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.
When I met Richard, I fell for him instantly. He was able to give me everything I had always wanted, the dream house, security and above all, love like I’d never known. We lived a quiet life in the middle of nowhere; we didn’t need anyone else.
So, when the empty house next door is sold, I am wary. Will our neighbours invade the perfect life Richard has built for us? As soon as I meet Juliette and Danny, I am reassured. Overwhelmed by grief after the death of their young daughter, they have moved in search of a quiet life and a chance to start again. Over dinner one evening, we hit it off instantly and I know they are just the neighbours we need.
All is well until Juliette spots a young girl in our garden. Richard convinces her that she is seeing things, that it’s the grief taking over. But Juliette won’t let it go. She is sure she saw a child. She believes that Richard is threatening her. She starts to think that I’m not safe.
I need to convince Juliette that she’s imagining it. I need to keep Richard happy. If I am to protect everything I have built for myself, she must never find out the truth.
That my perfect life is built on the deadliest lie.
Can her own dark secret set her free?
Day one. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I slowly start to recognise my surroundings: the small hole in the door and a narrow window allowing only a small chink of light. The jewellery given to me by my loving husband is gone and I am wearing someone else’s clothes. The room is exactly as the first woman described. And the second. And the third… It’s then I know, I am the fifth woman to be taken.
Just days before, I had interviewed the third victim for the local paper. Her story was the same as those before her: an ordinary woman, locked away for ten days then released with no explanation, and nothing – nothing she could think of – to link her to the others. Throughout the ordeal, her abductor stayed eerily silent.
I tell myself I’ll be safe; that I can brave the loneliness and survive just like the others. But as the days pass, I can’t help thinking of the fourth victim who is still missing.
And then I hear the voice coming through the door. ‘You said everything would be fine. But it wasn’t was it?’ It is then that I realise. If I am to make it out alive, I need to revisit a dark secret of my own that I have spent a lifetime trying to forget.
Working for Parker-Brown PR will be the perfect job for Esther. Along with a false name, fake references and qualifications, it’s just the new start she desires. But she also has a plan for revenge.
Owning a successful PR company, Tamara enjoys her champagne lifestyle to the full. At least, that’s the image she displays to the world. As well as being lonely, she's running out of money. A promising new member of staff could bring the injection of fresh blood needed to win the contract that will turn things around.
Sensing Tamara's vulnerability, Esther uses their acquaintance as a way to get close to someone who hurt her in the past. But when she takes things too far, mistakes begin to catch up with her and someone ends up dead.
And that’s not what she had planned at all.
'Mel Sherratt is on outstanding form with this pacy, page-turning thriller! It had all the thrills and chills, with just the right amount of gritty realism that sets her writing apart from the crowd.' LJ Ross.
Raw, sexually charged, and darkly claustrophobic, it grabs you by the back of the neck and never lets you go.
Following the death of her husband and unborn child, Charley Belington sells the family home and bravely starts life over again. On moving into a new flat, she is befriended by her landlady, Ella, who seems like the perfect friend and confidante.
But, unbeknown to Charley, Ella is fighting her own dark and dirty demons as the fallout from a horrific childhood sends her spiralling down into madness—and unspeakable obsessions.
As Ella’s mind splinters, her increasingly bizarre attentions make Charley uneasy. But with every step Charley tries to take to distance herself, Ella moves in a tightening lockstep with her, closer and closer and closer…
'Ella is a terrifying villain–outwardly ordinary and utterly unhinged. Watching Over You is the book you’ll wish you could read from behind a cushion.’ Elizabeth Haynes.