Psychological Domestic Mystery Thriller

Raised by stepparents after the loss of their birth parents, Liz and Meredith McCallister are the only constants in each other’s lives—until Meredith is murdered in her lake home. Devastated by the loss, Liz becomes desperate to know why Meredith was killed. When Liz digs deeper into her sister's life and murder, she finds that their family had many buried secrets. But as Liz uncovers the truth, she realizes that not all secrets were meant to come to light and her efforts have drawn the attention of someone who is determined to keep the past hidden—even if the cost is Liz's life.

Lizzie Riley is sure that the local academy school, with its excellent reputation, is perfect for her eight-year-old son Tom. But there's something strange happening at school. Parents are forbidden from entering the grounds and there are bars across the classroom windows. Why is Tom coming home exhausted, unable to remember his day? What are the strange marks on his arm? And why do the children seem afraid to talk?

At the Little Academy, mothers fret over their preschoolers, who have developed an unsettling syndrome. The children’s odd craving for blood is considered relatively benign (to everyone except their beleaguered moms) until a young teacher is found dead and the only potential witnesses are ten adorable four-year-olds. It becomes clear that the police are looking at the children as not just witnesses, but also suspects…and they’re watching the mothers as well. Cutting Teeth is a witty story that asks if there is anything a mother is not asked to sacrifice for her children.

As a family liaison offer, DC Maggie Neville has seen parents crumble under the weight of their child’s death. Imogen Tyler is no different. Her son’s fall was witnessed by the school caretaker, and another pupil is under suspicion/being questioned, but Imogen is paralysed by questions. Why was he at the school so early? Why was he with a girl who wasn’t a friend?

Strung between two teenagers, an unemployed husband, and a tenuous career, Penelope Cox barely has her life together when the past comes knocking at her door. Willa Blaine, her old roommate, needs her help: refuge from an abusive husband. “Two weeks tops,” she says - but it’s not the imposition that bothers Penelope; it’s the memories Willa brings with her. Twenty years earlier, Penelope, Willa, and three friends lived together in a converted church. Insular and closed off from the rest of the world, the five roommates formed their own dysfunctional family....

On the evening of their wedding anniversary, Ali and Matthew are involved in a fatal car accident. Grief-stricken, Ali can’t bring herself to believe that her beloved Matthew is gone. The smell of his aftershave lingers in their bedroom. His voice still rings out on their answerphone. She sees his face in the eyes of strangers. But as the months pass, and her family and friends rally round, Ali starts to uncover secrets that Matthew kept from her.

A kidnap.... Matt Westbrook only turned his back for a moment. But when he looks around, his car - with his three young children inside - has vanished. A ransom.... Panicked, Matt assumes a car thief has got more than he bargained for, but then he starts to receive text messages: This is a kidnap. If you want to see your children again, you will exchange them for your wife.

Penny Francone, age 16, is a murderer. Her guilt is beyond doubt: she was found alone in the victim’s apartment, covered in blood, holding the murder weapon. The victim’s identity and her secret relationship to Penny give Penny the perfect motive, sealing the deal. All the jury needs to decide now is where Penny will serve out her sentence. Will she be found not guilty by reason of insanity, as her lawyer intends to argue? Or will she get a life sentence in a maximum-security prison?

I’ve always longed to be a mother. So when my sister Sophia suddenly offers to be a surrogate for my husband Mark and I, it feels like our dream could finally come true. Sophia and I may have drifted apart, but tears of joy prick my eyes when I think about the precious, perfect gift she is giving us. And even though Mark is acting distant, I’m sure this will make us stronger than ever. When Sophia starts talking to us less and less I can’t help but worry… is it just like twenty years ago, when she disappeared from my life? Or will it be different now she’s carrying our miracle baby?

We all know someone like Becca. She has the job everyone wants, a designer wardrobe, a hot-shot lawyer boyfriend, holidays to exotic locations. And she flaunts her perfect life all over social media. It drove her colleague Lizzie mad, but she couldn't stop looking. They were never really friends - and yet Lizzie knew everything about her. Or did she? When chance and a terrible mistake pull Lizzie back into Becca's orbit years after they lost touch, she'll realise that you can't always believe what you see online...and that finding out the truth might be the worst thing you can do.

Looking out at our beautiful estate, the home I thought we’d raise our future children in, I watch helplessly as my husband Paul takes his mistress’s arm and leads her inside. My heart twists as they laugh together, without a care in the world. If he and Marianne think they can start over without me, they’re gravely mistaken. I worked myself to the bone for him, keeping our home pristine, supporting his art, using funds from my business to keep us afloat. Tears fill my eyes as I remember all the lonely nights I spent waiting for him to come home.

Sofia is having her Cinderella moment. She's been plucked from obscurity, flown to a luxurious location as a companion to an older but still bankable Hollywood power player. The catch? His family is there for a free vacation, and they're as damaged as they are hard to ignore. There's the older son, an actor himself, but with a massive chip on his shoulder. There's the daughter, a spoiled teen who treats the world as her personal playground. And then there's the ex-wife, a fading star who's loud and rude but surprisingly likeable in her own special way.

Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children - Olly and Tabitha - but he is a bully. Worse than that, he hurts her. But, after one drunken rage too many, she has the courage to leave him. Eve is warned that it's a difficult path, yet she needs to give her children hope for the future. Don, however, is bitter. And getting away entirely from him proves impossible. Until the day, Eve tries to teach him a lesson - and it all goes horribly wrong.

It’s as if my heart is bursting out of my chest. Nine-year-old Jubilee, our new adopted daughter, is beaming. She’s the little girl I always wanted and we’re finally taking her home. Three months later. ‘This can’t be happening,’ I say. ‘She can’t be gone. She’s just a little girl, our little girl. She was here in her bed last night. I remember. I . . .’ I feel the panic rising, my worst fear surfacing. What if I brought her home—only to be taken?

July knows 18 things about her mother. But not the truth. Summer, 1995. On her tenth birthday, July's teacher sets the class a project to find out about a relation they don't know. It's easy for July to choose her subject. She doesn't remember her mother, who died when she was small, and her father refuses to talk about her. Ever. The only memories she has of her are flashbacks from the accident that claimed her mother's life. But then she receives the note: 'She didn't die in a car accident.'

Helen lives a decent, uncomplicated life. Satisfied in her career, she’s raising three happy teenagers, and her family has the most envied house on the street. Admittedly, she’s growing just a little disenchanted with her marriage to her workaholic husband, Werner. But that’s nothing she can’t fix. For disaffected, young petty criminals Ralf and Brian, it was a scheme to make some cash: a quick home invasion. The targets they’ve chosen are Helen and Werner. Just as planned, Brian disappears into Helen and Werner’s house. And he never comes out again.

Lauren is thrilled to escape her old life in London for a fresh start in the countryside with her partner, Paul, and her two stepchildren. Haunted by her past, Lauren knows how lucky she is, in her dream home with her ready-made family. She also knows how much she stands to lose. But as Lauren struggles to adjust to motherhood, Paul becomes increasingly distant and as village rumours begin to swirl about the fate of the house's previous occupants, Lauren's fears grow.

When Beth was 10, her beautiful, wild mother, Alice, disappeared. Beth’s life since hasn’t always been easy, but now she's settled, with a successful career, a loving family and a beautiful home. Then one day, there’s a knock at the door. Alice has returned. Desperate to rebuild their relationship, Beth invites her mother to move in. At first, everything is wonderful. But then Beth’s friends start to drift away, strange things happen at home and rumours about Beth begin to circle. Someone is out to destroy Beth’s newfound happiness. But who? And how far will they go?

Roz is young, penniless and pregnant. All she wants is to be the perfect mother to her child, but the more she thinks about her own chaotic upbringing, the more certain she is that the best life for her baby is as far away as possible from her hometown in Ireland. Determined to do the right thing, Roz joins an elite adoption service and can’t believe her luck. Within days she is jetting to New York to meet a celebrity power couple desperate for a child of their own.

Tatum hasn’t seen her daughter, Adrienne, in years, not since Tatum’s husband—the pastor in their small California town—all but disowned her. When she finally gathers the courage to secretly reconnect with Adrienne, Tatum’s thrilled she’s even willing to talk to her. But then—Adrienne disappears. When Adrienne doesn’t show up for her shift at the bar where Tatum’s been visiting her, she knows something is wrong. Adrienne may have been a bit of a wild child, but she hasn’t missed a day of work without calling in for years.