Showing results by narrator "Katie Villa" in All Categories

As I sit in her dimly lit bedroom, surrounded by flickering candles, I feel the crushing weight of my daughter’s absence. It's been two years since Layla was murdered. The police have searched tirelessly for her killer, but they've found nothing–it's like whoever did it vanished into thin air. My once-perfect marriage is falling apart, we can hardly look at each other anymore. Our ten-year-old son Gale is struggling. He’s changed since she died. He’s more secretive and also… I can’t quite put my finger on it. They were so close, is this Gale coming to terms with her death?

"Are you my mummy?" Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children. Not anymore. She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there. After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own. Tessa isn’t sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realises?

Emily and Jake are the perfect couple. Or so everyone says. But Emily just read a letter that has shattered her perfect world. Now she only has one thing on her mind. Which one of her friends is sleeping with her husband?

When I accepted a job working as a nanny for David and Julie and their young children, I was excited to be making my own way in the world. I bonded with baby Chloe instantly and would have done anything for her. She had David's thick, dark hair and smiling eyes. I fell in love with her and was excited for my future. But when a terrible mistake led to Chloe disappearing, I was instantly blamed. With no evidence, I was let go and I returned home to rebuild my life. Twenty years later and I am still haunted by what happened.

Lizzie Beaumont has it all: a great career, a wealthy fiancé, and the wedding of her dreams just months away. But when her fiancé puts work before her again, she sets off for a week in the picturesque town of Hope Cove. She’s hoping for time away from the chaos to find herself. When the gorgeous guy next door asks her for decorating help, Lizzie finds herself all too eager to please. The week she expected to drag suddenly flies by, and before she knows it, she has to return to her other life.

Our new home was supposed to be a chance to leave our past behind. But was moving here the worst mistake of our lives? All our friends and family were gathered, glasses raised to toast our fresh start. It should have been a night for happiness and celebration. Zac and I had worked so hard for this: our first home together, just minutes from the sea. But the dream quickly turned into a nightmare.

Lucy has a kind and adoring husband, a job she loves as a teacher, and a house on Mulberry Avenue with floaty curtains and the softest bed linen. After her troubled childhood, she knows life will never be perfect, but it’s pretty close. She’s also got Amber, right next door. They never run out of things to talk about. Even if Amber’s life - with her high-profile job and handsome, wealthy boyfriend - is more glamorous than Lucy’s, they share a down-to-earth sense of humor. But then Amber starts to hint that her life isn’t all it seems....

When the body of Lola Evans is found in a local park on a cold winter's morning, Detective Alex King and her new recruit Chloe Lane are called in to lead the hunt for the killer. Chilling and totally compelling with an utterly surprising twist, The Girls in the Water is perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza, Sarah Hilary, and Patricia Gibney.

I wrap my arms around the tree trunk, pressing my cheek against it until the bark digs in and the missing poster is finally secured. I try not to look at the photograph on it. At the features so similar to mine. Perhaps this will be the year someone comes forward. Were crucial mistakes made by detectives from the very beginning? Could the pressure of living two lives have led my sister to run away - or even end it? Or did someone in her tight circle of friends and family have reason to want her gone? Someone out there must know something.

Police photographer Sukey Reynolds is looking forward to a quiet weekend gardening at home, when she gets a call that there has been a shocking break-in at a local manor house. Once she begins to gather evidence, Sukey realises that this is the latest in a spate of well-crafted burglaries in the Cotswolds. Someone is targeting expensive houses with valuable art collections. Thankfully, the police soon have a suspect in custody. But, during questioning, he suddenly catches a glimpse of Sukey, turns deathly pale and calls out to her. Sukey is sure she has never met this man before.

Keira North falls to her death at a party. What initially seems like it could be an accident is soon revealed to be something far more sinister as Detectives Alex King and Chloe Lane are called in to investigate the secrets and lies that link a group of four friends. The detectives soon find that all of Keira's three closest friends have secrets that someone would kill to keep. As Alex and Chloe are fighting their own demons and struggling to stay on top of the case, Keira's killer is circling the group of friends, who one by one find that their lives are in danger....

As fascists march across the cobbled piazzas and past the towered buildings of her beloved home city, 20-year-old Devora’s worst fears come true. Along with her Jewish parents and twin little brothers they are torn away from everything they love and sent to an internment camp huddled in the mountains. Her father promises this war will not last long....

On a dark night, on a mountain road, a young couple, Matthew and Stacey, are on their way home from a night out. Their car breaks down, and Matthew leaves to look for help. By the next morning, Stacey is found murdered in the car and Matthew is missing, presumed guilty of her murder. Called to the scene, Detective Alex King and her team soon see some terrifying links - to another local young man who is missing and to the discovery of a body from 30 years ago.

Each morning Livia Moretti makes her way from an apartment overlooking Florence’s famous Duomo to a nearby café, where she drinks espresso and reads the newspaper. To the crowds of tourists who pass by, nothing about Livia will be memorable. She is simply an old lady. They walk on without knowing the part she played in ensuring the future of this beautiful city. And to Livia now, those dark days feel very far away. But today, when she opens the paper, she sees a name she has not heard for a long time. A name that will bring memories flooding back.

Germany, 1944. Gazing through the barbed wire, Antonia makes a vow: She will not let her family die in this camp. She will find a way for them to escape, even if it costs her own life. The Nazis have taken everything from her, but they can never take away her courage.... Would you go into a prison camp if there was a chance to save your family? When resistance fighter Antonia’s beloved sister and her children are taken by the Nazis, she knows what she must do. Only she is strong enough to save the family who have been her whole world since she was separated from her true love, Viktor

The last thing to go through Dominique Thomas's head was the image of her teenage daughter's face and her heart lifted. Then the shot rang out. They were the perfect family. Successful businessman Ben Thomas and his wife Dominique live an enviable life, along with their beautiful children: teenager Ruby and quirky younger daughter Mouse. But on Christmas Day the police are called to their London home, only to discover a horrific scene: the entire family lying lifeless, victims of an unknown assailant.

Jay and I have only known each other a short while, but whenever I gaze into his gorgeous brown eyes I know he’s the one. His little house by the deep forest’s edge is perfect for the two of us—no internet, no phone signal, and no neighbors. I’m about as far from my past as I could be. Warm in Jay’s arms, I can persuade myself it’s ok that he disappears for hours when he thinks I’m asleep at night, returning the next morning, glittery eyed and tense. I won’t question him, I can’t challenge him. I need our relationship to work. Because I have secrets too.

It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Zoe was sitting in her hotel room, in her perfect white dress, looking forward to the moment when she would make kind, handsome Toby her husband. Then, there was a blank. They said she must have fainted, overcome with emotion. But nothing felt quite right afterward. Did something happen in that missing time?

When Louisa Sullivan takes her little boy to his first playdate at a new friend’s house, she doesn’t realize life is about to change for her family. Because she’s about to meet Darcy Lane. Darcy is a woman who has everything—a dream house, a powerful husband, and enviable wealth. She’s the perfect wife. The perfect friend. The perfect liar.

She’ll do anything for you.... My name is Alex, and my world has been shattered. My husband has left me. My children won’t speak to me. My friend Carrie is the only person I have. She’s the only one I can trust to keep all my secrets. She’d never do anything to let me down. Would she? This dark, gripping psychological thriller will have you holding your breath until the very last minute.