THE COMPANION

by Lesley Thomson (£18.99, Head of Zeus, HB) James Ritchie takes his nine-year-old Wilbur on a boy’s day out. Shortly after, the bloodied bodies of both father and son are found stabbed to death on a Sussex beach. Following a murky trail of clues, Detective Toni Kemp winds up at a country mansion where peacocks screech in the bushes. The long-term residents are guarding more secrets than they are willing to let on… An electrifying, gritty read.