Claire McGowan

She's a total stranger. But she knows who you are... Suzi did a bad thing. She's paying for it now, pregnant, scared, and living in an isolated cottage with her jealous husband, Nick. When Nora moves into the only house nearby, Suzi is delighted to have a friend. So much so that she's almost tempted to tell Nora her terrible secret. But there's more to Nora than meets the eye. It's impossible--does she already know what Suzi did? Meanwhile, Elle spends her days in her perfect home, fixated on keeping up appearances. But when her husband betrays her, it unravels a secret going all the way back to her childhood. She'll do whatever it takes to hold on to him, even if that means murder. After all, she's done it before... Caught up in their own secrets and lies, these strangers will soon realise they have more in common than they could ever have imagined. When a shocking event brings them together, their lives will never be the same again.

The Other Wife

'A brilliant, breathless thriller that kept me guessing to the last shocking page'--Erin Kelly, Sunday Times bestselling author of He Said/She Said A vicious assault. A devastating accusation. Who should she trust, her husband or her best friend? It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again. When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted--by Ali's husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying--but which? And why? When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.

What You Did

In this tense thriller from the bestselling author of What You Did and The Other Wife, a woman finds a dead body. Will she make the same mistake as last time? When Rachel stumbles upon a body in the woods, she knows what she has to do: run. Get away. Do not be found at the scene. Last time, she didn't know, and she ended up accused of murder. But when this victim is identified as her boyfriend's estranged wife, Rachel realises she's already the prime suspect. With mounting evidence against her, Rachel's only hope is to keep the truth about herself well hidden. Because twenty years ago she was someone else--Casey, a young nanny trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles. When the family she worked for were brutally murdered, all the evidence pointed to her and she went to prison. Back then, she narrowly escaped the death penalty and managed to free herself on appeal. Now she's fighting to save the life she's spent years piecing back together. But with her behaviour raising suspicion and the police closing in, Rachel can't help wondering: Was her discovery in the woods really just an awful coincidence, or is someone framing her for murder? Someone who knows who she is, and wants revenge...

I Know You

From the bestselling author of What You Did comes a stunning psychological thriller. One party. Thirteen people. By 3.02 p.m., one of them will be dead. The party should have been perfect: six couples from the same baby group, six newborns, a luxurious house. But not everything has gone to plan, and while some are here to celebrate, others have sorrows to drown. When someone falls from the balcony of the house, the secrets and conflicts within the group begin to spill out ... DS Alison Hegarty, herself struggling with infertility, is called in to investigate. She's convinced the fall was not an accident, and finds the new parents have a lot to hide. Wealthy Ed and Monica show off their newborn while their teenage daughter is kept under virtual house arrest. Hazel and Cathy conceived their longed-for baby via an anonymous sperm donor--or so Hazel thinks. Anita and Jeremy planned to adopt from America, but there's no sign of the child. Kelly, whose violent boyfriend disrupted previous group sessions, came to the party even though she lost her baby. And then there's Jax, who's been experiencing strange incidents for months--almost like someone's out to get her. Is it just a difficult pregnancy? Or could it be payback for something she did in the past? It's a nightmare of a case, and as events get even darker it begins to look impossible. Only one thing is clear: they all have something to hide. And for one of them, it's murder.

The Push

From the bestselling author of What You Did comes a chilling story about a missing girl and two potential witnesses. They both think they saw her. But can they trust their own eyes? Mary hasn't slept in what feels like years. Her two young children never let her rest, and so one exhausting night, in the middle of a London heatwave, she escapes to a nearby park for some air. Tim can't sleep. It doesn't feel safe after the terrible thing that happened to him. Seeking solace outside, he encounters a sleepless Mary in the park. There, the two strangers witness what looks like a violent attack in the window of a neighbouring house. Shocked at what they've seen, Tim and Mary form an unlikely bond, desperate to find clues. When they see news reports of a missing woman, who was last seen walking alone not far from them, the pair are convinced it's her they saw being attacked. The police don't believe them, but when they hear of a potential link to an old murder and a string of disappearances from the area, pressure mounts to find her before it's too late. But with her marriage under strain and the police on their tail, Mary begins to doubt her own mind...and Tim's. How reliable is a man who doesn't sleep? As the pair are drawn into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, the culprit appears to be even closer to home than they thought. Have they got it all wrong, or is something even more sinister going on?

Are You Awake?

From the bestselling author of What You Did comes a true-crime investigation that cast a dark shadow over the Ireland of her childhood. Ireland in the 1990s seemed a safe place for women. With the news dominated by the Troubles, it was easy to ignore non-political murders and sexual violence, to trust that you weren't going to be dragged into the shadows and killed. But beneath the surface, a far darker reality had taken hold. Through questioning the society and circumstances that allowed eight young women to vanish without a trace―no conclusion or conviction, no resolution for their loved ones―bestselling crime novelist Claire McGowan delivers a candid investigation into the culture of secrecy, victim-blaming and shame that left these women's bodies unfound, their fates unknown, their assailants unpunished. McGowan reveals an Ireland not of leprechauns and craic but of outdated social and sexual mores, where women and their bodies were of secondary importance to perceived propriety and misguided politics--a place of well-buttoned lips and stony silence, inadequate police and paramilitary threat. Was an unknown serial killer at large or was there something even more insidious at work? In this insightful, sensitively drawn account, McGowan exposes a system that failed these eight women--and continues to fail women to this day.

The Unsolved Murders in One Bestselling Author's Backyard

The Vanishing Triangle

Not everyone who's missing is lost... When two teenage girls go missing along the Irish border, forensic psychologist Paula Maguire has to return to the hometown she left years before. Surrounded by people and places she tried to forget, Paula digs into the cases as the truth twists further away. What's the link with two other disappearances from 1985? And why does everything lead back to the town's dark past-- including the reasons her own mother went missing years before?

The Lost

What would you do if the man you love was accused of murder? Bad things never happen to Charlotte. She's living the life she's always wanted and about to marry wealthy banker, Dan. But Dan's been hiding a secret, and the pressure is pushing him over the edge. After he's arrested for the vicious killing of a nightclub owner, Charlotte's future is shattered. Then she opens her door to Keisha, an angry and frustrated stranger with a story to tell. Convinced of Dan's innocence, Charlotte must fight for him - even if it means destroying her perfect life. But what Keisha knows threatens everyone she loves, and puts her own life in danger. DC Matthew Hegarty is riding high on the success of Dan's arrest. But he's finding it difficult to ignore his growing doubts as well as the beautiful and vulnerable Charlotte. Can he really risk it all for what's right? Three stories. One truth. They all need to brace themselves for the fall.

The Fall

From the bestselling author of What You Did comes the story of a young couple who are about to discover that in a house full of secrets there's nowhere to hide... For Helen and George, the remote fixer-upper in Cornwall was supposed to be a dream home, and a way to leave behind the problems they're both running from. But something about the place feels wrong from day one. And why does Helen have a creeping feeling she's seen this house before? Her unease only deepens after renovations begin, when the builders find sinister dolls hidden in the walls. As Helen digs into the house's past, she discovers that the previous owner was not only rumoured to be a witch; she was also imprisoned for a brutal triple murder thirty years earlier. When a horrific accident almost ends in tragedy, Helen worries that the house's secrets are to blame, and as events spiral out of control she discovers George has been lying to her. As the past returns to haunt them, the couple realise they are in terrible danger, and they can't trust anyone--not even each other. Because Helen hasn't been entirely honest with him either...

Let Me in

Her Last Chirstmas

Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire returns in BLOOD TIDE, the fifth novel in Claire McGowan's acclaimed series. If you enjoyed Sharon Bolton's LITTLE BLACK LIES or Elly Griffiths' THE WOMAN IN BLUE, you will love this new novel from the author of THE SILENT DEAD and A SAVAGE HUNGER. Called in to investigate the disappearance of a young couple during a violent storm, Paula Maguire, forensic psychologist, has mixed feelings about going back to Bone Island. Her last family holiday as a child was spent on its beautiful, remote beaches and returning brings back haunting memories of her long-lost mother. It soon becomes clear that outsiders aren't welcome on the island, and with no choice but to investigate the local community, Paula soon suspects foul play, realising that the islanders are hiding secrets from her, and each other. With another storm fast approaching, Paula is faced with a choice. Leave alive or risk being trapped with a killer on an inescapable island, as the blood tide rushes in...

Blood Tide

A month before Christmas, and Ballyterrin on the Irish border lies under a thick pall of snow. When a newborn baby goes missing from hospital, it's all too close to home for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire, who's wrestling with the hardest decision of her life. Then a woman is found in a stone circle with her stomach cut open and it's clear a brutal killer is on the loose. As another child is taken and a pregnant woman goes missing, Paula is caught up in the hunt for a killer no one can trace, who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

The dead ground

Victim: Male. Mid-thirties. 5'7 . Cause of death: Hanging. Initial impression - murder. ID: Mickey Doyle. Suspected terrorist and member of the Mayday Five. The officers at the crime scene know exactly who the victim is. Doyle was one of five suspected bombers who caused the deaths of sixteen people. The remaining four are also missing and when a second body is found, decapitated, it's clear they are being killed by the same methods their victims suffered. Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire is assigned the case but she is up against the clock - both personally and professionally. With moral boundaries blurred between victim and perpetrator, will be Paula be able to find those responsible? After all, even killers deserve justice, don't they?

The silent dead

Long-buried secrets are being unearthed. And they're very close to home... Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire returns yet again to her hometown to investigate a spine-chilling case in THE KILLING HOUSE, the sixth novel in Claire McGowan's series. The Paula Maguire series is the perfect read for fans of Michael Connelly and Peter May. 'A delicious spookiness is added to McGowan's customary mix of complex characterisation and sweat-inducing excitement, offering a new level of chilling thrills' - Sunday Mirror When a puzzling missing persons' case opens up in her hometown, forensic psychologist Paula Maguire can't help but return once more. Renovations at an abandoned farm have uncovered two bodies: a man known to be an IRA member missing since the nineties, and a young girl whose identity remains a mystery. As Paula attempts to discover who the girl is and why no one is looking for her, an anonymous tip-off claims that her own long-lost mother is also buried on the farm. When another girl is kidnapped, Paula must find the person responsible before more lives are destroyed. But there are explosive secrets still to surface. And even Paula can't predict that the investigation will strike at the heart of all she holds dear. What readers are saying about the Paula Maguire series: 'I have loved every single book. It's the characters and their own personal lives that really stand out in Claire McGowan's novels' 'Claire McGowan knows how to pull us in. Her future releases are always lined up on my kindle way ahead of time!' 'McGowan keeps developing her characters to be more rounded and complex. I've really fallen in love with the character of Paula Maguire and I can't wait to read more about her'

An explosive Irish crime thriller that will give you chills

The Killing House (Paula Maguire 6)

Victim: Female. Twenty-two years of age. Reason for investigation: Missing person. ID: Alice Morgan. Student. Last seen at a remote religious shrine in Ballyterrin. Alice Morgan's disappearance raises immediate questions for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire. Alice, the daughter of a life peer in the Home Office, has vanished along with a holy relic - the bones of a saint - and the only trace is the bloodstains on the altar. With no body to confirm death, the pressure in this high-profile case is all-consuming, and Paula knows that she will have to put her own life, including her imminent marriage, on hold, if they are to find the truth. A connection to a decades-old murder immediately indicates that all may not be as it seems; as the summer heat rises and tempers fray, can Alice be found or will they learn that those that are hungry for vengeance may be the most savage of all?

A Savage Hunger

'So truthful and rewarding' Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus series 'Brave, brilliantly structured, and beautifully written' Laura Barnett, author of The Versions of Us Kate has done the unthinkable. She'd worked hard to build a perfect life for herself, while ignoring her growing unhappiness. But when her second child was born profoundly disabled, reality hit. Unable to cope, Kate left - disappearing without a trace. She ends up in LA, with a glittering career and a new family of sorts, but the guilt is still suffocating. Husband Andrew was left to pick up the pieces and care for their disabled daughter and angry, confused son. Bereft and broken, he leaned on Olivia, Kate's best friend. She's been by his side ever since, ignoring her own needs to meet his. Years later, Andrew has written a memoir about his daughter learning to communicate against all odds. But when Kate's new producer husband decides he wants to make a film of it, their worlds collide once again. Now, Kate must return to the life she abandoned and reckon with what she did. The guilt and the love. The pain and the hope. In other words, family. Following a fractured family over a period of twenty years, This Could Be Us is an extraordinarily moving story from bestselling author Claire McGowan. 'About halfway through this beautiful, expertly-stitched novel, I thought to myself, 'Every woman needs to read this book'; by the end, I thought, 'every human'. Moving, thought-provoking and profound, it's one of my favourite reads of the last few years' Louise Candlish, author of Our House 'The author's own experience of having a disabled sibling makes it an emotive read' Good Housekeeping, Book of the Month 'McGowan, an acclaimed writer of crime fiction, drew on her own family experience of caring for a disabled sibling to create a complex and ultimately forgiving story' Irish Times 'Captivating . . . A beautifully structured novel . . . As heart-warming as it is thought-provoking, the steady pace as the past slowly catches up to the present ensures you might be tempted to read just a few pages more, and more' Irish Independent

This Could Be Us

Sjeme razdora

Killing House (Paula Maguire 6)

The second heart-pounding book about forensic pathologist Paula Maguire who works in the missing persons unit in Northern Ireland Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire, already wrestling with the hardest decision of her life, is forced to put her own problems on hold when she's asked to help find a baby taken from a local hospital. Then the brutal, ritualistic murder of a woman found lying on a remote stone circle indicates a connection to the kidnapping and Paula knows that they will have to move fast if they are to find the person responsible. When another child is taken and a pregnant woman goes missing, Paula finds herself caught up in a deadly hunt for a killer determined to leave no trace, and discovers every decision she makes really is a matter of life and death.

Claire McGowan

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