Tag: Claire Douglas

The New Neighbours by Claire Douglas

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I was very happy that a new book by Claire Douglas was out for us to read this summer season. I was even happier because it still had front doors on the cover – I am actually obsessed with these covers to Clare Douglas’ books and I think if they ever stop being front doors, I may be inconsolable. But I digress, let’s talk about this book (with some difficulty, as it is a thriller – haha).

‘The New Neighbours’ had been picked for the IRL book club and, although I had been unable to attend the last one, I am over the moon that this is what they picked. I started it Sunday afternoon and I had finished it by Monday evening. It had me reading past my bedtime, as well as reading when I should probably have been doing other things. I had some train journeys and it came with me on them because I just had to keep reading it (trains had become Kindle zones because it is just easier – as much as I am still rather anti-Kindle, I am not anti-being able to have multiple books with me on any form of public transport).

This was such a fantastic thriller. And, I will be honest, I did not see where it was going, although in hindsight there were plenty of clues, but I was just so absorbed in the escapism of the story, I do not think my brain was in gear to try and solve it.

Lena meets her new neighbours, Marielle and Henry, who seem charming and just the sort of couple you would like living next door. However, as you would suspect, they are not all they seem to be and Lena ends up with a whole list of suspicions and worries about the new neighbours. This leads us into a pacy thriller where nothing is ever quite as it seems and the ending: ‘oh my’ – I love a slightly creepy ending.

I am afraid that is all I can give you about the story with my no-spoiler policy. However, I can say that this is a well-written page-turner that I am pretty sure will be loved by anyone who enjoys a thriller, but especially by those who love Claire Douglas’ books. I think it could possibly be one of my favourites of her novels.

So, in simple terms: thriller fans, this is the book for you.

Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

I love it when I spot a bargain for the Kindle, and I spotted an absolute bargain when I saw that ‘Then She Vanishes’ was on offer for a steal. I was (like so many of my go-to authors) introduced to the books of Claire Douglas by The Book Taster and it is another introduction I am glad was made.

‘Then She Vanishes’ is from Claire’s backlist, first published in 2019 (another thing I love about being introduced to new authors, you often have a backlist to look up to), and I am glad that it is a book that made it onto my tbr list as it was an absolute treat to read. I picked this after a rather delayed flight situation and knew I needed something that would grab my attention, and that is something that I can rely on the books of Claire Douglas to do. This is an author who always offers a guranteed page-turner and this one was no different – in fact, that may have been my favourite so far and that is quite a statement as I have enjoyed each and every one of the books that I have read.

I think the reason why I may have liked this one just a little bit more is that there were a number of mysteries that needed unravelling – there were just so many secrets amongst its pages, that you really were not sure who you should trust or what was really the truth.

There appears to be no reason for Heather to have taken a gun and shot a mother and son who are new in town, and then turn the gun on herself. When her old friend Jess hears about this chain of events, she takes a professional interest as a local journalist, but is soon drawn further into these events than she intends. But, along the way, the dark secrets of the past are brought to the fore – and there has always been the mystery of the disappearance of Heather’s sister Flora; could that have triggered what has recently taken place?

Spoiler-free means all I can say is that you will have to read it to find out how all this comes together in a conclusion; I just cannot possibly say if that conclusion is tidy or not. But, I can say that this is a very well-constructed story told with the odd first-person chapter, and events from both the past and present that keep you even more invested in the story.

So, all in all, this is a great thriller and means I am just going to have find more of Claire Douglas’ backlist to read; in fact, I think there may be one on my tbr pile as we speak…

The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

After the Book Taster introduced us to the books of Claire Douglas, I had made a decision that I need to read her backlist. So, one of my reads in February was ‘The Girls who Disappeared’ (as I found it at a little bit of a bargain price).

This was another great twisty thriller, with atmosphere built from the first page, and a fantastic strong female lead in the form of the journalist Jenna Halliday.

This is a small-town mystery. Twenty years earlier, Olivia Rutherford was in a car accident with her friends, but when she wakes up, the other girls have gone. For twenty years, there has been no explanation for what happened that night, but as the anniversary approaches, Jenna Halliday wants to do a true crime podcast in an attempt to see if it exposes any new information. However, it seems that some people in this small town will go to extreme measures to ensure that nothing new is exposed – or to ensure that any other secrets are exposed.

The small-town setting adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere, as does the forest and the road where the accident happened. Claire Douglas is excellent at using the setting to add to the tension of the story that is being told.

As it is a thriller, it is quite hard to say too much about the plot of the book, other than you are left feeling that everyone has a secret that they are trying to keep hidden, and you never really know who is genuine as a character. It is a quite a ride from start to finish – with a fantastic reveal when we reach the conclusion.

The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas

by Bookworm&TheatreMouse

The Book Taster got us off to a thrilling start for 2024 with the January pick of ‘The Woman Who Lied’ by Claire Douglas. This is my first book by Claire Douglas and I am pretty sure that it will not be my last.

This was a fantastic page-turning thriller (yes, I have used that cliche phrase) and a great concept for a thriller too. Emilia Ward is an author of detective fiction and she is about to publish her final book with her famous chracter, Detective Miranda Moody. However, this does not quite become the celebration it should, as she suddenly seems to be living the story she created in her book. Was this story really from her imagination? Where did the inspiration for her final Detective Moody story really come from? And is Emilia’s perfect life about to come crashing down around her?

I found this a very well-plotted thriller. There are some fantastic red herrings woven into the plot. You are led down all sorts of paths, just like Emilia, only to find that you are completely off course. And, for me, that is the sign of a fantastic thriller. I did not reach the correct conclusion, and actually really enjoyed how this book ended, as I had not seen it coming. Although I admit that I do not read these to attempt to solve them, I read them to be able to have some complete escapism from the real world, and that is exactly what this book was for me.

I am looking forward to hearing Claire Douglas talk about her writing and her books at our book club meeting. And I will definitely be reading some of the backlist, because I always enjoy a good thriller.