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

I’ve never felt welcome in my husband Dominic’s family home. His parents make it clear I’m a poor comparison to his perfect first wife, Carla. But we’re here for Christmas, so it’s important to pretend everything is fine. Until Dominic’s mother bustles into our bedroom. Smiling thinly, she blindsides me: ‘You won’t mind, will you. Carla is coming for the holidays. She’s still one of the family to us, and she can’t get home because of the storm.’ My eyes widen—did she and Carla plan this on purpose? I know Dominic won’t say a thing. He never stands up to his parents.

When 17-year-old Savannah Devenish vanishes from her family’s remote vacation cabin in Minnesota, FBI Agent Tori Hunter races along treacherous icy roads to be first on the scene. Savannah’s parents are frantic with worry for their beautiful, carefree girl. Haunted by memories of her own missing sister, Tori vows to do whatever it takes to reunite this family. When the police uncover that Savannah’s father, Jacob, was having an affair, they suspect his involvement, but Tori is convinced his despair is genuine.

It is wrapped beautifully, and inside is a notebook, its pages empty. There is no message. But its sender has a story to tell. About a secret. About the little girl you once were. About everything you know about your family. The gifts keep arriving. But when tragedy strikes - leaving your beloved only daughter fighting for her life - the person who has been sending the gifts will have no choice but to come forward. And to finally tell the truth....

From behind the curtains, Sarah spotted the man coming out of the house, followed by the woman. It would be strange seeing people in the property. She wondered how much it would change their lives. For now, she would bide her time and hopefully get to know them better. She needed to gain their trust.

It’s hard meeting your ex after so much time apart. You remember the tears and accusations, the desperate look on his face as he punched the wall, but you try not to show it. You smile politely, even while your heart beats faster. You watch as he looks down into the stroller, at the beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed baby kicking his little legs in the sunshine, whose innocent smile lights up your world. You see his face change. You know what he’s thinking. The next day he calls. His voice is shaking. He wants the truth. Is it his child?

When nine-year-old Charlotte Standish goes missing from her street in the small town of Rydale Falls, it sparks a media frenzy. Detective Morgan Brookes leads a frantic hunt for the girl, but little Charlie seems to have vanished into thin air. Chasing up a lead at Charlie’s school, Morgan is chilled to learn that this isn’t the first time a child has gone missing on this street. Another girl disappeared 15 years ago, and Morgan is the only one who thinks the cases could be related. But in the moment that she takes her eye off Charlie’s case, another child goes missing.

An eight-year-old girl, Chelsea Compton, is missing in Pine Valley, California, and for Detective Katie Scott it’s a cruel reminder of the friend who disappeared from summer camp 20 years ago. Unable to shake the memories, Katie vows she won’t rest until she discovers what happened to Chelsea. But as Katie starts to investigate, the case reveals itself to be much bigger and more shocking than she feared. Hidden deep in the forest she unearths a makeshift cemetery: a row of graves, each with a brightly colored teddy bear.

My best friend warned me that it was too soon to marry Edward, a widower with an adorable but troubled little boy. She said we were moving too fast. But all I could see was a kind, loving man, struggling with grief, who needed my help. Yet as storm clouds gather above our small wedding ceremony, my hopes and dreams fall apart. None of my husband’s family turns up to support us. Instead of a honeymoon, we have a quiet night in. My wedding bouquet is placed on his first wife’s grave. And then my new stepson tells me he’s sure his mother is still alive.

When she was just 12 years old, Mackenzie Price came home to find her father bleeding to death on the kitchen floor. She will never forget that night, nor what her mother asked her to do.... Twenty years later, Detective "Mack" Price is back in Lakemore, despite vowing never to return. Determined to atone for the sins of the past, she is unstoppable in her quest for justice.

When the remains of two bodies are found in an open grave along a desolate highway in Stillwater, Minnesota, Special Agent Nikki Hunt knows exactly who they are. The bright blue jacket lying on the frozen earth belongs to Kellan Rhodes, the missing boy she’s desperately been trying to find for the last two days. The other body is his mother Dana, who had been Nikki’s lead suspect.

One hot summer night, 15-year-old Olivia comes home late from a party she was strictly forbidden from going to, and she and her mother, Hannah, start arguing. Soon Olivia speaks the words that every parent has heard from their teenage child.

Eve Mallow is delighted when she’s asked to cater Founders’ Day at Southwood School. It’s the best–and most secretive–school for miles around, and Eve can’t wait to see what it’s really like. But when she arrives, the atmosphere is far from scholarly. Natalie Somerson, ex-pupil and professional gossip, is the guest of honor, but nobody seems to want her there...especially when her speech stirs up an old scandal about a secret love affair. So why was she invited?

Beth Haldane is worried. First, her dear friend and fellow single mother Jen suddenly gets married to a new man who seems too perfect to be true, then she moves out of leafy Dulwich Village—and now seems to have disappeared without a trace. Beth knows Jen would never leave her little daughter to handle playground predicaments or her sneaky stepmother alone. Heading to Jen’s new home for answers, Beth’s knocks on the front door go unanswered. Police are convinced the lovebirds are on an extended honeymoon, but Beth suspects Jen’s new husband is up to no good.

Heavy rain pours on the small town of Denton causing the riverbanks to break and the body of a young girl to float quietly to the surface. With no crime scene to examine, the odds are against Detective Josie Quinn and her team. Mercifully, the victim’s body is perfectly preserved, right down to the baseball patch on the jacket she is wearing. Josie can’t hide her devastation - her dead ex-husband, Ray, owned one just like it.

Agent Tori Hunter is heartbroken at the murders of Cam and Gracie, two college students dating for just a few months, shot dead outside his aunt’s home. With witnesses in this once-peaceful neighborhood saying they saw a black car speed away, Tori is desperately tracking it down when a nine-year-old girl is found sitting alone on a park bench, refusing to speak. No one in this small community knows who she is...is she somehow linked to the murders?

As Detective Dan Lockhart is called to a wealthy London street to investigate Natasha’s death, he’s startled by the similarity to a previous case. Noticing the cable-tie restraints and the tiny scratches on Natasha’s wedding finger, Dan already knows what he will find if he looks in her mouth - the metal ball which choked her to death. Months earlier, Kim Hardy was found in the same position in a run-down hotel across the city - an identical silver ball in her throat. But Kim’s murderer was caught and sent to prison - did they arrest the wrong man?

As the tears roll down my cheeks, I’m shaking as I stare at the faded newspaper photograph of my beloved father. In one moment, my world has been turned upside down. I’m already exhausted by grief, I’m not thinking straight, shattered by his death. But finding this old photograph could change everything I thought I knew about who I am… A shiver runs through me as the idea that my life is not what it seems begins to take hold. My younger sisters are so different to me, so calm and perfect. I’ve never fitted into this family; I’ve never belonged.

Spring, 1935. Newlywed Kitty Underhay has been enlisted by her old nemesis Mrs. Craven to help organize the Miss Dartmouth Jubilee pageant at the Dolphin Hotel. Being bossed around by her arch enemy is not quite what Kitty had in mind for the start of her married life, but she’s excited to launch the glamorous show. Sparkling smiles are quickly replaced by audible gasps, however, when one of the girls goes missing during the interval....

The five of us have been friends since we were children. We think we know every scar, every secret, every story. But by the third night, one of us will be dead. How far will we go to keep our secrets hidden? And when does being close to someone start becoming dangerous?

Daniel is everything I ever dreamed of. A handsome, successful doctor who truly swept me off my feet. I can’t wait to get back from our honeymoon and begin our new lives together. Except, rather than taking us back to our flat, Daniel announces we are moving to a new house in a different city. And when we arrive, the house is fully furnished, with plates in the cupboard, pictures on the walls and new clothes in my closet. It’s like someone already lives here. It seems a bit strange. But I know Daniel is just trying to make sure our new life is perfect, right from the start.