Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas

Three girls.

One missing.

One a murderer.

One desperately trying to find the truth.

This is such a good book that I vanished into it for a day or two, completely immersed in this thrilling, suspenseful  mystery which happens to be set in my part of the world,  so I had the additional  fun of trying to identify the seaside town of Tilby (which I reckon was mainly a hybrid of Clevedon and Portishead, but I stand to be corrected on that)!  Jess, the main character, is sympathetic; returning from London due to a hiccup in her career in journalism, she has a cheap flat to share with her boyfriend Rory, and a last-chance post in a bi-weekly newspaper.  A horrific  murder reconnects her to her childhood second family and she has the conflict between historic loyalties and the current need to do well in her job.  Margot, Flora and Heather have weathered a series of tragic events, and fate hasn't finished with them yet.  Claire has created a complex plot and turned it into a story that is unforgettable and enjoyable, with loads of suspense and twists thrown in.  I thoroughly recommend it.

Joe Country by Mick Herron

A well written, pacy spy thriller with plenty of action and questions of who can be trusted and who is in charge.  The action centres around a backwater of MI5, where personnel who have blotted their copybooks are put out to grass where they can't do too much harm.  To avoid spoilers, let's say that something crops up to provoke interest, and events start to spiral out of control.  The desk-bound find themselves out in the field and in a great deal of danger.  Can fieldcraft save their lives and can they rescue the son of a former colleague who happened to see too much and sought to profit from it?  The language Mick Herron uses is clever and just avoids being mannered.  And who knew that sleepy Wales could accommodate such excitement?  I will certainly be looking out for more from this author.

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

A brilliantly crafted novel, full of suspense and a tangled web of deceit  spun from self-interest and merciless manipulation..  Secrets can be a most destructive force within the family, and Sean Jackson's family is more complicated than most, with his serial marriages.  This story explores loyalty and contrasts the perfidy of the supposedly responsible adults with the innocence of the children, and has resonance with familiar news stories.  Some of the characters are unsympathetic, whilst others grow on the reader as the tale progresses.  A psychological thriller that is engaging and compulsive reading, an absolute treat.

The Quality of Silence, by Rosamund Lupton

Such a brilliant story, a uniquely chilling thriller in an extraordinary setting. It features two resourceful women who ignore all advice to tackle the harshest environment in search of their beloved husband and father while in denial of official reports of his loss.  It is a book of the best, with suspense and danger aplenty.  Meanwhile, mother and daughter learn to know each other anew, revealing strength, intelligence and creativity as both strive for survival in the bitter bleakness of North Alaska in November.  An extraordinary.piece of writing, with a strong message we should all heed.