As a former journalist, I was trained to look at all sides of a story. When I read, I am drawn to books that have multiple characters with their own narratives. Sometimes the stories intersect with an “aha!” moment, and sometimes they’re told side-by-side inside each character’s head. Either way, it’s intriguing to have different perspectives—especially in a mystery or thriller. That’s why I use the points of view of three wives in An Inconvenient Wife to give my readers insight into each of these fascinating women.
I love a good legal thriller, especially one that focuses on character. The intern of the title is young and hungry, eager and ambitious. But she’s got a secret, one that would cause her to lose her job if the judge she’s working for found out about it. Not that the judge doesn’t have her own secrets.
Told from both the intern and judge’s points of view, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see who would discover the other’s secrets first.
A young Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge in this timely and thrilling novel about class, ambition, family and murder.
Madison Rivera lands the internship of a lifetime working for Judge Kathryn Conroy. But Madison has a secret that could destroy her career. Her troubled younger brother Danny has been arrested, and Conroy is the judge on his case.
When Danny goes missing after accusing the judge of corruption, Madison’s quest for answers brings her deep into the judge’s glamorous world. Is Kathryn Conroy a mentor, a victim, or a criminal? Is she trying to…
This book isn’t a traditional mystery or thriller, but crime is its central theme, which is why I’m including it.
Alice Diamond is the Queen of London’s most notorious women’s gang in the 1920s. She’s trying to stay one step ahead of police Inspector Lilian Wyles, as is 10-year-old Hira, a runaway with a delightful little dog named Biscuit. Each of them brings the mean streets of London to life, and I found myself rooting for all three.
"A rollicking ride through the criminal underbelly of post-WWI London. Gritty at times and tender at others, Queens of London unmasks the most lawless—and likeable—gang of women you've never heard of." —Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary
Maybe women can have it all, as long as they're willing to steal it.
1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA "Diamond Annie," is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she's determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She's ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes…
Domestic suspense doesn’t usually pull at my heartstrings, but this one did.
Infertility and the desperation that comes with that is at the center of this story, alternately told by The Wife, The Husband, The Daughter, The Mother, and The Detectives. Seeing it from all sides gave me a fuller sense of character—yet did not take away from the twisty, delicious plot.
"A heart-stoppingly tense thriller about the price of secrets and the layers behind every marriage." —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The It Girl and The Woman In Cabin 10
Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .
Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver…
I have always been drawn to stories that are ripped from the headlines but are still so entirely their own.
When I first got the book, I was a little daunted by the length but as I read, I discovered I couldn’t put it down and was so sorry when it was over. A missing girl, a desperate mother—all set against the backdrop of an island that’s the playground of the ultra-wealthy. What’s not to love?
'Gripping, stomach-churning . . . Marwood is in a class of her own' LISA JEWELL
'Heart stopping' SUNDAY TIMES, CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
'A ripped-from-the-headlines thriller . . . I couldn't put it down' MARK EDWARDS ________________
Sun-drenched glamour and obscene wealth hide the darkest of secrets and lost girls in this ripped-from-the-headlines thriller.
1985 For twelve-year-old Mercedes, La Kastellana is the place she calls home. It is an island untouched by the modern world, with deep-rooted traditions - though that is all about to change with the arrival of multimillionaire Matthew Meade and his spoiled young daughter, Tatiana.…
I am a huge fan of Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, and this book is an homage to that film—but in the form of a domestic thriller.
A mysterious stranger on the train, a wife troubled by her husband’s infidelity, a missing nanny: each has her own story to tell that eventually intersects with the others and kept me guessing until the end.
'WHAT A READ!... Completely engrossing, undeniably enthralling... The biggest five stars.' NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
'A masterclass in storytelling... Unforgettable.' Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife
Everyone has a secret. Who would you trust with yours?
On Selena Murphy's train home from work, a mysterious woman named Martha strikes up a conversation and shares a confession: she's having an affair with her boss. In turn, Selena shares her own secret: she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny.
At Selena's station the two women part, and Selena never expects to see her again. Until she receives a message.…
This astonishing crime novel—inspired by the Tudor era—takes the reader into the world of Kate Parker, who has just married billionaire Hank Tudor when a headless body is discovered near their summer home . . .
Kate Parker knows what she’s getting into when she marries billionaire businessman Hank Tudor—she’s his sixth wife, after all, and was by his side (as his assistant) when his fifth marriage to actress Caitlyn Howard fell apart.
But honeymoon plans go awry when a headless body is discovered near Hank’s summer home, forcing Kate to contend with two more of his exes: Catherine Alvarez—the first—who lives as a shut-in with her computers, carefully following Tudor Enterprises; and Anna Klein—the fourth—who runs a bed-and-breakfast where she and her wife keep a steady eye on things—particularly Hank’s children, Lizzie and Teddy.
In this clever and suspenseful reimagining of Tudor era betrayals, these three women become entwined in a deadly game of cat and mouse—with each other, Hank, and Hank’s brilliant fixer, Tom Cromwell—as Kate seeks to solve the puzzle of who the murdered woman is, who killed her, and whether her death has any connection to the other headless body from eight years ago.
Kelly Simmons has been published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, and her widely praised novels are frequently compared to Big Little Lies.
Her new book, The Off Season, is set on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where headstrong thirteen-year-old Savannah bursts into the local police department, insisting her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid Bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death but a decades-old cold case.
For fans of Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty. Published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, Kelly's widely praised novels are frequently compared to BIG LITTLE LIES.
THE OFF SEASON explodes on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay. A headstrong thirteen-year-old girl insists her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death, but a decades-old cold case. With echoes of GONE GIRL and STAND BY ME, it’s part crime, part…
