The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain

I approached this story with trepidation: Nadiya Hussain is an engaging, charming and likeable person on TV, but that does not mean she can tell a story and not all celebrities can write.  I was relieved to find myself quickly immersed and engrossed in the secret lives of the Amir sisters (from the only brown/British Asian family in the small community of Wyvernage).  The book explores themes of identity, family, love, culture and expectations.  A major crisis has repercussions for each of the sisters as secrets are revealed which shake the whole family to the core, and all of them must change.  The sisters are all interesting and likeable, the story is fascinating and very well crafted, and there is plenty to think about.  It is a very good read.

In the acknowledgements at the end, Nadiya gives thanks to her writer.  It is an excellent collaboration.

The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle

A gripping thriller about what happens when tragedy strikes.  Iris Griffiths is appalled when a plane from her local airport crashes - and her beloved husband has just flown out to go to Florida for a work conference.  The plane in question was on its way to Seattle, so she is relieved that he must be fine, although concerned that she cannot make contact with him.  It then transpires that his name was on the passenger list of both flights and that he is missing...  What is going on?

This is a fascinating tale of deceit and deception, and there are so many secrets for Iris to uncover before she can discover the truth about her husband and her marriage.  Iris is a sympathetic heroine and this is a well-written and cleverly crafted story which makes compelling reading.

Local Girl Missing by Claire Douglas

A thrilling tale set in an atmospherically and realistically described out-of-season seaside town, when Sophie's historic disappearance and presumed death is brought into the present with the discovery of a foot in a trainer matching that  she had been wearing when last seen.  Her school friend, Francesca, is asked back to the town by Sophie's brother Daniel, to try to find out just what happened.  Secrets are uncovered and it is hard to know who can be trusted.  The results are surprising and shocking and make a very enjoyable, chilling story.

Oldcliffe-on-Sea is a fictional town on the Somerset coast, but to anyone living in the area, it will be immediately identifiable and that added to my pleasure, but this book does not rely on local knowledge to work well.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

This book is such a killer chiller thriller. Every parent's nightmare is the disappearance of their baby, so when this happens to Anne and Marco while they are visiting their next door neighbours with the baby alarm as their babysitter suddenly has to let them down, it is all too easy to identify with their distress, panic and pain when, on one of their half-hourly checks, little Cora has gone from her cot. At six months old, she cannot have removed herself, so what has happened? Clearly someone has taken her, but who, and why? So the waiting game begins, and so does the guilt, and so does the uncovering of secrets. Anne is forced to consider just who would take her baby and why, and who she can trust. The police are involved - will they solve the mystery and return the baby home? This tale is gripping and compulsive reading, with so many twists and turns that it keeps the reader guessing most enjoyably, right to the shocking end. An excellent grip lit read.

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent,

A monster lurks within these pages, nesting in buried secrets, watching and waiting.  Who it is and what monstrous actions they will cause is cleverly woven into this tale of two Irish families and how their lives become connected across the class divide  Tense and unsettling, a story of Laurence's childhood evolves into a powerful psychological thriller as the monster claims its victims.  Grip lit at its best!