Lily Samson on : How Roald Dahl’s Switch Bitch inspired my debut thriller, The Switch

I remember being shocked when I first read it: The Great Switcheroo by Roald Dahl. I was thirteen years old at the time. I had grown up devouring Roald Dahl and his magical classics for children: Matilda, The Witches, Danny the Champion of the World. Discovering his twist-in-the-tale stories was a delicious shock. Though his children’s fiction involves waspish humour and caricature villains, they are also very tender books, in my opinion, often involving a sweet relationship between parent(figure) and child. But his short stories were darker, all nastiness and schemes and games and come-uppances, with added spice; whilst they were far more ‘adult’, sex was often a theme explored with a school-boyish glee.

I loved The Great Switcheroo. It’s about two men who live opposite each other, who decide to creep into each other’s houses and swap wives in secret, in the dark, without them knowing. Dahl always anchored his outrageous conceits with a forensic attention to practical detail – each man spends weeks practising creeping into each other’s house, paying attention to the creak on the stairs and so on. Dahl has been accused of misogyny – unsurprisingly given that the story was originally written for Playboy and subsequently included in a collection called Switch Bitch. However, the men do get a come-uppance; their actions have consequences. The end result of their manipulations is the discovery that their partners have been sexually unsatisfied in the past and the secret swap has brought them a fulfilment not known before. The men are humiliated. They realise that they have trapped themselves in their own game.

I decided to turn the story on its head and explore the female equivalent: what would happen if two women decided to swap their male partners without them knowing? What if they also paid attention to every detail, a la Dahl, to the perfume they wear, the underwear, their shampoo, to see if they could pull it off?

I set the story in Wimbledon village, the home of many a glamorous millionaire. When my heroine, Elena, gets a housesit to stay there with her partner, she meets a dazzling couple called Sophia and Finn. Sophia is like a Hitchcock star; Finn exudes Cary Grant charisma. Elena feels drawn to them and so when Sophia makes an indecent proposal – inspired by reading Dahl’s story in homage to him – to practise a swap, Elena is initially uncertain and shocked. Sophia’s logic is twisted and like all manipulators, she plays different cards to win her argument: one minute, she assures Elena that the swap, a ‘perfect crime’, requires attention to detail, and the next she airily justifies sex without consent by declaring that all men enjoy sex and wouldn’t mind the game. Soon Elena is sucked in despite her moral concerns and the games become an addiction that spirals out of control. They are uncertain, too, whether their male partners have sensed what is happening and are playing them in turn.

For Sophia has her own agenda, one that she doesn’t reveal to Elena at first – behind her game is another shadow game. I wanted The Switch to be a domestic thriller, one where the darkness and danger tiptoes it slowly and mounts on every page, until the ending escalates into darkness and terror, kidnapping and a conspiracy to murder.

Like Dahl, I was interested in the theme of class. Elena studied at Cambridge but is from a working-class background, which echoes my own experiences – I grew up in a house in benefits and was the first person in my family to end up at university. I know that when you switch class outwardly, something inside never quite catches up: you find yourself in a liminal space, never quite fitting in. Sophia senses this and plays on it, using it to subtly undermine Elena. Their female friendship is warm and sincere at first, but gradually becomes toxic. However, having grown enjoying thrillers such Fatal Attraction, I didn’t want Sophia to be a caricature female villain who is manipulative for the sake of it. She has suffered secret trauma, and troubles in her past which have shaped her misandrist actions in the present; she has come to see life as a game which she needs to control. I wanted everyone in the book to be behaving terribly, but not be entirely unsympathetic, to create a thriller that was a cocktail of sex, lies and deceit.

The Switch by Lily Samson (Cornerstone) Out Now

TWO COUPLES. Elena and Adam are housesitting in Wimbledon and are instantly seduced by their new upscale surroundings. Sophia and Finn are their beautiful, enigmatic neighbours who invite them into their world. ONE TWISTED GAME. When Sophia proposes a wicked game to Elena whereby, they will swap partners in secret, it's not long before Elena starts to experience a sexual awakening that blossoms into an illicit love affair. But Sophia's plans are far more complex and dangerous than Elena could ever have imagined... WHO WILL SURVIVE?

You can follow Lily Samson on “X” @LilySamsonbooks

Forthcoming Crime Books from Century (Incl Cornerstone)

January 2023

The Other Guest is by Heidi Perks. She thinks she knows the truth. But what if she's wrong? Laila and her husband arrive for a week's holiday in Greece in desperate need of a reset. As Laila sits by the pool she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the other family staying in their resort. Em has no idea who Laila is, or that she has been watching her and her teenage sons and husband so intently. Five days later their worlds will be blown apart by a horrifying event. Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she's seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear. And what if she's got it wrong?

February 2023

One house. Nine guests. Endless motives for murder... In the seaside town of Hamlet Wick, nine guests assemble for a New Year's Eve party to remember. The owner of Hamlet Hall has organised a murder mystery evening with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play. But the game has barely begun when one guest is found dead - killed by a fatal injury to the head. With no phone signal and no way out of the house, the others are trapped with a killer in their midst. Someone is playing by their own rules. And in a close-knit community, old rivalries run deep... The Murder Game is by Tom Hindle.

Unnatural History is by Jonathan Kellerman. When a photographer is found inside an LA warehouse slumped in bed, shot to death, it sets in motion a complex and dangerous case for Lieutenant Milo Sturgis and Psychologist Alex Delaware. The victim had just received rave media attention for his latest project - images of homeless people living out their 'dreams'. But there were many who saw the work as crass exploitation. Did anger turn to homicidal rage? Or do the roots of violence reach down to the victim's own family? As new murders arise, Alex and Milo must peel back the layers of the case - and will find themselves coming up against in one of the deadliest threats they've ever faced...

The Chase is by Ava Glass.Move fast. Stay Dark. These are the instructions sent to new operative Emma Makepeace. She's been assigned to track down a man wanted by the Russians and bring him into MI5. It should be easy. But the Russians have eyes everywhere. Emma knows that if spotted she and her target will be killed. What follows is a perilous chase through London's night-time streets. But in a city full of cameras, where can you hide?

March 2023

David and Cheryl Burroughs are living the dream - married, a beautiful house in the suburbs, a three year old son named Matthew - when tragedy strikes one night in the worst possible way.David awakes to find himself covered in blood, but not his own - his son's. And while he knows he did not murder his son, the overwhelming evidence against him puts him behind bars indefinitely. Five years into his imprisonment, Cheryl's sister arrives - and drops a bombshell. She's come with a photograph that a friend took on vacation at a theme park. The boy in the background seems familiar - and even though David realizes it can't be, he knows it is. It's Matthew, and he's still alive. David plans a harrowing escape from prison, determined to do what seems impossible - save his son, clear his own name, and discover the real story of what happened that devastating night. I Will Find You is by Harlan Coben.

May 2023

The Fall is by Gilly Macmilan. Be careful what you wish for... Nicole and Tom's lives are changed overnight by a ten-million-pound lottery win. Before they know it they've moved into a state-of-the-art Glass Barn conversion in the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. But their dream quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool, with a nasty wound on the back of his head. Someone close to home must be responsible. But other than the young couple who live in the Manor, and their housekeeper in the Coach House next door, there's no one around for miles. Who among them is capable of murder?

June 2023

The Trial is by Rob Rinder. Meet Adam Green. Misfit. Purveyor of justice. Barrister-in-training. When hero policeman Grant Cliveden dies from a poisioning in the Old Bailey, it threatens to shake the country to its core. Who is responsibl? And can they be found before theystrike again? The evidence points to one man. Jimmy Knight has been convicted of multiple offences before and defending him will be no easy task. Not least because this is trainee barrister Adam Green's first case. But it will quickly become clear that Jimmy Knight is not the only person in Civeden's past with an axe to grind. Follow Adam on his first gripping case that will take him from the murky world of Chambers to the splendour of the Old Bailey.

In Memoriam - Mo Hayder

 

1 January 1962 – 27 July 2021

The crime fiction world have been deeply upset to hear the news of the sad death of Mo Hayder of Motor Neurone Disease on 27 July 2021. Alison Flood's article in the Guardian can be found here. Over on social media lots of crime writers have been expressing their condolences and paying tribute to her as they remember Mo Hayder. Her debut novel Birdman (1999) took the crime fiction world by storm and was an international best-seller. 

She was certainly a firm favourite with us over on Shots since her first book Birdman was published. Ali Karim interviewed her after her second book The Treatment (2001) had been published and the interview can be read here. There is also an interview with Christine Campbell. A review of The Treatment also by Christine Campbell can be read here. The treatment was not only a Sunday Times best-seller but it was also won the 2002 WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award. Mo Hayder also wrote the screenplay for De Behandeling (2014) which was a Belgian film of an adaptation of her book The Treatment. 

Ali Karim also interviewed when her first standalone book (and my favourite) Tokyo (2004) was published. Tokyo was published in the US as The Devil of Nanking. It was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger

Pig Island her second standalone book was published in 2006 and was nominated for both a Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel and shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Her fifth book Ritual (2008) and third book to feature DI Jack Caffery which was the first in The Walking Man series was nominated for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. This was followed by Skin (2009) the second book in the series.  Gone (2010) the third book in the series was nominated and won an Edgar Award for Best novel. 

A review of Poppet (2013) the sixth book to feature DI Jack Caffery series can be read here.

Her third standalone Hanging Hill was published in 2011.  Wolf (2014) which was the final book to feature DI Jack Caffery was nominated in 2015 for an Edgar Award. It was also announced in March 2021 that the BBC were filming Wolf in Wales.

It was announced in March 2021 that Cornerstone imprint Century had acquired two speculative thriller novels by her under the name Theo Clare. The first in the series, The Book of Sand, is due to be published in January 2022 as a lead title for Century and its sequel, The Book of Clouds, will follow in early 2023.

The death of Mo Hayder is a blow to the crime writing community and she will be sorely missed by not only her fellow crime writers but also her fans. Our condolences to her family and her friends.

The Book of Sand by Theo Clare (Published by Century) Out January 2022

SAND. A hostile world of burning sun. Outlines of several once-busy cities shimmer on the horizon. Now empty of inhabitants, their buildings lie in ruins. In the distance a group of people - a family - walk towards us. Ahead lies shelter: a 'shuck' the family call home and which they know they must reach before the light fails, as to be out after dark is to invite danger and almost certain death. To survive in this alien world of shifting sand, they must find an object hidden in or near water. But other families want it too. And they are willing to fight to the death to make it theirs. It is beginning to rain in Fairfax County, Virginia when McKenzie Strathie wakes up. An ordinary teenage girl living an ordinary life - except that the previous night she found a sand-lizard in her bed, and now she's beginning to question everything around her, especially who she really is … Two very different worlds featuring a group of extraordinary characters driven to the very limit of their endurance in a place where only the strongest will survive.

Photograph ©Ayo Onatade (2004)

Books to Look Forward to From Cornerstone Books

 July 2021

Freddy Otash is the man in the know and the man to know in '50s L.A. He operates with two simple rules - he'll do anything but commit murder and he'll never work with the commies. Freddy is an ex-L.A. cop on the skids. He snuffed a cop killer in cold blood - and it got to him bad.So Chief William H. Parker canned him. Now he's a sleazoid private eye, a shakedown artist, a pimp - and, most notably, the head strongarm goon for Confidential Magazine. Confidential presaged the idiot internet - and delivered the dirt, the dish, the insidious ink and the scurrilous skank on the feckless foibles of misanthropic movie stars, sex-soiled socialites and potzo politicians. Freaky Freddy outs them all! In Widespread Panic by James Ellroy, we traverse the depths of '50s L.A. and dig on the inner workings of Confidential. You'll go to Burt Lancaster's lushly appointed torture den; you'll groove overhyped legend James Dean as Freddy's chief stooge; you'll be there for Freddy's ring-a-ding rendezvous with Liz Taylor; you'll be front and centre as Freddy anoints himself the 'Tattle Tyrant Who Held Hollywood Hostage'.

Afraid of The Light is by Douglas Kennedy. Brendan has always lived a careful, constrained life. A salesman who never liked the work, he's a man who has stayed in his marriage and his faith because it was what was expected of him. But now, having lost his job after corporate downsizing and on the cusp of sixty, he finds himself scrambling to somehow stay afloat in the only Los Angeles work on offer to a man his age - driving for Uber. When one of his rides, a retired professor named Elise, asks to be dropped off outside an abortion clinic where she now volunteers, Brendan finds himself literally driving right into the virulent epicentre of one of the major issues of our time, engulfing his life in the process.

We will take on any case, solve any crime, uncover any secret. We are Private. And we're the best. In Afghanistan, an experienced pilot is shot down during a covert mission. The man survives the crash, but is pursued into the mountains by Russian operatives. In New York, a wealthy businessman hires Jack Morgan to track down his daughter, who has gone missing along with her two children. But it is more than a missing persons case, the daughter has been linked to the murder of two men. Jack finds the missing daughter and discovers that she is being pursed, and killed two of her pursers in her escape. Jack takes the woman and her children into his protection, but now he is harbouring a wanted murderer. As Jack discovers more of the backstory of this woman and her children, he realises the only way to clear her name is for him to head to Afghanistan, and face the traumatic memories of his own time there serving as a US Marine many years ago. Private Rogue is by James Patterson and Adam Hamdy.

The Night She Disappeared is by Lisa Jewell. Mum, there's some people here from college, they asked me back to theirs. Just for an hour or so. Is that OK? Midsummer 2017: teenage mum Tallulah heads out on a date, leaving her baby son at home with her mother, Kim. At 11pm she sends her mum a text message. At 4.30am Kim awakens to discover that Tallulah has not come home. Friends tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a pool party at a house in the woods nearby called Dark Place Tallulah never returns. 2018: walking in the woods behind the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started as a head-teacher, Sophie sees a sign nailed to a fence. A sign that says: Dig here ...A cold case. An abandoned mansion. A family hiding a terrible secret.

The Shadow is by James Patterson and Brian Sittis. Only two people know Lamont Cranston's secret identity as the Shadow, a vigilante of justice: his greatest love, Margo Lane, and his fiercest enemy, Shiwan Khan. Then Khan ambushes the couple, who find the slimmest chance of survival . . . in the uncertain future. A century and a half later, Lamont awakens in a world both unknown and strangely familiar. The first person he meets is Maddy Gomes, a teenager with her own mysterious secrets, including a more than passing awareness of the legend of the Shadow. Most disturbing, Khan's power continues to be felt over New York and its people. No one in this new world understands the dangers of stopping him better than Lamont Cranston. He also knows he's the only one who stands a chance. Lamont must prove that the Shadow is more than just a legend. 

August 2021

The Noise is by James Patterson and J D Barker. Young sisters, Sophie and Tennant Riggin, are the only two people to withstand a massive explosion that destroys their community, located in the shadow of Oregon's Mt. Hood. A team of elite government investigators are sent to research the fallout and the girls - why did only they survive? - but with conflicting objectives. For Dr Martha Chan, a psychologist who analyses large-scale medical emergencies: study them. For Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fraser, a career military leader with an inherent mistrust of civilians: contain them. But as the disturbance replicates across the Pacific Northwest, it threatens to topple the chain of command. Dr Chan and Lieutenant Colonel Fraser are caught between the perpetrators of the threat - and those who have the power to resist.

I couldn't see the sea from my bedroom but I could hear the waves breaking in the distance. They reminded me that I was on a tiny island. And I was trapped. There has never been a murder on Alderney. It's a tiny island, just three miles long and a mile and a half wide. The perfect location for a brand new literary festival. Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne has been invited to talk about his new book. The writer, Anthony Horowitz, travels with him. Very soon they discover that not all is as it should be. Alderney is in turmoil over a planned power line that will cut through it, desecrating a war cemetery and turning neighbour against neighbour. The visiting authors - including a blind medium, a French performance poet and a celebrity chef - seem to be harbouring any number of unpleasant secrets. When the festival's wealthy sponsor is found brutally killed, Alderney goes into lockdown and Hawthorne knows that he doesn't have to look too far for suspects. There's no escape. The killer is still on the island. And there's about to be a second death... A Line to Kill is by Anthony Horowitz.

September 2021

Jailhouse Lawyer is by James patterson and Nancy Allen. Justice in a small town can be hard to come by - especially when the judges, jailers and jury all know each other. In picture-perfect Erva, Alabama, the most serious crimes are misdemeanours. Speeding tickets. Shoplifting. Contempt of court. Then why is the jail so crowded? And why are so few prisoners released? There's only one place to learn the truth behind these incriminating secrets. Sometimes the best education a lawyer can get is a short stretch of hard time.

When a wealthy man is found murdered in his hilltop home, Deputy Coroner Clay Edison is shocked to discover a link to his own brother Luke on the scene. Luke is fresh out of prison and struggling to stay on the straight and narrow. But surely he's not a killer? When Luke goes missing, the case becomes even more fraught for Clay. He knows that the conflict between family and the truth could take him down the wrong path. Is his brother capable of murder? Or could he be a victim too? As wildfires and blackouts sweep through the state of California, the truth will only get harder to find. The Burning is by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman.

October 2021

The Fifth Girl is by Georgia Fancett. When DC Rawls decided to take some time off work for his mental health, he thought he would need just a few days. However, it's been months since that terrible night and Rawls still hasn't returned to the Somerset Police Dept. He can't seem to shake the feeling that he might never be the same again. But when a schoolgirl disappears and the police link her case to the disappearances of three other girls in Bath, it sends the media into a frenzy that places Rawls and his team at the heart of the storm. Rawls isn't sure that he's ready to work on a case that hits so close to home, but he knows he can't have any more blood on his hands. He has to find out the truth before it's too late. Who is behind these abductions? And which girl will be taken next?

November 2021

Fear No Evil is by James Patterson. Alex Cross and John Sampson, longtime friends and partners at DC Metro PD, are about to leave on a much-anticipated trip into the wilderness when they're called to a murder scene in the middle of Washington, DC. Instead of heading out to the mountains - or joining his wife, Bree, in Paris on her first assignment for an elite private security firm - Cross teams up with Sampson and FBI agent Ned Mahoney, unaware of the threats that may be closing in on the entire Cross family. M, the elusive killer who's been stalking Cross for years, has resurfaced and is targeting federal agents. Since the two last confronted one another, M has become even harder to identify and nearly impossible to catch. As the trail takes them across the country, Cross and Sampson are drawn into a showdown that tests their partnership - and their will to survive. 

A Legion of Patterson’s

This year thriller writer James Patterson has a wide range of books been published and for ease you can find a list of the books that are going to be published between January and June 2018 below:-

January 2018

Aaron Hernandez was a college football All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later reached the Super Bowl. He was a star on the league-dominant New England Patriots, who extended his contract for a record $40 million. Hernandez's every move as a professional athlete played out in the headlines, yet he led a secret life - one that ended in a maximum-security prison. What drove him to go so wrong, so fast? Hernandez was the best athlete Connecticut's Bristol Central High had ever produced. But by the time he arrived at University of Florida, he was already courting trouble. As his fame grew and he joined the NFL, trouble followed him. Between the summers of 2012 and 2013, Hernandez was linked to a series of violent incidents culminating in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro American football player who dated the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. All-American Murder is the first book to fully investigate the shocking story of Aaron Hernandez - from his meteoric rise in the world of American football to his first-degree murder conviction and the mystery of his own untimely death.  The Patriot is by James Patterson and Alex Abramovich.

February 2018

17^th Suspect is by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.  A series of shootings exposes San Francisco to a methodical yet unpredictable killer, and a reluctant woman decides to put her trust in Sergeant Lindsay Boxer. The confidential informant's tip leads Lindsay to disturbing conclusions, including that something has gone horribly wrong inside the police department itself. The hunt for the killer lures Lindsay out of her jurisdiction, and gets inside Lindsay in dangerous ways. Her friends and confidantes in the Women's Murder Club warn Lindsay against taking the crimes too much to heart. With lives at stake, the detective can't help but follow the case into ever more terrifying terrain. A decorated officer, loving wife, devoted mother, and loyal friend, Lindsay's unwavering integrity has never failed her. But now she is confronting a killer who is determined to undermine it all.

March 2018

When it's a bad night for New York City's rich and famous, they call NYPD Red. A renowned documentary filmmaker is found dead after a sex game goes horribly wrong. Across town, a homemade bomb explodes at a charity benefit. The only cops who can work both cases are Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald of NYPD Red the - elite, hard-charging, investigative task force called in exclusively for New York City's most high-profile crimes. Racing against the clock to keep the city's most prominent citizens safe, Zach and Kylie uncover enough corruption, blackmail, drugs, sex, and vengeance to shock even the most jaded of New Yorkers. But when their investigation threatens to expose the very citizens they're supposed to protect, Zach and Kylie must put aside their unrequited feelings for one another and follow the truth, no matter where it leads.  NYPD Red is by James Patterson and Marshall Karp.

May 2018

Princess Private is by James Patterson and Rees Jones.  Jack Morgan receives an offer he cannot refuse….  When the head of the world's foremost investigation agency receives at invitation to meet Princess Caroline, third in line to the British throne, he boards his Gulfstream jet and flies straight to London.  The Princess needs Morgan's skills, and his discretion. Sophie Edwards, a close friend of the Princess, has gone missing. She needs to be found before the media become aware of it.  Morgan knows there is more to this case than he is being told. But what is the Princess hiding?

June 2018

The President is Missing is by Bill Clinton and James Patterson.  The White House is the home of the President of the United States, the most guarded, monitored, closely watched person in the world. So how could a U.S. President vanish without a trace? And why would he choose to do so? The President Is Missing is a breathtaking story from the pinnacle of power. Full of what it truly feels like to be the person in the Oval Office--the mind-boggling pressure, the heartbreaking decisions, the exhilarating opportunities, the soul-wrenching power--this is the thriller of the decade, confronting the darkest threats that face the world today, with the highest stakes conceivable. 

Books to Look Forward to from Cornerstone

January 2018

Look For Me is by Lisa Gardner.  Detective DD Warren and Flora Dane are in a race against time to save a young girl's life - or bring her to justice. A family home has become a crime scene. Five people are involved: four of them have been savagely murdered; one - a sixteen-year-old girl - is missing. Was she lucky to have escaped? Or is her absence evidence of something sinister? Detective D. D. Warren is on the case, as is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.

March 2018

When terrorists use a drone to bring down a plane on one of London's busiest shopping centres, it ignites a chain of events that will draw in the innocent and the guilty alike. DC Max Wolfe of West End Central finds himself caught in the crossfire between a tech-savvy terrorist cell and a revenge-seeking, Bible-quoting murderer called Bad Moses. And when Max's ex-wife suddenly reappears to reclaim custody of his beloved daughter Scout, he finds himself fighting the greatest battle of all ...  Girl on Fire is by Tony Parsons

April 2018

When his estranged daughter Katherine suddenly appears on his doorstep, Elder knows that something is badly wrong. The breakdown of her relationship with a controversial artist has sent her into a self-destructive tailspin which culminates in murder. And as Elder struggles to protect Katherine and prove her innocence, the terrors of the past threaten them both once more.  Body and Soul is by John Harvey and is the final case in the Frank Elder series.

May 2018

Our Kind of Cruelty is by Araminta Hall. Mike knows that most of us travel through the world as one half of a whole, desperately searching for that missing person to make us complete. But he and Verity are different. They have found each other and nothing and no one will tear them apart. It doesn't matter that Verity is marrying another man. You see, Verity and Mike play a game together, a secret game they call 'the crave', the aim being to demonstrate what they both know: that Verity needs Mike, and only Mike. Verity's upcoming marriage is the biggest game she and Mike have ever played. And it's for the highest stakes. Except this time in order for Mike and Verity to be together someone has to die ....

June 2018

When her work on a high-profile missing child case exposes her fragile secret to the world, Charlie Cates is forced to flee the spotlight. On Hawai'i's Big Island, Charlie can escape the  past whilst gazing out at breath-taking sunsets and sparkling sea. But in spite of its beauty the island is harbouring a dark secret of its own, and people who will do anything to protect it. The more enchanted Charlie becomes by the island's mysteries, the bigger the threat she poses to its tranquillity. And the closer Charlie gets to uncovering the truth, the less likely it seems that she will ever leave the island alive... The Burning Island is by Hester Young.