Book club: Thrilling reads for cold nights

Twisted. Dark. Suspensful (oh, so suspensful). Lisa Jewell’s books are always edge-of-your-seat, and THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED  is a tremendous  psychological thriller.

From the very first page, you’re enveloped in a sense of doom … you just know there’s going to be no happy-ever-after ending. There’s a young couple who disappear after a night partying at a massive country estate, leaving a much adored baby behind with his gran, a group of not-so-desirable youngsters who are meant to be their friends but are not terribly concerned or helpful, and two awful mothers who leave a lot to be desired.

There are drugs and love,  secrets and lies, cryptic clues and many, many twists and turns. Honestly, don’t start it at bedtime … you will not be able to  put it down.

A small town in America, just filled with hate and secrets and abuse and despair. TALL BONES is Anna Bailey’s debut novel, and she writes like a dream …. sucking you into the lives of the characters, some indescribably awful, others who’ll break your heart.

The story revolves around the mystery of a teenager who disappears after a party in the woods. There are unhappy families with appalling secrets, a fire-and-brimstone preacher who lords over his flock of God-fearing religious fanatics, a sheriff ‘who looks like he’s been carved from wood and then left out in the rain’, who’s also missing a few fingers on his bear-trap-mangled hand (he pretty much sums up the town, to be honest).

You read with bated breath, as desperate as the townsfolk to discover what happened in the woods that night, a discovery that’s going to be the spark that sets this tinder box of small-town rage alight.

An agonising ending for readers who like everything tied up in a neat little bow! Brilliant.

A five-year old child missing in the woods, his nine-year sister who’s known to stretch the truth. An imaginary friend, deceitful husband, and a bestselling author … all come together in a thriller that keeps you guessing from start to finish.  TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH  by Gilly Macmillan is another unputdownable read … one boasting a final page that leaves you desperate for more.

For more great reads, visit exclusivebooks.co.za