back. She hasn’t seen her parents since. And she’s terrified. But when Aisling is finally found by the police, she knows instinctively she can trust Detective Tessa Burns.

‘I’ve come to report a murder,’ the little girl declares, lips trembling, her head only just high enough to see over the police counter. ‘Please, you have to help me.’ When tearful young Ellie O’Farrell walks into a rural Irish police station to report she’s dreamed a murder that hasn’t happened yet, she is gently, but firmly, sent on her way. But the very next night a beloved local grandfather is found dead, lethal knife wounds showing a struggle exactly as she’d described. How did innocent Ellie know what was going to happen?

The old camping bus pulls up outside my house in the middle of the night. Rain is pounding against the windows, thunder rattling, but I’d recognize the sound of the engine anywhere. Confusion races through me. My daughter Willow and her best friend must be back early from their trip. I jump up and rush to meet them. But when I pull open the door, it’s not Willow on the doorstep. It’s a man, holding her keys. Blood roars in my ears as he explains he was hired anonymously to drive it back. My heart is pounding. I don’t understand. Where is my daughter?

When Maggie sees the beautiful Venetian blinds moving in the Caldwells' front window, she freezes. Her favorite neighbors Cady and Josh are away, so who is in their house? The pretty young woman who answers the door tells a convincing story. She's Sarah. The house-sitter. Just here for a month. An old friend of Cady's who needed a place to stay. She's pleasant and warm, and Maggie wanders back to her house thinking she might have made a new friend. Yet she can't help but wonder why Cady never mentioned Sarah.

Charley Willis was 13 years old when her parents were killed in their family home and she was found hiding in a cupboard upstairs. Fifteen years later, Charley is marrying Seth Chambers. It should be the happiest day of their lives, a chance for Charley to put her past behind her, but just hours after the ceremony, she is missing. No one saw her leave. No one knows where she is. One thing is for certain…Seth is about to discover he doesn’t really know the woman he just married. And his nightmare is only just beginning.

When human remains are discovered behind a dumpster in Woodbridge, Virginia, Detective Amanda Steele rushes to the scene. Her heart drops when she arrives and is hit by the unmistakable stench of gasoline. Soon, her worst fear is confirmed: the victim was burned alive. With only an engraved gold wedding band surviving the blaze, Amanda knows it could be days before they have a confirmed ID. But when her partner Detective Trent Stenson arrives, he pales at the sight of the ring, recognizing it as belonging to his Aunt Gertrude’s husband, Don.

Rushing towards the tall trees in the distance, Detective Billie Ann Wilde can already hear the sobs of those gathered at the scene of the murder of a young child. And when she spots the little boy’s pale skin and beautiful blond ringlets, her heart catches in her chest. It’s Billie’s own nephew, Charlie, whose life has been taken. Billie is immediately told she can’t work on Charlie’s case, but nothing will stop her finding justice for her brother, Peter. Seeing Peter for the first time in years, he looks nothing like the happy-go-lucky teen she grew up with.

When a beautiful English-speaking young woman named Anya is recruited to be a Russian spy working with the Nazi party, her first thought is that it means she can escape a terrifying situation at home. But when she finds herself sent to work as a land girl in a beautiful corner of England and begins to make friends—ones she knows she may have to betray—she fears she’s made a terrible mistake. The only person she can turn to is her fellow informer, Nikolai, and she finds herself impossibly drawn to his quiet intensity. But being together increases the risk to them both.

When Becca’s first love shows up on her social media feed, she can’t help but smile fondly. Once upon a time Connor was the love of her life, and though it was over 10 years ago, he’s always held a place in her heart. Then he sends her a message. He sounds happy - still kind and funny, still living across the world in Australia. But he wants to know everything about her life now. How can Becca tell him the truth? About her workaholic husband, her stressful job, and the challenges of caring for her elderly father and her three-year-old daughter, Mia?