Top 5 thrillers that explore female friendships By Bryony Pearce

Female friendships can be closer and more intense than romances. Women can be the most loyal and the most vicious in defence of one another and enduring female friendships get us through the hardest of times. We develop these close relationships through sharing mutual life experiences, from our first days at school, university or work, to the antenatal groups that get us through early motherhood. Female friends can be therapists, staunch defenders, cheerleaders and partners in crime. 

But when things go wrong, oh boy! The ending of a close female friendship can be more crippling and more brutal than the ending of a romantic one, yet this is not generally acknowledged. 

When friendship turns to enmity, women can be enormously underhand and creative in their cruelty. Even the ancient Greeks knew that when a woman turns to vengeance it can be shockingly scorched earth (see Euripedes’ Medea).

Consequently, female friendships are rich material for novelists writing thrillers. How could they not be?

My own novel, Little Rumours, deals with three women living in a small Devon village, their relationships to one another and to others. When one of their children goes missing, rumours swirl that one of them, at least, knows why.

But mine is only the latest in a run of thrillers focused on female friendships. Here are some of my favourites:

From Ruth Ware, who writes brilliant thrillers, The Lying Game, is a novel about four women who haven’t seen one another in years, but who literally drop everything to reunite when one of them sends a text: I need you. Secrets and lies surrounding their youth in a boarding school in the marshes come to light when a dead body is discovered. Has one of them broken the rules of the lying game (lie to everyone else but not to one another)?

Claire McGowan’s The Other Wife, is, like Little Rumours, told from the points of view of three very different women whose lives have been or are being controlled by terrible men. But their own secrets mean these women are stronger than anyone realised. 

Cass Green is another of my favourite writers. The Woman Next Door was her debut adult thriller and is told from the point of view of neighbours Hester, a lonely and obsessive older woman, and Melissa, a young mother with a teenaged daughter. When something terrible happens, Melissa is forced to turn to Hester for help. But Hester is not the kind of person you want on your side.

Sarah Naughton is a wonderful writer, who creates characters that completely draw you in (did you read Tattletale?). In The Festival she writes about four friends, who were close in school but have since drifted apart. When one of them turns 40, they go to a festival in their old hometown to celebrate and recapture their youth. But as always, things are not as they seem and not all the women will leave the festival alive.

My final choice is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, which tells the story of a group of women, who like those in Little Rumours are forced together by the school gates. But these friends come together to face the world head on, and deal with an issue of school bullying that has its roots in something so much worse. For a change, a thriller about women united, rather than divided. A murder, secrets coming to light and twists and turns make it a tense and unputdownable thriller.

Little Rumours by Bryony Pearce (Harper Collins) Out Now

It started with a rumour. But rumours can be deadly... In a small town, three mothers wave goodbye to their children at the school gates. Naomi has lived in Exton Cross since she was born, and she knows everything there is to know about everyone. Aleema hates it here. It's been three years and she's yet to make a single friend. And she's sure the other mums whisper about her behind her back. Kelly is an outsider. New to the town, she arrives with nothing but her son - and a dark secret. By the end of the school day, one of their children will be missing. And rumours will swirl that one of them knows why...

You can find Bryony Pearce on Twitter @BryonyPearce and on Instagram @BryonyPearce. She can also be found on Facebook.

Claire McGowan enters The Vanishing Triangle

 

We were intrigued when we heard that Crime writer Claire McGowan has entered the world of Audio True Crime, She conducts a disturbing investigation, entitled THE VANISHING TRIANGLE, exclusive to Audible Studios. In fact, she also narrates this slab of investigative journalism.

The Vanishing Triangle shines a light on the unsolved disappearance of at least eight women from mid-nineties Dublin; their bodies were never found, and no suspect was ever charged. To understand why these crimes remain unsolved, McGowan explores what life was like in nineties Ireland, and investigates how a shifting political landscape and Irish society’s views on the treatment of women impacted the investigation.

An insightful look at the context that shaped a terrifying Irish mystery, The Vanishing Triangle asks how misogyny, shame and secrecy prevented us from discovering the truth behind these disappearances. 

Claire McGowan is the author of the bestselling crime thriller What You Did and the popular Paula Maguire series. She has written several radio plays and TV scripts, and also writes women’s fiction under the pseudonym Eva Woods.

“'I first came across the so-called Vanishing Triangle cases when writing my Ireland-set crime series, and was shocked and horrified that they had never been solved, and that no one really knows about them outside of the country. I realised I had been a teenager growing up in Ireland at the time of the disappearances, but had no memory of hearing about them then. This has been a massive undertaking for me, a different way of writing, a story without an ending, real people with real suffering families. Audible have been hugely supportive and I really hope it will bring a greater spotlight to the ongoing tragedy of these unsolved cases.” Claire McGowan

The Vanishing Triangle will be available to download from 1^st April 2021 exclusively at www.audible.co.uk.

For an insightful look into the attraction of Ture Crime Audio – Click HERE

So, intrigued with this departure for this crime writer, we tracked her down as we had a few questions -

Ali Karim:       The most pressing question first, why the foray into true crime after penning fiction?

Claire McGowan:  It wasn’t something I had particularly planned to do, but the topic came up at the Harrogate crime festival, and I was asked if I could think of any true crime cases I’d be interested in writing about – and this was the first one to come to mind, as I’d learned about it while researching some of my crime novels.

AK:      And so, what intrigued you about the case of these missing eight women in 1990s Dublin to investigate?

CM:     I had always found it very shocking that there could have been a serial murderer in Ireland that not only was never caught, but not even identified for some years. It seemed so sinister that this could happen in such a small and close-knit country, which had always felt quite safe to grow up in.

AK:      After penning many crime novels tell us how difficult it was to change to writing non-fiction?

CM:     I did find it quite a difficult transition – mostly I found myself checking facts over and over while writing, because normally I would just make it up. The other difficulty is that these cases are not currently solvable, and in my books there were would always be a resolution that explained everything.

AK:      In THE VANISHING TRIANGLE you provide commentary on the social backdrop of Ireland before the millennium, especially toward women. Was it difficult to uncover what lay beneath the veneer of a genteel, religious society?

CM:     Although I knew a fair bit about the cases already, and do remember much of the nineties from growing up in Ireland, I was still shocked to discover the extent of violence against women there, both years ago and now. I also learned that as well as the disappearances there was quite a few murders of women in the same area, many still unsolved, that may be connected. Obviously, the country was not as safe as I had imagined as a young girl.

AK:      How much research was involved in your investigation?

CM:     Quite a lot – I researched a lot in newspaper archives as well as books, and spoke to people connected to the cases. The difficult thing was knowing when to stop, as I kept finding more and more cases that might have been relevant.

AK:      And the Gardai? [aka Irish Police] What was the cooperation from the authorities like, or would they rather your just went away?

CM:     I found them very helpful, both the retired officers who worked on the cases, and the current force, who invited me to an event for missing persons that’s held every year in Dublin. My impression was that the officers who investigated the cases, especially the cold case team who worked on them for three years, were quite haunted by them, and had done everything they could to try and solve them, but ultimately there was just no evidence.

AK:      Did you ever consider fictionalising the events of THE VANISHING TRIANGLE to pen an imagined thriller?

CM:    No – I feel I’ve written a lot about missing persons in Ireland already in fiction, and I wouldn’t want to fictionalise something that is still causing so much pain to the families who’ve never had any resolutions, not even a body to bury.

AK:      And why the decision to turn into an audio book? And more specifically, to narrate the story yourself?

CM:     It was actually commissioned as an audio book first and foremost, although it will also be a print book after some time has passed. I was surprised to be asked to narrate it – it wasn’t my decision – because I don’t have any experience in voice acting, but I think as it’s quite a personal story, it was right that I did it.

AK:      Are going to return to crime fiction, with your Paula Maguire books, or standalones?

CM:     I haven’t stopped writing crime fiction – I have another thriller out later this year, I Know You, which is about miscarriages of justice, Death Row, and old secrets coming back to haunt the present.

AK:      And tell us how your involvement in BELFAST NOIR came about?

CM:     That was a collection of short stories edited by Stuart Neville and Adrian McKinty – I was just asked to write a story for it, which was a lot of fun.

AK:      Are we likely to see another Audible work from your notebook and microphone?

CM:     No immediate plans but they have been fantastic to work with, and I would certainly consider writing some more non-fiction in the future.

AK:      Thank you for your time

CM: And to Shots Magazine too!

Shots Magazine would like to thank Ben McCluskey of Midas, London for his help in this Shots Magazine feature.

For more information about the work of Claire McGowan, follow her on Twitter @inkstainsclaire AND More information about the world of Audio Books, go to www.audible.co.uk OR www.audible.com

No Alibis Crime Care Package

No Alibis Bookstore have teamed up with a group of local authors to give away a #CrimeCarePackage to the value of £25 to ten people each day this week, fifty packages in total, containing a selection of great books hand chosen for each recipient.


If you or someone you know is facing isolation in the coming days, we’d like to send you a curated selection of books to the value of £25, free of charge. Due to costs, we can only deliver to UK and Ireland. To enter the contest, just do the following: Tweet @NOALIBISBOOKS with the hashtag #CrimeCarePackage, and tell us about a book you love. If you’re selected as a recipient, we’ll use that as a guide for your selection of books. We will choose ten winners at random at the end of each day.


Remember, we’re giving away ten packages every day until Friday, so if you’re not chosen today, there’ll be lots more chances throughout this week. Just tweet us again to enter. This giveaway has been made possible by the generosity of these authors:


@ClaireAllan, @GerardBrennan, Lucy Caldwell (@beingvarious), @JanCarson7280, Steve Cavanagh (@SSCAV), John Connolly (@jconnollybooks), Kelly Creighton (@KellyCreighto16), Sharon Dempsey (@svjdempz), @SimonMaltman, …@BrianMcGilloway, Claire McGowan (@inkstainsclaire), @AdrianMcKinty, Eoin. McNamee (@mcnamee_eoin), @StuartNeville, and Anthony J Quinn (@ajpquinn). Our deepest thanks everyone who contributed!

Books to Look Forward to from Headline Publishing

February 2018

The Gone World is by Tom Sweterlitsch.  1997 - When ex Navy Seal Patrick Mursult's family are found murdered, he is the number one suspect. But NCIS Special Agent Shannon Moss isn't convinced, particularly after Patrick apparently commits suicide.  2014 - Years after the brutal killings, while working undercover, Moss stumbles across a witness from the Mursult case who unwittingly tells her far more than she had at the time. Inspired by this retrospective progress, Moss determines to travel through time to a host of potential futures to track down the killer and close this cold case once and for all.

A brilliant criminal psychologist, Alex works with the police to help solve the most complex of crimes in Los Angeles, city of illusions, glamour and infamy.  An affluent family returns home from Sunday dinner only to find the murdered and brutalized corpse of a total stranger in their house. This baffling, twisted tale tests Alex and Milo to their intellectual and emotional limits.  Night Moves is by Jonathan Kellerman.

March 2018

The Killing House is by Claire McGowan. 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.

April 2018

Come and Find Me is by Sarah Hilary.  On the surface, Lara Chorley and Ruth Hull have nothing in common, other than their infatuation with Michael Vokey. Each is writing to a sadistic inmate, sharing her secrets, whispering her worst fears, craving his attention.  DI Marnie Rome understands obsession. She's finding it hard to give up her own addiction to a dangerous man: her foster brother, Stephen Keele. She wasn't able to save her parents from Stephen. She lives with that guilt every day.  As the hunt for Vokey gathers pace, Marnie fears one of the women may have found him - and is about to pay the ultimate price.

When millionaire Leo Speight is found poisoned at his Ayrshire mansion, Police Scotland has a tough case on its hands. The charismatic young Speight was a champion boxer with national hero status. A long list of lovers and friends stand to benefit from his estate. Did one of them decide to speed things up? Or was jealousy or rivalry the motive?  Suspecting links to organized crime, the Security Service wants to stay close to the investigation. They have just the man to send in: ex-Chief Constable Bob Skinner. Skinner might have retired from the police force, but solving crimes is in his blood. Combining forces with DI Lottie Mann and DS Dan Provan of Serious Crimes, he's determined to see Speight's murderer put away for a long, long time. But there's a twist even Bob Skinner couldn't see coming...  A Brush With Death is by Quintin Jardine

The Silenced is by Stephen Lloyd Jones.  Mallory Grace just killed a man. To survive the next hour, she'll have to kill again. To survive the night, she'll need a miracle.  Obadiah Macintosh doesn't seem like a miracle. He is a recluse who works alone at an animal sanctuary, and he has a secret. When the dogs in his care alert him to intruders hidden by the darkness, he knows they are coming for him.  Mallory and Obadiah were strangers, brought together for one purpose.  To give new light to a terrifying world.  But now they are on the run and evil intends to find them.

Now You See is by Max Manning.  I, Killer has posted two photos of his first victim online - Before Death and After Death. They've gone viral before DCI Fenton's team even discovers the body.  Soon, another victim's photo is similarly posted ...and so begins the killer's following.  DCI Fenton is determined to discover the identity of I, Killer. Then the murderer makes the hunt personal, and Fenton's search becomes a matter of life or death for him and his daughter.  But as I, Killer's body-count rises, his number of online followers is growing - and he loves to give his fans what they want...

June 2018

You don’t find him. He finds you. SADIE - Sadie Banner has been haunted by the Tall Man since she was a child. She hears his voice in her head, sees his shadow on the wall, and is so afraid of what he might make her do that she abandons her husband and one-week-old daughter. Sadie returns for Amber's sixteenth birthday, but has she brought the Tall Man back with her?  AMBER -Two years later Amber has just been acquitted of a murder charge in a high profile case. She's set to be the subject of a true-crime documentary - but who did she kill, and why?  The Tall Man is by Phoebe Locke.

Incorruptible is by Barbara Nadel.  In the backstreets of Istanbul, a young woman's body is found. Dumped in a dustbin and covered in cut flowers, she is the victim of a frenzied and vicious stabbing.  Inspector Ikmen discovers that the woman was well known in Istanbul. Newspapers had been calling her the blessed woman; cured of cancer in a Christian miracle and a proclaimed messenger of the Virgin Mary. These controversial claims had made her fierce enemies in the predominantly Islamic community and she had unwittingly stirred up divisions amongst the Christians of the city. But as Ikmen digs further into the case he uncovers powerful hatred and dark secrets lurking within her family. And to find the truth he must delve into a toxic world of fear, concealment and lies. The question is: was this a killing in the name of faith or does the answer lie somewhere else?

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First Monday Crime - July!

First Monday is going all out for its July 4th event, sponsored by Killer Reads, with triple CWA Historical Dagger winner Andrew Taylor (author of The American Boy and superb new novel The Ashes of London), Stephen Booth (Multiple award winning writer  of the Cooper and Fry series and respected goat breeder (honest – we looked it up)), Anna Mazzola (winner of the Brixton Bookjam Debut Novel competition for her stunning debut novel The Unseeing) and Beth Lewis (London-based editor and former circus performer – whose wonderful debut novel The Wolf Road is taking the publishing world by storm).  The evening will be chaired by Claire McGowan, bestselling author of the Paula Maguire series and senior lecturer on the City University Crime Writing MA course. Are they excited to have five phenomenal authors talking to us about their books? Yes. Yes, they are.

 

 

A mix between a social evening and a festival-style panel, First Mondays offers the crime fiction community – whether readers, writers or industry professionals – a place to meet, enjoy each other’s company and hear about the latest and most intriguing crime fiction around.

First Mondays begin at 6.30pm on the first Monday of each month with a panel discussion chaired by, amongst others, Barry Forshaw (Brit Noir etc), Jake Kerridge (Daily Telegraph) and James Kidd (Independent). Upcoming authors include Sophie Hannah, Mark Billingham and Belinda Bauer, as well as a host of established and debut authors from all over the world. After the panels, the conversation spills over to The Peasant pub.

First Monday is grateful to City University’s Crime Thriller MA Programme and Goldsboro Books for their generous support in staging our events. The July event will be held in the College Building of City University on St John Street (close to Angel Tube station).

Tickets may be purchased here.

 

Organizer

First Monday

Date:

July 4

Phone:

(+44) 0207 836 7376

Email:

FirstMondayCrime@gmail.com

Time:

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Cost:

£5

Venue

City University London

Northampton Square

London, EC1V 0HB United Kingdom

Books to look forward to from Headline Publishers

On a buzzing Istanbul street, in the fashionable district of Beyoglu, a young man drops dead. Umit Kavas's death was natural but the contents of his stomach betray a shocking truth: his last meal was human flesh. Under desperate pressure from their superiors, Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his colleague Mehmet Suleyman begin the most obscure investigation of their careers. How did Umit Kavas- apparently a good, liberal man - come to partake in the greatest taboo of all? Did he act alone? And who was the victim who met such a gruesome end? Soon they find themselves embroiled in a dark web of seemingly unconnected worlds: of Turkey's old secular elite; of a community of squatters; and a new gastronomy scene breaking every boundary. But where does the truth lie?  On the Bone is by Barbara Nadel and is due to be published in January 2016.

William Monk faces an old enemy determined to take revenge for an act committed many years - before he lost his memory. Anne Perry's outstanding new historical mystery takes us on a thrilling ride into Monk's past, as adversaries he cannot remember threaten everything he holds dear.  Revenge in a Cold River is by Anne Perry and is due to be published in April 2016.

Quintin Jardine's twenty-sixth Bob Skinner mystery sees the Edinburgh sleuth plunged into a gruelling new case in which no score will go unsettled. Enjoying life as a private citizen after a thirty-year police career, Bob Skinner is on the way to answer a friend's plea for help when a freak accident gives him an unwelcome glimpse of the dark side. As his former colleagues investigate the mystery of a dead child in the boot of a stolen car, the ex-Chief Constable undertakes an unusual challenge of his own, tracing a missing multi-million pound yacht that has vanished from its moorings. The two events seem unconnected, yet as the casualty count rises, is there a link that no one has seen? The whodunnit is clear. The mystery is: why.  Private Investigations is due to be published in May 2016.

A Savage Hunter is by Claire  McGowan and is due to be published in March 2016.  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?

David Churchill's The Leopards of Normandy trilogy continues with Duke, as William of Normandy inherits his father's title and assumes command of his lands. William the Bastard, boy Duke of Normandy, is alone in a world filled with enemies. His father, Robert, is dead and the men chosen to protect William are falling prey, one by one, to a conspiracy controlled and manipulated by a man who has spent a lifetime being mocked and ridiculed, but now burns with the need to be feared and obeyed. In England, two women, equally matched in their beauty, strength and limitless ambition, seek power through their sons. They wield no swords and command no armies but their struggle for the Crown is as bitter as any war. And between them stands Godwin, Earl of Wessex, seeking to build a dynasty that will outlast them all. One day, William will join the struggle for dominion over England. But for now he must fight just to survive, to reach manhood and then to impose his will on those who would oppose him. Including the young woman he wants for his wife.  The Leopards of Normandy: Duke is due to be published in April 2016.

Find Her is by Lisa Gardner and is due to be published in February 2016.I escaped. My

name is Flora Dane and I was kidnapped from a beach on spring break. I spent 472 days with my captor before I was found. I survived. And I've spent the last five years trying to reacquaint myself with the rhythms of my life. But everything is different. My relationships are fractured. I've had to learn how to protect myself, how to live in this dangerous new world. I'm reckless. I know that there are other predators out there and I'll do anything to stop them. Now I've killed a man, who I suspect may be involved in another girl's disappearance. Detective D.D. Warren doesn't trust me. She doesn't know whether I am a victim or a vigilante. Sometimes neither do I. But all she needs to know is that I can help. And that I'll put myself in danger again if I need to. Because the only thing that's important is to Find Her.

Her Husband’s Lover is by Julia Crouch and is due to be published in June 2016.  After the horrors of the past, Louisa Williams is desperate to make a clean start.  Her husband Sam is dead.  Her children, too, are gone, victims of the car accident in which he died.  Sam said that they would never get away from him.  That she would hound Lisa until she died if she tried to leave.  Louisa never thought that he would want to harm their children though.  But then she never thought that he would betray her with a girl like Sophie.  And now Sophie is determined to take all Louisa has left.  She wants to destroy her reputation and to take what she thinks is owed her – the life she would have had if Sam lived.  Her husband’s lover wants to take her life.  The only question is will Louisa let her?

Reader, I murdered him. A darkly brilliant Gothic retelling of Jane Eyre from the Edgar-nominated author of the Timothy Wilde series.  Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked - but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors. A fugitive navigating London's underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate's true heir, Jane takes the position and is soon caught up in the household's strange spell. When she falls in love with the mysterious Charles Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: can she possess him - body, soul and secrets - and what if he discovers her murderous past?  Jane Steele is by Lyndsay Faye and is due to be published in March 2016.

Also due to be published in February 2016 is Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman.

Tastes Like Fear is by Sarah Hilary and is due to be published in April 2016.  You'll never be out of Harm's way. The young girl who causes the fatal car crash disappears from the scene. A runaway who doesn't want to be found, she only wants to go home. To the one man who understands her. Gives her shelter. Just as he gives shelter to the other lost girls who live in his house. He's the head of her new family. He's Harm. DI Marnie Rome has faced many dangerous criminals but she has never come up against a man like Harm. She thinks that she knows families, their secrets and their fault lines. But as she begins investigating the girl's disappearance nothing can prepare her for what she's about to face. Because when Harm's family is threatened, everything tastes like fear...

Death Do Us Part is by Steven Dunne and is due to be published in May 2016.  Even death cannot part these couples...D I Damen Brook is on a rare period of leave and determined to make the most of it by re-connecting with his daughter Terri. But with her heavy drinking proving a challenge, Brook takes the opportunity to visit a local murder scene when his help is requested. An elderly couple have each been executed with a single shot to the heart and the method echoes that of a middle-aged gay couple killed the previous month. With the same killer suspected and the officer currently in charge nearing retirement, Brook knows that he has little choice but to cut short his leave when forced by his superiors to take the lead on the case. Brook believes that he can catch this ruthless killer, but already distracted by Terri's problems, is he about to make a fatal mistake and lead the killer right to his own door?

Psychologist Mailin Bjerke is due to appear on the notorious TV show Taboo, tackling its most sensational subject yet. But she never arrives at the studio.  As the police struggle to find any sign of Mailin, her sister Liss, living on the edge in Amsterdam, takes matters into her own hands. Flying home to Olso, she discovers a complex backdrop of friends and enemies, where no one can be relied upon to tell the truth. Her battle is made harder by the fractured memories of a childhood where Mailin was always her protector, and by the secrets she must keep hidden.  And she has no idea that Mailin's disappearance is somehow connected to a chance meeting more than a decade before...  Death by Water is by Torkil Damhaug and is due to be published in May 2016.

Also due to be published in June 2016 is The Dead Women of Deptford by Anne Granger.