The Staffymum's Book Nook: Extracts

Published: 24th February 2025

DESCRIPTION:

‘Is that you, darling?’ A second of silence before her son replies. ‘It wasn’t me’. Her heart breaks at the pain in his voice – he sounds like a little boy again. Thirty minutes later, the police knock at the door. ‘Your son’s girlfriend is dead.’ And Dan has disappeared.

It’s almost midnight when Jennifer sees her son’s name flash up on her phone. Away at university, she’s normally so happy when he calls. But something is terribly wrong…

Jennifer is devastated for poor Ella’s family – losing their precious girl, so young. She knows her sweet son, just twenty years old, would never, ever harm anyone. But the police are looking for him. And if Dan is innocent, why has he run?

When Jennifer hears how Ella died, her blood runs cold. Because Jennifer’s best friend was murdered twenty years ago the same way. In the same place. Jennifer hasn’t been back since… but now, she has no choice.

She would do anything for her son. Any mother would. But how far will she have to go – what secrets in her own past will she have to confront – to prove Dan is innocent?

And what if the truth is worse than she ever imagined?

An absolutely gripping thriller you won’t be able to put down! Fans of John Marrs, The Perfect Marriage and T.M. Logan will be totally addicted.

EXTRACT:

Daniel was calling.

Jennifer’s son was twenty-one, of the generation brought up on texts, WhatsApps, and probably some other messaging thing his mother had never heard of. He didn’t really do phone calls, let alone when it was almost eleven at night.

Late-night calls could only mean something was wrong. Something bad.

Jennifer slid the green button sideways to answer, then held the phone to her ear.

‘Dan?’

Silence at first. Someone was breathing hard, as if they’d been running. Maybe they still were.

‘Daniel?’ Jennifer tried. His full name. Things were serious.

The breathing continued, then something more. A man’s voice. Her son’s voice.

‘Mum?’

It was one word, though so much more. There was anguish, a million cries for help that only a mother could make out. Something terrible really had happened.

‘What’s wrong?’ Jennifer asked, though she was barely able to hear anything over her own racing heart. She pushed forward until she was sitting on the edge of the sofa. It was gloomy in her living room, no big light, only the lamp at the back.

The silence was an agonising second and then: ‘It wasn’t me.’

For a moment, Jennifer wondered whether she’d heard her son correctly. Her ‘What wasn’t you?’ sounded as confused as she felt.

She waited, though there was only silence. It took her a few seconds to realise the screen was blank, that the call had cut out. Jennifer stared at the phone, trying to ignore the way her stomach seemed to be squeezing itself.

‘What wasn’t you?’ she repeated, knowing she would get no answer.

Daniel had gone.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 crime bestsellers in the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Singapore. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States. His book, Ten Birthdays, won the RNA award for Young Adult Novel of the Year in 2018 and Close To You won the International Thriller Award for best ebook in 2020.

As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Saturday, 14 October 2023

EXTRACT: The Retreat by Karen King

The Retreat by Karen King

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Published: 13th October 2023

DESCRIPTION:

The sunlight dances on the turquoise pool as I wait for our first guests. But my blood turns to ice when I recognise one of them as an old friend and a flood of guilt and fear comes rushing back. Is she here to ruin my life for a second time?

‘It’s been so long’, Saskia says as she hugs me. I plaster the smile back on my face, my hands shaking as I usher our guests into the traditional Spanish farmhouse we’ve spent years renovating to perfection. Saskia and I had been so close, until she betrayed me.

Now I’ve started a new life here in Spain. I met José and fell in love with his deep brown eyes, and together we opened our own retreat nestled high in the mountains. But José has no idea about the real me – I know he wouldn’t be able to look me in the eye if he ever found out that I have blood on my hands.

Then I discover our beautiful water fountain stained a deep red. My heart pounds with fear because it feels like a warning. And all my worst nightmares are confirmed when I find a note in my bedroom, revealing my terrible secret.

I was with Saskia all day, so I know it can’t be her. Which means that someone else at the retreat knows the truth about me – and they’re here for revenge.

But this perfect new life means everything to me. And I’ll do anything to protect it…

A totally unputdownable psychological thriller packed with jaw-dropping twists. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Mark Edwards and K.L. Slater.

EXTRACT:

P R O L O G U E

I read the post again.

Relax. Reconnect. Renew in the peaceful setting of the Andalucian countryside. We’re offering six of our followers a 50% discount on a five-day stay at our Relaxation Retreat in April. Don’t delay, book today!

And there you are, your arms wrapped around each other, in front of a sprawling white villa nestling at the foot of the Andalucian mountains. A bubbling pot of anger burns inside me as I look at you, so happy, starting a whole new life when mine was so cruelly destroyed.

I’ve been following your page for a while now, curious to see how the renovations are coming on, eager for any nugget of information about you. Then I see your fantastic opening offer and I can’t resist this chance to see you, to find out if you carry any guilt for what you’ve taken from me. So I click on the Book Now button and fill in my details. I wonder if you will recognise my name and I realise I’m holding my breath as the booking goes through then let it out again as the receipt zaps into my inbox.

Three weeks and I’ll be there. Face to face with you.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Karen King is a multi-published author of both adult and children’s books. Currently published by Bookouture and Headline, Karen writes about the light and dark of relationships. Her eleventh romantic novel, The Spanish Wedding Disaster, has recently been published and her third psychological thriller The Mother In Law is out in July, with a fourth one in February 2023.

Karen has also had 120 children’s books, two young adult novels, and several short stories for women’s magazines published. Her thrillers The Perfect Stepmother and The Stranger in my Bed and her romantic novel The Cornish Hotel by the Sea became International Amazon bestsellers.

Karen is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors, the Crime Writers’ Association and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. She now lives in Spain where she loves to spend her non-writing time exploring the quaint local towns with her husband, Dave, when she isn’t sunbathing or swimming in the pool, that is.

Social Media Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Monday, 17 April 2023

EXTRACT: After the Rain by Susan E. Jones

After the Rain by Susan E Jones

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 9th April 2023

Published: 18th January 2023

DESCRIPTION:

It is the late summer of 1910 and Bessie Hardwicke, thirty-nine years old and single, has just started work as a lady’s companion to widowed Fanny Grist in London. The change is momentous for Bessie and she constantly questions whether the move was a big mistake. Life in London is so different from what she’s been used to and she desperately misses her dear nephew Walter, whom she looks upon as a son.

There is no denying that she is badly in need of a change. Even after twenty years, she is still grieving the loss of her fiancé Arthur and beloved sister Ethel. But she is not alone in her grief. Those she comes into contact with in London are no less afflicted by the loss of loved ones than she is. And through her compassion and selflessness, Bessie bestows on others the priceless gift of irrepressible hope.

EXTRACT:

I feel a bit apprehensive when we are dropped off next to a high fortress-like wall, behind which is the tall Gothic building of the orphanage. I’m keen for our meeting with Harriet to yield a positive result, yet the austere surroundings fill me with dread. Robert, however, observes with approval the Benedictine convent on the other side of the road, which he believes enforces the notion of the children’s home as a sanctuary. But for me, there’s an unnerving stillness surrounding both buildings, giving me the disturbing sense that they deter visitors from entering their interiors rather than welcome them.

As we approach the heavy wooden door that looks as if its sole purpose is to shut out the world and all its prying eyes, Robert tells me that, as well as running an orphanage, the sisters also provide a home for the old and infirm. He says he’s made a few local enquiries and discovered that the sisters make it their lives’ work to look after the needy, both young and old, and that there are presently about 250 children being cared for, as well as more than 200 elderly residents. It is not for me to judge, and it’s not in my nature to be so cynical, but instinct tells me that the care they provide may be spread a little too thinly if Robert’s numbers are correct.

The cast iron doorknocker looks almost too heavy to lift, but Robert succeeds in raising it just enough for a couple of knocks and we wait patiently for someone to arrive. Finally, we hear shuffling steps from within and an elderly sister with wire-rimmed spectacles opens the door a few inches and peers through the gap.

“Who are you and what is your business here?” she asks in a voice that sounds accusatory. But Robert is unfazed and quickly states our purpose, saying that Sister Martha has told us we’re allowed to visit. When he shows her the letter, she opens the gate a few more inches.

“But it’s Sunday,” she says. “This is our day of prayer and visitors are not usually permitted. Sister Martha should not have told you to come on a Sunday. She doesn’t yet know the rules – she’s new to the sisterhood.”

“I’m sorry,” Robert says. “But we’re here now and we’ve travelled some distance. If it’s not too much trouble, could we please meet with Miss Turnbull? I promise we won’t keep her long.”

“It’s really most irregular, but since you’re here you might as well come in. Let me first introduce myself. I’m Sister Agatha and I attend mainly to the older residents. Please wait in the entrance hall and I’ll have one of the other sisters find the child you’ve come to see. You say her name is Turnbull, correct? What is her age?”

“Yes, Miss Harriet Turnbull,” Robert confirms. “She’s thirteen or thereabouts.”

Sister Agatha nods and we follow her inside the orphanage. She points to two hardback chairs placed against the wall underneath a heavy wooden cross, and instructs us to sit and wait. I have a feeling it may be some time before Harriet is found. It’s cold in the hall and I’m glad I’m wearing my warm cloak. Robert, bless him, sees me rubbing my hands together and makes a joke about the need for Roman Catholics to suffer before they’re welcomed into the heavenly afterlife. Suffering improves our souls, he says, and makes us worthy of God’s acceptance. So the longer we sit here in the cold, the better it is for us in the long run.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Susan E Jones was born in Gloucestershire and now lives in Cornwall, where she divides her time between writing, reading and walking. She has lived on three continents and travelled extensively, yet still finds visiting foreign lands and exploring new cultures and customs invigorating.

Susan E Jones grew up in Stroud in Gloucestershire but was always keen to travel and embrace new experiences. For many years she lived and worked abroad – in Brussels, Rome, Abidjan and Washington DC – working mostly with international organisations in various roles ranging from editing to budget preparation.

When she finally decided it was time for me to return to the UK, Susan chose Penzance in Cornwall as her home, devoting most of her free time to writing - which had long been her ambition. Long daily walks along the South West Coastal Path give her both a sense of wellbeing and an opportunity to think about ideas for my next novel.

After the Rain is the first purely fictional novel she has written. It was inspired by the contents of her great-great aunt’s postcard album, which somehow ended up in her possession. Many of the postcards are from her nephew, capturing her imagination and giving her a glimpse into life in the early 1900s.

Social media links:

Wesbite | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Friday, 2 September 2022

EXTRACT: The Beach Party by Amy Sheppard

The Beach Party by Amy Sheppard

Genre: Psychological thriller, Did Not Finish

Read: 27th August 2022

Audio links:

Listen to Sample

Published: 30th August 2022

DESCRIPTION:

We were all at the party. Which of us wanted her dead?

As the smoke from the bonfire spirals into the night sky and the cool drinks slip down our throats, none of us can take our eyes off Lacey. She dances in the dunes, her long golden hair damp from her late-night swim, her smile dazzling, her blue eyes closed.

Everyone who is close to Lacey sits by the smoky fire. Her adoring boyfriend, who holds onto her, perhaps a little too tightly. Her little sister, always in Lacey’s shadow, sifting fine soft sand through her fingers, never taking her eyes off Lacey. And me. Sad and full of rage, after an argument forced the man I love to leave the party early.

When the fire burns out, we stumble away from the beach, along the cliff path – faces burned by the wind, hearts full of secrets. But Lacey never makes it home. The next morning, her body is found in the sand dunes, a heart-shaped locket missing from around her neck.

Who would have thought our beach party could end the way it did? Close friends gathered on the last night of a long hot summer – which one of us could have killed the girl everybody loved?

An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with an ending you will NEVER see coming! Strap in for a twisty rollercoaster ride that will keep you turning pages all night long. Perfect for anyone who adored The Holiday, The Guest List or Gone Girl.

EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER ONE:

It was still dark when I turned onto Sophie’s road. Neon green numbers ashed the time in the center of the dashboard: 5:22a.m. I drank the last mouthful of coffee from my travel mug. It tasted strong and metallic. I’d made it in the darkness of my kitchen before I left only ten minutes ago. It seemed like longer.

I hadn’t been to Sophie’s flat for a while. Maybe weeks. There was a time when we were always at each other’s houses. That was before I got a job, before Tom. Tom is Sophie’s boyfriend. He was a friend from home; a friend from Cornwall. At least, that’s what we used to be. I’m not sure what wea are now.

I drove slowly along the tidy Victorian terrace. Sophie’s street looked like all the other London roads in this area. Large imposing properties, half brick, half white-painted stucco. All with wide steps, leading to the front door. Most of them had now been divided into small apartments and studio flats.

I stopped outside Sophie’s building. No parking spaces. I would just wait in the road. There was no traffic, not at this time. That’s why we were leaving so early. I’d told Sophie I would give her a missed call when I arrived. I was a few minutes I was a few minutes early. I craned my neck to look at my reflection in the rearview mirror. Pale and angular. Younger than my twenty-dour years, but only because my tiredness was hidden by dark shadows that cast arcs across my face. My long dark hair, scraped into a pony‐tail, looked black. It made my skin look fragile, like porcelain.

I pressed my cold fingers to my eyes and slowly drew them down my face. I was starting to feel more awake. I reached for my phone and scrolled through the call list. I paused on Sophie’s name. Was it really only four days ago that we’d spoken? Four days since we’d made plans to go to Cornwall. Back to my hometown, Pengully. It had been over two years since I’d made this journey.

Want to read more? Follow the links above to purchase "The Beach Party".

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Amy Sheppard is a busy mum of two boys, living in Cornwall. Her obsession with making budget friendly family dinners, led her to writing two cookbooks. Amy creates recipes for her followers and for brands @amysheppardfood

Her debut novel is out in August 2022. A psychological thriller set in Cornwall called 'The Beach Party'.

Thursday, 21 July 2022

EXTRACT: Truly Madly Amy by Kerry Wilkinson

Truly Madly Amy by Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary fiction

Read: 16th July 2022

Audio links:
UK

Listen to Sample

Published: 21st July 2022

DESCRIPTION:

We all remember that one magical summer that changed our lives.

For Joe, it’s 1999. School is over, and with zero idea of what he’s meant to do for the rest of his life, he’s reluctantly accepted a job at the local summer camp. Anything to drown out the sharp grief of missing his dad and move on from what school calls his ‘anger problems’. But getting screamed at by hyperactive ten-year-olds is almost enough to make him quit on day one.

Almost.

Then he sees Amy Ashworth for the very first time, her black hair shining in the sun – and learns that nothing hits harder than first love.

She’s the only person he knows who reads for fun, or who’s seen Titanic fourteen times. But there’s another side to Amy. Soon, she’s the only person he’s ever been to a wild house party with, or kissed under the twinkling stars. It’s the happiest Joe has ever been… until the terrible day when what’s left of his family fractures into a million pieces.

Caught up in Amy’s whirlwind, Joe can’t bring himself to tell the truth about his life. Would his dad have wanted him to fight for the girl he loves, or protect his family, no matter what?

Only one thing is certain: this is the summer Joe will grow up. But when he looks back decades later, will he be ashamed of his choices? And will Amy still be by his side?

Heart-warming, hilarious, nostalgic, and bittersweet, Truly, Madly, Amy explores first loves, last chances, and the summers that shape us. Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Mike Gayle, and anyone who remembers the carefree days of being just sixteen, when the world was full of possibility.

EXTRACT:

I was hoping the parachute didn’t spring open when I first met Amy Ashworth.

It was heavier than I thought, packed tight into an oversized rucksack. The sort of thing people wear when they’ve spent too much money in an outdoors shop. They end up taking gentle, flat walks through the woods, weighed down by more gear than they’d need if they were trekking across the Arctic.

Or, more obviously, the type of thing someone wears before jumping out of a plane.

I lugged the bag down from the shelf and almost dropped it when the tent flap opened and in walked a girl. I didn’t know her name then but it was easy enough to recognise her as one of the counsellors. Everyone our age at Camp Sycamore was a counsellor of some sort and, on that first day, that first morning, she was as bemused and wide-eyed as the rest of us. Our matching white camp T-shirts, with the green tree logo, were all clean at the start, free from the mud and sweat that would come soon enough.

The girl flipped her long black hair away from her face and blinked out of the sun into the gloomy interior of the supply tent.

‘That looks heavy,’ she said.

I heaved the parachute bag up onto a table and it thundered down with a whump that echoed around the small space.

‘It’s not too bad,’ I replied, gasping, which made her laugh right away.

I’ve wondered in the years since if that’s where it began. You hear people talk about losing themselves in someone else’s eyes, or smell, or touch – but it was that laugh. That, once I’d heard it, there was no going back.

‘You sound like my dad,’ she said, before slipping into a mock man’s voice. ‘Oh, it’s not the weight, it’s the shape. It’s not heavy, just awkward.’ Back into her own voice. ‘Then he puts his back out and that’s it for the next month.’

The enclosed space inside the tent had rows of shelves pressed to the edges, with boxes, bags and cans rammed up against one another. The shelves ran the entire way around and, with the table as well, there wasn’t much room for a person, let alone two.

She scanned the shelves for a moment, craning around me, and then chewed the corner of her mouth.

‘Bandages…’ she said, before focusing in on me. Her accent reminded me a bit of the women who sit outside the tea shops in town. The ones who hold their teacup handles between thumb and index finger, with their little fingers sticking out. There was a hint of their poshness to her but something else, too. As if she was never more than a word or two away from laughing, or making a joke.

‘If you were a bandage, where would you be?’ she added.

‘Medical bay?’

The girl nodded along. ‘That’s where I’ve just come from. No bandages there.’

‘Wouldn’t that be the best place for them?’

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Saturday, 25 June 2022

EXTRACT: The Resort by Sue Watson

The Resort by Sue Watson

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 17th June 2022

Amazon

Audio:

Listen to Sample

Published: 24th June 2022

DESCRIPTION:

When a dream trip becomes your worst nightmare…

You’ve been excited about this getaway for months – at last, a chance to reconnect with your husband at a secluded island resort. But when he unexpectedly calls you from the beach, you hear the urgency in his voice. Something is very wrong.

The beautiful waitress from the restaurant last night has been found lying dead in the sand. And the police want to question your husband about it.

Sure, you saw him glance at her over dinner a few times, but you know he didn’t have anything to do with the poor girl’s death. So why is he asking you to lie to the police that he was with you all night? And where did he go in those missing hours?

When he returns to your beautiful sea-view suite, things get heated and he accuses you of being jealous, just like he always does. Yes, the waitress was overly flirtatious with your husband, but you didn’t actually wish her any harm. Not really.

Can you trust the man you married… or are you the one who can’t be trusted?

A completely gripping, utterly twisted thriller that will have you turning the pages all night long! Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Hunting Party and The Girl on the Train.

EXTRACT:

PROLOGUE

As I step onto the boat, a sudden breeze catches my hat and though I try to grab it, I’m not quick enough. With tears in my eyes, I watch the beautiful Gucci boater tied with grosgrain ribbon, as it oats further and further away. I try not to cry as I take my seat on deck, opposite a woman with searching eyes and alarm in her voice.

‘Oh no, is that your hat?’ she asks.

I nod, avoiding her searching eyes.

‘Was it expensive?’

‘Very,’ I reply, wishing she’d shut up.

I take my phone from my bag in an attempt to avoid speaking to her. I’m surprised to see a signal. We’ve been shut off from the rest of the UK for the past few weeks, and it feels strange now, almost scary to be able to speak to the outside world. I don’t know what to say. What can I say? Impulsively, I decide to call my sister; I’m tired and tearful, I need to hear a familiar voice.

‘Hey, you,’ she says. ‘Are you okay? I heard what happened, it was in all the newspapers. Are you finally coming home?’

I’m moved by my sister’s voice, and the sound of home, but her words are like a hammer in my head – a reminder of how life was before this trip. ‘Are you there, are you okay?’ my sister’s saying, and a wave of huge, loud sobs emerge from somewhere deep inside me. The woman opposite is staring at me.

‘No, to be honest, I’m not okay.’

‘What? What is it?’ My sister’s voice has turned to panic.

‘Sis, can you do me a favour?’ I say. ‘My signal’s dying. Will you call the police and ask them to meet me on the mainland? I have something to tell them.’

Still clutching the phone to my ear, I move further down the deck, so I can’t see my departing hat, or the woman’s beady eyes. I stand alone at the far end of the boat, surrounded by the ocean for the last time. I allow the salty sea breeze to ruffle my hair, and cool my cheeks. It has been the hottest summer the UK had ever known. As the mercury rose, and storms rolled in, secrets were spilled and lives were lost in that beautiful white palace over‐ looking a turquoise sea. And as the boat cuts through the now choppy waters, I see Fitzgerald’s grow smaller and smaller in the distance, until it looks like a glittering diamond standing proud in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Only then do I turn to see the mainland, where an uncertain future awaits. I pull my shawl around me and brace myself for what happens now.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Sue Watson was a TV Producer at the BBC until she wrote her first book and was hooked.

Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue has written sixteen novels (many involving cake), and many have been translated into several languages. Sue is now exploring the darker side of life with her latest thrillers OUR LITTLE LIES, THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR, THE EMPTY NEST, THE SISTER-IN-LAW, FIRST DATE, THE FOREVER HOME, THE NEW WIFE and THE RESORT.

Sue explored the darker side of life for her latest book 'Our Little Lies,' a dark, psychological thriller completely devoid of cake. She's hoping this change in direction will be reflected on the weighing scales.

Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programmes from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Monday, 30 May 2022

EXTRACT: The Daughters by Julia Crouch

The Daughters by Julia Crouch

Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 23rd May 2022

Published: 26th May 2022

DESCRIPTION:

My father said my mother killed herself. My sister says he’s lying.

The day of our mother’s funeral, my little sister Lucy and I clung to our father’s side. He promised he’d get us through it, and we believed him. But then I discovered that the coffin we wept over was empty.

Dad says he was trying to protect us – that he thought it would be easier to grieve if we didn’t know our mother’s body was never found.

His new wife says she just wants to help us move on from the past.

Then Lucy has a flash of memory that leaves her shaking. Our father. A woman she doesn’t recognise. A knife…

She insists she knows something about the day our mother died, but it’s buried too deep to see clearly.

What happened to our mother? I need to find the truth. But I have no idea who I can trust. And what if the answer puts my life in danger?

A completely gripping psychological thriller that will make your heart pound as you try to decide who is telling the truth. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.

EXTRACT:

For ten years now, Sara has spent half an hour on 30 May on her iPad, watching her family lay flowers at her mother Alice’s memorial tree. For ten years now she has wished that, like that first, awful grief-scarred time, she could be there in person.

The discovery she made last night about her mother’s death means that the urge to be there this year, on what would have been Alice’s fifty-sixth birthday, is so strong that it physically hurts her.

Sara’s stepmother Carys stands by the tree, her lean brown fingers wound around poor Lucy’s blue-white hands, her close-cropped hair resting against Lucy’s orange frizz. Carys is a good six inches shorter, but the way Lucy – Sara’s eighteen-year-old baby sister – leans against her makes it clear who is doing the supporting.

Carys has made herself indispensable to the family since she moved in less than a year after Alice’s suicide.

Supposed suicide, Sara corrects herself.

And that’s the uncertainty now burning a hole in her mind.

It’s early morning over there, and the camera lens is misted by a late-spring drizzle. Binnie, the five-year-old half-sister Sara has never met, stands next to Carys in a practical lime-green cagoule. Her head is somewhere else, in the land of My Little Pony or Pokémon, or whatever girls her age are into. She’s very sweet. She’s also proof, if any were needed, that Carys has truly embedded herself in the family.

And unlike Sara, Binnie – short for Robina – is actually there.

Also absent is Bill: Sara, Lucy and Binnie’s father, Alice’s widower, Carys’s much older husband. As with most years, his back is too bad for him to stand for the ceremony. He attends instead in one of the boxes on Sara’s iPad, looking on from the Muswell Hill house. The tears in his eyes as he watches the ceremony show everyone how much he loved Alice.

Everyone loved Alice.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Julia started off as a theatre director and playwright. While her children were growing up, she swerved into graphic design. After writing and illustrating two children’s books for an MA, she discovered that her great love was writing prose. The picture books were deemed too dark for publication, so, to save the children, she turned instead to writing for adults. Her first book, Cuckoo, was published in 2011, and she has been writing what she calls her Domestic Noir novels ever since. She also writes for TV and teaches on the Crime Writing MA at the University of East Anglia. She has three grown up children and lives in Brighton with her husband and two cats, Keith and Sandra.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Tuesday, 17 May 2022

EXTRACT: The Catcher by Kerry Birds

The Catcher by Kerry Birds

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 6th May 2022