Stranger danger . . . for adults
PSYCHO THRILLERS CHRISTENA APPLEYARD TAKE ME IN by Sabine Durrant (Mulholland £12.99) SABINE DURRANT writes fabulous endings. This novel has a belter. Along the way, she tears into competitive pretensions of the yummy mummies of South-West London and her success in nailing their deep shallows is one of the book’s joys.
Tessa and Marcus are an unhappily married couple on holiday in Greece with their toddler, Josh.
Everything starts to get weird when Dave, a stranger, saves Josh from drowning.
Then they get home to discover that the creepy rescuer is now stalking them.
Dave and the couple’s secrets combine ingeniously to provide the gloriously unexpected and explosive conclusion in this wonderful combination of social satire and psychological drama.
WHERE THE MISSING GO by Emma Rowley (Orion £7.99) TWO years after 16-year-old Sophie went missing, her mother Kate still refuses to believe she has gone for ever. Since her disappearance, Kate’s life has stopped. Her marriage has collapsed and she can’t help thinking it might be her fault for being an over-protective mother.
Then, while volunteering on a missing persons helpline, Kate is convinced that she recognises her daughter’s voice and realises Sophie is in danger. She persuades the police to re-open the inquiry.
In a parallel narrative, we find out where Sophie is, why she is desperate to be reunited with her mother — and why time is running out . . .
The suspense is beautifully maintained throughout, not least by Rowley’s skilful use of the dual narrative to drive the drama. The simple magic of Rowley’s idea is to make us stop and think about the tragic family chaos behind those heartbreaking missing person photographs we see every day.
YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS by Michelle Sacks (HQ £12.99) THIS is extremely scary scandi-noir, definitely not for the squeamish. It’s packed full of unsympathetic characters, yet you keep reading.
American Merry and her husband Sam are living in seclusion in the remote Swedish woodlands, where they have come for a fresh start. Sam has lost his job at an American university under dodgy circumstances.
Merry’s hobby is pretending to be other people.
Early on, we witness how this crazy behaviour affects the couple’s baby. On top of that, there’s the screwed-up chauvinism of Sam.
But then, to add to all of this toxicity, there’s the arrival of Merry’s best friend, a pathological flirt who has designs on Sam and the baby.
From that point, it just gets darker and darker.
This book sounds bonkers — and it is a bit. It’s not for everyone, but the writing is first-class.