Showing results by publisher "Hachette UK - Bookouture" in Psychological

Noel never should have been released from prison. My job helping ex-prisoners turn over a new leaf usually warms my heart, but as soon as I lock eyes with Noel the skin along the nape of my neck prickles. He wasn’t locked up for a petty crime; it was manslaughter. And now he’s dating my sister. Brooke says she’s never met a man who makes her feel so cherished and protected. That a single brush of his hand makes her heart flutter. A knight in shining armor who will finally lay to rest the twisted secrets in her past.

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.

I was so nervous about someone new joining our house share. After everything that happened with my parents, my friends are like my family. Our imperfect, but well-loved house is the only place where I can be myself. But when Poppy knocks on our door, blonde hair, wide eyes, and a friendly smile, we all agree she’s a perfect fit. I just wish I could shake the feeling that I’ve seen her before…

Then: Three-year-old Ally was found alone in a parking lot. She was barefoot and dressed only in a yellow sundress. In the middle of winter. What kind of person would abandon their daughter? Now: Fifteen years later and Ally has a new family. But her real father has sent her a letter. And now, Ally is missing.

Lauren has spent years running away from her home town, her childhood, and the memories of her best friend, Hannah. Until the 10th anniversary of Hannah’s death forces her to return home and to the group of friends she abandoned there. It should be a quick visit, just so Lauren can pay her respects. At home, Lauren finds Hannah’s old diary. A diary full of secrets. The terrible things Lauren did, the lies she’s told, the reason she ran away. And she receives a message: "I don’t know why you’re back, but I know why you left." Hannah’s dead, isn’t she?

Your life isn’t perfect, but you’re still happy. Your husband has stuck by you, and he’s a good dad. Your daughter, Becca, makes your heart explode with love. And then, in the time it takes to say ‘bad mother’, there’s no longer a place for you in your own family. Your right to see your child has disappeared. Life goes on in your house - family dinners, missing socks and evening baths - but you aren’t there anymore. Becca may be tucked up in bed in Rose Cottage, but she is as lost to you as if she had been snatched from under your nose.

It hits her: the same strange smell that’s been following her for weeks, and the shadow of an image slides into her mind, but is gone just as quickly. Gripped by an ice-cold fear, in that one terrible moment, she realises: it’s not a dream she’s remembering. It’s something that actually happened.

Wheeling my suitcase down the familiar, hedge-lined street, I smile at the sound of children playing in the park nearby. Suddenly, there’s a screech of car brakes. I rush over to see a bent bike wheel sticking out of the ditch, and underneath, a little boy....

Alle wollen in der der hübschen, von Bäumen gesäumten Hogarth Street wohnen. Die frisch zugezogene Familie West passt perfekt hierhin. Katherine und John wirken wie ein harmonisches und verliebtes Paar, und ihre fünfjährigen Zwillinge spielen ständig lachend in ihrem makellosen Vorgarten.

Her name is Beth. She came into my life when I needed her the most. We lead very different lives, but she’s the only person who understands me. She was the only other witness to the terrible accident on the street between our homes - the only person who saw the cracks in my perfect life before I had the chance to cover them up.

My heart pounds as I take in the headline: ‘Missing girl believed kidnapped’. Underneath is a photo of my beautiful daughter Mia, her gap-toothed grin unmistakable. But Mia is safe beside me, snuggled up on the sofa. Who has taken a photo of her, and put it on the news? And what message are they trying to send me…? I run to the window of our little house–the cosy, homely place my husband Mark and I bought so Mia could have everything I didn’t as a child–and pull the curtains tightly shut, hiding us from sight as terror courses through my body.

In the pretty, privileged college town of Milford, New Hampshire, everyone is friendly, and everything is safe. And on this cold autumn day, as red and yellow leaves begin to fall from the trees, and everyone wraps up for the first time, it would be easy to believe nothing bad could ever happen here. Until a screech of tires is heard, a thud, a child’s scream. The crash that sees Jenna’s six-year-old daughter, Amy Rose, being hit by a car driven by 17-year-old Maddie.

Jo is my best friend. From high school to adulthood, we’ve gone through everything together. Even when I made a foolish mistake and betrayed her in the worst way, she forgave me. She’s godmother to my son, and our lives are intertwined. We want the best for each other, always. I hope she approves of my new boyfriend, Noah. How could she not? Noah is kind, attentive, and loves me for who I am. But when I introduce them over dinner one evening, Jo doesn’t look happy. She’s always been protective of me, and as Noah clutches my hand, I force her reaction to the back of my mind.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh, leafy air, Abigail promises herself: Today she is going to make her parents accept her future husband Pete’s family. She’s planned three days away from it all in a beautiful, forested nature reserve. Out here, with almost no one else around, their families will have nowhere to run. They might have clashed from the moment they met—with their stark differences in backgrounds and personalities—but now, Abigail thinks, they will have to get along.

Holly is getting married, but not before a celebration weekend with her closest friends. After a night of arguments, a body is found floating in the swimming pool of their secluded cottage. Holly must face up to the truth—one of her bridesmaids is a killer, but which one?

Dani and her husband Tate’s life together is almost perfect. But Dani is haunted by guilt for causing a terrible car accident that left her unable to have children. She can’t remember why she was driving so fast that day or where she was going. Her therapist says she should try to move on.

It’s a normal afternoon when I walk out the patio doors of our kitchen to check on Mia, my stepdaughter, who is swimming in our backyard pool. But she’s gone. My heart stops when I see the back gate is open, her pink, fluffy towel lying folded on a chair. I was just feet away. Why didn’t I hear her scream? Who took our little girl?

A year ago, someone broke into our home. He stood outside our bedroom, with our children asleep down the corridor, and knocked on the door. But the worst moment came later, when I found out who had nearly destroyed my family, and why. Now my husband has booked us a surprise vacation. In a beautiful cabin on the shore we will rest, talk, recover. But I can’t relax. When I drive to the store, or stroll down the beach, I am always looking over my shoulder, my heart racing. Because no matter how hard my husband tries to pretend, we both know it’s not over.

To the world, Mia Thornton is invisible. People would never guess that she found the will to dig her way out of a locked shed when she was just six years old. That she never saw her mother again. Now, all Mia longs for is a normal life. But when she runs into a group of colleagues one evening, she discovers that, once again, she’s been excluded. Stung at the rejection, she pockets the keys of one of the women in a petty act of revenge. Celeste is fearless, pretty, popular - everything Mia wishes she could be. The next day, Celeste is reported missing.

When Sophie’s life falls apart, she accepts an invitation from a childhood friend, Caroline, to visit her family’s beautiful beach house, miles from the nearest town. The silence is broken only by the rhythmic crash of the waves against the jagged black rocks below. But when Sophie arrives, she finds her friend much changed. Caroline - who used to be so warm and confident - is secretive and on-edge, spending long, unexplained hours away from her family. And then there’s Caroline’s little daughter Lucy - who stopped speaking soon after they moved in.