Why am I passionate about this?

I have written nine crime novels, mostly psychological thrillers, but some blend procedural and PI elements and two are gangland stories. I went to the BRIT school in the 90ā€™s and studied Drama and English Literature at University. I always think that my Performing Arts background gave me a great tool kit for ā€˜getting into characterā€™ which is useful for writing. I also have an MA in journalism but I definitely prefer fiction to fact. I love the immediacy of first person prose and I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator.


I wrote

The Due Date

By Niki Mackay,

Book cover of The Due Date

What is my book about?

You shared everything for nine months. But you don't know her at all.

When Ali meets Rebecca, she feels anā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Dark Places

Niki Mackay Why did I love this book?

Iā€™m sure that when people think of Gillian Flynn they think of Gone Girl and when they think of her unreliable narrators it would be Nick and Amy. But I love Libby Day in Dark Places.

Libbyā€™s family were massacred by her older brother. Twenty years on sheā€™s struggling for money and agrees to do a guest appearance at ā€˜The Kill Clubā€™ a group of true crime obsessives. As Libby unhappily revisits the past, all is not as it seems and there is a mystery to be unravelled.

Itā€™s a real page-turner with Flynnā€™s trademark acidic prose and spiky female lead. Libby makes the book for me, and whilst she may not always be likable, she is utterly compelling.

By Gillian Flynn,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Dark Places as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE BESTSELLING PHENOMENON

'Eerily macabre... Wonderful' Guardian
'A nerve-fraying thriller' New York Times
'Every bit as horribly fascinating as In Cold Blood' Daily Mail

Libby Day was seven when her family was murdered: she survived by hiding in a closet - and famously testified that her older brother Ben was the killer.

Twenty-five years later the Kill Club - a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes - gets in touch with Libby to try to discover proof that may free Ben. Almost broke, Libby agrees to go back to her hometown to investigate - for a fee.

But when Libby'sā€¦


Book cover of Sundial

Niki Mackay Why did I love this book?

This is a book told from the point of view of Mother Rob and her daughter Callie.

It deals with topics of child psychopathy and innate evil and is beautifully written. Iā€™m a huge fan of Catriona Wardā€™s and was torn between this book or The Last House On Needless Street but I really enjoyed the exploration of motherhood and childhood here and found myself rooting for the characters long after I turned the last page.

Like all of Wardā€™s books, Sundial has strong horror vibes and the world we are drawn into is full of lush descriptions but it is the characters that really stand out to me. This book also has some really good twists.

By Catriona Ward,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Sundial as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ā€œDO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. Authentically terrifying.ā€ ā€”Stephen King

Sharp as a snakebite, Sundial is a gripping novel about the secrets we bury from the ones we love most, from Catriona Ward, the author of The Last House on Needless Street.

You can't escape what's in your blood...

Rob has spent her life running from Sundial, the familyā€™s ranch deep in the Mojave Desert, and her childhood memories.

But sheā€™s worried about her daughter, Callie, who collects animal bones and whispers to imaginary friends. It reminds her of a darkness that runs in her family, and Rob knows itā€™s timeā€¦


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Book cover of All They Need to Know

All They Need to Know by Eileen Goudge,

On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown. With a dog she rescued in tow, she lands in the peaceful California mountain town of Gold Creek and is immediately befriended by an openhearted group of women who call themselves the Tattooed Ladies. Theyā€™re thereā€¦

Book cover of Truly, Darkly, Deeply

Niki Mackay Why did I love this book?

This story is told from the perspective of a serial killer's stepdaughter, Sophie, and I swallowed it in two sittings.

Matty Melgren, Sophieā€™s stepfather, is dying and wants to meet. Heā€™s in prison and his imminent death takes Sophie right back to her childhood. The story is told from Sophieā€™s perspective as a twelve-year-old observing the breakdown of her mother and Mattyā€™s relationship and as an adult debating how much she wants answers and what they might cost her.

I loved the dual timeline and thought it was a really fresh way to approach a serial killer novel. 

By Victoria Selman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Truly, Darkly, Deeply as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**

'Victoria Selman is an exciting and powerfully fresh voice' Patricia Cornwell

Twelve-year-old Sophie and her mother, Amelia-Rose, move to London from Massachusetts where they meet the charismatic Matty Melgren, who quickly becomes an intrinsic part of their lives. But as the relationship between the two adults fractures, a serial killer begins targeting young women with a striking resemblance to Amelia-Rose.

When Matty is eventually sent down for multiple murder, questions remain as to his guilt -- questions which ultimately destroy both women. Nearly twenty years later, Sophie receives a letter from Battlemouth Prison informing herā€¦


Book cover of The Red Room

Niki Mackay Why did I love this book?

Kit Quinn is a psychologist who is brutally attacked by a prisoner while working. The same prisoner is under suspicion of murder and Kit is called in.

She, however doesnā€™t think they have the culprit. So ensues a fast-paced race to solve the case. This was one of the first psychological thrillers I ever read and served as a fantastic intro to the genre. It probably pushes the boundaries of believability but it remains one of my favourite books

By Nicci French,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Red Room as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

At the request of London police, psychologist Kit Quinn agrees to evaluate Michael Doll, a sexual predator who slashes her face. As she recovers, Kit has horrible dreams of a red room. Months later, Doll is arrested for murder. As Doll's obsession with Kit escalates, Kit is gripped with a paralyzing fear that the killer isn't Doll--but someone close to her heart.


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Book cover of Cold Warrior

Cold Warrior by Robert Tucker,

During the 1970s and 80s, the Soviet Union penetrated the corporate economy and financial systems of the United States to engage in industrial espionage.

Cold Warrior is the story of Kasia Kerenski, a street mime who is ā€œdiscoveredā€ to work as a Hollywood actress. Coerced into becoming a double agentā€¦

Book cover of The First Day of Spring

Niki Mackay Why did I love this book?

Based on the case of child killer Mary Bell this book is an unexpected page-turner and is written with so much heart. Itā€™s dark, compulsive, and the prose sparkles.

This is another dual timeline book we follow Chrissie as a child living a hard life and eventually committing murder. We meet her again as an adult with a new identity and a daughter of her own. Nancy Tucker is a psychologist I believe and it certainly comes across.

The entire cast in this book is written with such tenderness and insight. A really difficult book dealing with a tough topic but also a story of redemption and understanding.

By Nancy Tucker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The First Day of Spring as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'So that was all it took,' I thought. 'That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all.'

Chrissie knows how to steal sweets from the shop without getting caught, the best hiding place for hide-and-seek, the perfect wall for handstands.

Now she has a new secret. It gives her a fizzing, sherbet feeling in her belly. She doesn't get to feel power like this at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.

Fifteen years later, Julia isā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

The Due Date

By Niki Mackay,

Book cover of The Due Date

What is my book about?

You shared everything for nine months. But you don't know her at all.

When Ali meets Rebecca, she feels an instant connection. Both pregnant, with babies due the same day, Ali can't wait to share the highs and lows of motherhood with her new friend. Rebecca is everything Ali wishes she could beā€”beautiful, confident, wealthy. But Ali senses in her the same loneliness she's been feeling since moving to the suburbs. Maybe they can help each other, and Ali won't feel so alone anymore. Then their due date comes and goes, and Ali hears nothing for weeks. Worried about her friend, Ali tracks her down and is relieved to find Rebecca safe and well. But relief turns to shock when Rebecca denies ever meeting her... or ever having been pregnant at all.

Book cover of Dark Places
Book cover of Sundial
Book cover of Truly, Darkly, Deeply

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