Two girls went into the Hanging Woods. Only one returned. Twenty years ago Caitlin vowed never to return to her small Irish hometown. Now she drifts from temporary jobs to temporary men, trying to escape memories of the Hanging Woods. Of what happened to Roisin there. But with news of her estranged mother's sudden death, Caitlin is forced to return home, back to the town where everyone knows each other's business and old resentments run deep. Roisin's sister Deedee, now a Garda, has never given up on finding the truth of what happened in those woods. And Caitlin's return makes old wounds fresh, threatening to exhume secrets that have lain buried for two decades - while the Hanging Woods begin their siren call to Caitlin and Deedee once more . . . Darkrooms is by Rebecca Hannigan.
Killing in the Shadows is by Kate Ellis. The quaint Yorkshire village of Eaglethorpe was a sanctuary for famous TV personality, Lexi Verity, away from prying eyes and camera flashes. But a life led in the spotlight can create envy in its shadows. When Lexi is found dead in her swimming pool, DI Joe Plantagenet and DCI Emily Thwaite are called to investigate. The murder of the celebrity is front-page news and the pressure is on the Eborby CID to find the killer. As Joe and Emily unravel the last moments of Lexi's life, they discover various motives for murder - as well as events in Lexi's distant past that would horrify the public if the facts were ever revealed. Sinister secrets are also haunting the residents of the ancient cathedral city of Eborby nearby.
As a college English professor, Elizabeth looks forward to the start of each new semester teaching her creative writing seminar. At least until she reads chapter one of The Reckoning, a tale about a high school senior who has an affair with her teacher. To anyone else it would be the beginning of a great page-turner, but to Elizabeth it is the beginning of the end. She knows this story. It's all familiar because she lived it. The girl in the story was her best friend Jocelyn, and Elizabeth knows exactly how the story will end-with the professor dead. Because she was the one who killed him. Someone knows what Elizabeth did twenty years ago and her secret is about to be exposed, but who is the mystery student submitting the chapters? In an effort to find out, Elizabeth returns to her Louisiana hometown where it soon becomes clear that no matter how many years have gone by, she can't escape her past. Someone Knows is by Vi Keeland.
February 2026
It's Not Her is by Mary Kubica. A stunning discovery. Courtney Gray's tranquil family vacation is shattered when she hears a blood-curdling scream from the lakeside cottage next door. There she finds the lifeless bodies of her brother and sister-in-law. Her teenage niece Reese is nowhere to be found, while her nephew Wyatt lies asleep upstairs, unharmed. A shocking investigation. As the police descend on the quiet resort town, disturbing secrets about Courtney's family start to emerge. When she learns that the town has secrets of its own, it makes her wonder if Reese is another victim in a brutal crime or if she's the killer. A truth no one could have imagined . . As Courtney begins to unravel the terrible mystery, she realizes that everyone around her has something to hide. And the closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to see . . .
Twenty years ago, Eddie's career as a journalist was destroyed by the Juliet Fox case. Juliet was young and beautiful, born into the privileged world of the Manhattan elite. Pulled into their orbit by her investigation, Eddie discovered how far the rich and powerful are prepared to go when their way of life is threatened . . . Eddie has always known that the wrong man was made the scapegoat for Juliet's murder. So when a new luxury sky-rise is opened by Juliet's father, just metres from where her body was discovered two decades before, Eddie can't resist finding her way in, back into a world where dangerous people operate in the shadows, and anyone might kill to keep a secret safe. In Glass Houses is by Edel Coffey.
I'm Not The Only Murderer in my Retirement Home is by Fergus Craig. Retirement will have to wait. When former serial killer Carol takes her place in a luxury retirement home, she begins to find her feet with a small new group of friends. If she can only keep her past hidden, maybe she has a chance at happiness. That's when she discovers that, absurdly, every other one of Sheldon Oaks' residents was involved in the law somehow. It's not long before her true identity is leaked, and when a former police commissioner resident is murdered, naturally all eyes turn to her... Now she must solve the case to prove her innocence - just as her new friends start their own investigations into whether there is more than one killer at Sheldon Oaks.
For a man who works in the shadows, a family is not just a luxury - it's a weakness. When an unknown enemy uses threats against Zack Hightower's estranged daughter to blackmail the injured operative into taking on a dangerous mission, his friend, Court Gentry, aka the Gray Man, volunteers to take Zack's place. But Court has problems of his own. He's already got a expert assassin on his trail for no apparent reason. And now his quest to protect Zack's family may drag his own family into the maelstrom. There's one lesson that Court has found undeniable: There's a reason superheroes have secret identities. The Hard Line is by Mark Greaney.
Stolen in Death is by J D Robb. A violent death and a vault of stolen treasures has Eve Dallas struggling to solve crimes old and new A blow to the head with a block of amethyst has left multibillionaire Nathan Barrister dead. Meanwhile, a nearby vault, its door ajar, sits filled with priceless paintings, jewelry, and other treasures and yet only one item seems to be missing. Is this a simple case of a burglar caught in the act or does Eve have a much bigger, bloodier mystery to solve....?
March 2026
The Shark is by Emma Styles. Every monster has a weakness. At the height of Australian summer, a serial killer known as The Shark stalks a coastal suburb, hunting young female swimmers. Afraid and furious at the failure of the police to protect them, two women fight back. Raych is grieving someone she'd have died to save, while Carmen hides her own disturbing connection to the murders. In desperation, they form an uneasy alliance. And when another girl vanishes, they take matters into their own hands - by kidnapping the prime suspect. But as their interrogation spirals, horrifying truths surface on both sides of the table. The clock is ticking to save the missing girl. And in their quest for justice, Raych and Carmen must face the darkest question of all: have they caught a monster - or become one?
The wildest places often conceal the darkest secrets... DSI William Lorimer never expected that the next time he'd visit the Isle of Mull - where he and his wife, Maggie, have often wandered its windswept coasts and picturesque lochs - it would be for the funeral of an old friend. Mary Grant's sudden heart attack was a shock to the small community on the island, but Lorimer has no reason to suspect foul play, until he is approached at the funeral by one of Mary's closest friends. She is convinced there was more to Mary's death than meets the eye. And when she, too, dies in a sudden accident, Lorimer finds himself investigating a double murder. Mull is a place of spectacular beauty and characterful towns, but Lorimer knows that even here old secrets can resurface, resentments can run deep, and evil can lurk undetected. Blood on Old Stones is by Alex Gray.
Guilt is by Keigo Higashino. A body has been found on a Central Tokyo riverbank, and Homicide Detective Godai of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is assigned to investigate. The victim is identified as a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, and Godai's investigations lead him to one Tatsuro Kuraki, who ends up confessing to not only to the lawyer's murder, but also another one from thirty years ago - for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. Kuraki's confession neatly resolves two cases, but there is just one problem: Detective Godai doesn't believe him. What's more, there are two other people who can't accept Kuraki's confession. One is the son of Kuraki, the professed murderer; the other is the daughter of Shiraishi, the victim. As they get closer to the truth it becomes clear that the link between the two murders is murkier and more complicated than they could possibly have imagined - and so is the line between innocence and guilt.
In a house built on lies, the truth will get you killed. London, 1953. One foggy night, in the dead of February, a diffident young man arrives unannounced at 42 Tregunter Road in Chelsea. Self-styled Bohemian Mrs Honor Wilson, who runs a minor literary journal and lodgings from this timeworn Victorian house, introduces him to her 'dear house guests': Robbie, the writer; Mina, the aspiring socialite; George, the debutante; and Saul, the refugee poet. Jimmy Sullivan is a family friend, Honor says - yet clearly, something is very amiss. Despite everyone's suspicions, she lets the stranger move into the attic. As they each try to disprove Jimmy's dubious account of himself, secrets, jealousies, and disturbing schemes come to light, fracturing the household's delicate allegiances and setting in motion, unstoppably, a tale of perilous self-invention, complicated love, and murderous revenge. The Kindness of Strangers is by Emma Garman.
May 2026
An Atlantic voyage. A family at war. A secret worth killing over. Reporter Jack Parlabane thrives on chasing stories in unlikely places, and where could be less likely than a fan convention on a cruise liner celebrating a contentious Sixties TV series? But unlike the media family exploiting their show's renewed relevance, he's not there to stoke controversy: he's there to solve a murder. Already in deep water with his employer, Jack desperately needs a win, and solving this decades-old mystery could be it. Problem is, he's in the middle of the Atlantic, and someone onboard has already killed once to keep their secret. And that's not even the tricky part. No, the tricky part is definitely the dead body locked in a stateroom with him, covered in his blood. Now Jack has to solve two murders, otherwise the only way he's getting off this ship is in handcuffs - or in a body bag. Quite Ugly One Evening is by Chris Brookmyre and is a zeitgesty locked-room mystery that sees the return of rogue journalist Jack Parlabane thirty years after his first appearance in Quite Ugly One Morning.
Tom Clancy's Rules of Engagement is by Ward Larsen. The White House is stunned when the Secretary of Commerce is killed in a plane crash in Turkey. President Jack Ryan isn't ready to write this off as a simple accident. Not only has he lost a good friend, but the Secretary was on an important mission: on the surface he was making an appearance at an economic conference, but the CIA was also using the flight as cover to extract an important asset from the Middle East. Soon, Lt. Commander Katie Ryan and her team are working with the investigators to find the cause of the tragedy, but one shocking revelation changes everything. There were supposed to be 16 people on the plane, but there are only 15 bodies. The quest for answers will lead the team deeper and deeper into a quagmire of lies and deception that will force President Ryan to face an unprincipled enemy with global ambitions.
True Crime: A Memoir is by Patricia Cornwell where she finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede it: her own. Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta's began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue. In this achingly honest memoir, Cornwell excavates her own life, detailing her traumatic childhood being raised by neglectful parents, her father abandoning the young family on Christmas day, her mother being institutionalised twice, an abusive foster family, and developing a parental relationship with evangelist Billy Graham's wife Ruth. Cornwell depicts a harrowing hospitalisation and near-death car accident. She unflinchingly shares overcoming obstacles that later gave her the ambition to become an award-winning police reporter. From there it was research in a medical examiner's office that would turn into a full-time job. She would become a forensic expert and worldwide publishing phenomenon. Cornwell leaves no stone unturned in this deeply candid account of her life, offering inspiring insight into what made her into the international sensation she is today.
It's high summer in Slovenia. The charming resort town of Portorož is swarming with holidaymakers, and Inšpektorica Petra Vidmar is losing her cool. Fresh from her success solving the baffling murder of a beloved colleague, Petra's been enjoying sunshine, ice cream and very little crime in her new home on the stunning Slovenian coast. Life is blissful... until a super yacht drifts into the harbour with a body sprawled on deck. Steffi de Vries was a star on the social media scene, but her glittering career and picture-perfect life were brutally cut short. It seems that among her millions of followers, were many enemies: jealous boyfriends; ambitious rivals; illicit lovers and vengeful business partners. But who took their dislike beyond their phone screen and into real life? Petra and her assistant Policist Aleš Koren soon find themselves deep in the world of wealth, glamour, luxury and 'likes'. But not all is at it seems... can they prise off the filter of perfection to reveal the murderous truth? Death Under The Slovenian Sun is by Georgina Stewart.
June 2026
Backstabbers is by Eliza Jabore. Never turn your back on a friend. Jade, Stef and Zoe are hiking Washington's Bones Hollow Trail, braving cougars, snakes and the storms that roll in without warning. The friends' paranoia isn't helped by listening to a true crime podcast about the serial killer whose hunting ground they're hiking through. Then when Stef twists her ankle - badly - there's no one to hear them scream for help. The only sign of life for miles is a cabin that looks straight out of a horror movie, with an owner who's a little too eager to invite them in. The friends must soon find a way to survive as things spiral out of control. After all, who can you trust when your back's against the wall? But unfortunately for them, the only thing more twisted than this nightmare is their friendship...
1973. Hours after a mysterious phone call is made to the police, a train pulls into Sunderland station with a dead body on board. Cause of death: strangulation. Victim: unknown. Witnesses: none. Undeterred by this baffling set of circumstances, newly promoted Police Sergeant Aline James vows to crack the case and prove her critics wrong. But when her famously ruthless investigation tactics yield no results, she is forced to seek help from two unlikely allies: unassuming assassin John Brown and calamitous actor Tony Davies. As bodies pile up, can this unusual trio thwart a devilishly complex plot, before one of them, actually, becomes a corpse? Actually I'm a Corpse is by Terry Deary.
Murder at St Alfred's is by Julie Wassmer. Clues for a murder are rather like ingredients for a recipe. Put them together in the right way and the results can be very satisfying...' For almost two centuries, St Alfred's Church in Whitstable, Kent, has held special significance in the lives of its parishioners - including for private detective, Pearl Nolan, owner of the Whitstable Pearl restaurant. Pearl's son, Charlie, was christened in the church and her oyster fisherman father, Tommy Nolan, is buried in the old churchyard. Now, St Alfred's is about to play another part in Pearl's life as the setting for her wedding to Canterbury police detective, DCI Mike McGuire. But two fateful events are about to threaten this happy occasion - the discovery of a body on hallowed ground and the return of a ghost from Pearl's own past...
