by S. E. Lynes
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The Women
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And later, much later, the feeling she had the night she moved in with Peter will come back to her. She will remember how ninety-nine per cent of her felt so happy, so exhilarated, so in love. She will remember a much smaller feeling, a tiny one per cent in her gut. And she will remember pushing that feeling aside…
When Samantha first meets Peter, he takes her breath away. He is older, charming, sophisticated and represents everything she hoped she would find when she left her rural life in Yorkshire behind to come to London.
But when their whirlwind affair turns into normal domestic life, Samantha begins to fear that all is not well. Following the birth of their baby, she feels trapped and isolated, with Peter’s behaviour seeming increasingly selfish and controlling.
When Samantha starts to receive sinister notes – threats and suggestions that her life with Peter could be placing her in danger – she realises she needs to look back into Peter’s past to find the answers to her questions – and that she may not be the first woman to become his victim…
You can tell the truth about your life, but someone needs to be listening. Someone needs to trust you. And someone needs to save you in time.
The Women is an unputdownable psychological thriller for our time, a story of lies, trust and the risks women take in telling the truth.
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Valentina
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When city girl Shona moves with her partner Mikey and their baby to an idyllic cottage in rural Scotland, she believes that all that lies ahead for her family is happiness.
But with Mikey working long hours away from home, the frightening isolation of the Scottish countryside begins to get to Shona. She feels lonely and trapped.
That is, until she is rescued by a new friendship with the enchanting Valentina. Valentina enters Shona’s life like a whirlwind, bringing excitement and spontaneity to replace boredom and fear.
Now Shona has the perfect home, the perfect man, and the perfect new best friend – or does she?
As Shona’s fairytale life begins to unravel, the deep dark wood outside becomes the least of her fears…
From Amazon chart bestseller S.E. Lynes, Valentina is an unputdownable thriller with a twist that will take your breath away. Fans of Gone Girl, The Woman at the Window and The Wife Between Us will be gripped.
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The Proposal
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You invited him into your life. And now you can never go back…
Pippa wants a second chance. Recently divorced and unhappy at work, she has uprooted her life to move to a beautiful cottage in the countryside in search of a fresh start. But her new life is not working out quite as she planned.
One night, when Pippa is at home alone, a man arrives at her front door. And Pippa invites him in, and makes him an offer she believes could change everything…
How much of a risk would you take for a stranger?
Does everyone deserve a second chance?
By the time Philippa finds out the answers to these questions, it may be too late to save herself.
From Amazon chart bestseller S.E. Lynes, The Proposal is a page-turning and utterly gripping thriller about the lengths we will go to for someone we love. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Woman at the Window and The Wife Between Us.
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The Pact
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You made a promise to your sister. It could destroy your daughter.
The Daughter
15-year-old Rosie lies in hospital fighting for her life. She’s trying to tell her mother what happened to her, and how she got there, but she can’t speak the words out loud.
The Mother
Rosie’s mother Toni has a secret. She had a traumatic childhood, and she and her sister Bridget made each other a promise thirty years ago: that they could never speak the truth about what happened to them as children, and that they would protect each other without asking for help from others, no matter what…
Rosie was Toni’s second chance to get things right: a happy, talented girl with her whole life ahead of her. Having lost her husband in a tragic accident, Toni has dedicated her life to keeping Rosie safe from harm.
But Rosie has plans that her mother doesn’t know about. She has dreams and ambitions – of love, of a career, of a life beyond the sheltered existence that her mother has created for her. But the secrets Rosie has been keeping have now put her life in danger.
The Pact
In order to save Rosie, Toni may have to break her lifelong promise to her sister… and open doors to her past she hoped would remain closed forever.
The Pact is a chilling psychological thriller about the lies we will tell to save our children. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Apple Tree Yard and The Sister.
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Acknowledgements
First thanks go, as ever, to my editor, Jenny Geras, who when I first proposed this idea said something along the lines of yes, that – but not that. Thanks for helping me transform a study of deterioration that broke my heart into a proper psychological thriller. Rachel was so fascinating to me that I’d quite forgotten to do that! Thanks to my agent, Veronique Baxter, for your enthusiasm for this character and her story and how it all came together and turned itself on its head at the end.
Thank you to my friend, talented photographer and supporter of all things artistic, Richard Kipping. Thank you for having the patience to take my author photo, the imagination to find that great location under the arches at Richmond and for getting me to stop goofing around for entire minutes while you made me look every inch the crime writer.
Thank you to the team at Bookouture, particularly Kim Nash and Noelle Holten, the amazing publicity duo, two phenomenally supportive women, friends, and fabulous authors in their own right. Kim is also my fellow champion cheese snaffler #1; it feels important to acknowledge this. Thanks to my copy-editor, Jane Selley, and my proofreader, Laura Kincaid.
Thanks to psychotherapist, Augusta Annesley, for advising on what kind of process a person suffering from menopausal psychosis would undergo. I used artistic licence to reduce the timings of Rachel’s treatment in order to keep the narrative moving. Thanks also to Heather Geddes for psychological insight into why Rachel might be so triggered by her experience of invisibility.
Last time I wrote my acknowledgements it was for The Lies We Hide, a book I’d started over ten years ago and I barely knew where to start. I don’t keep lists, have no filing system, but this time, I’d like to try and give a shout-out to some of my online supporters even though I usually avoid this because I know I will inevitably miss someone out and cause offence without meaning to.
Firstly, thanks to the not-so-secret secret Facebook book club TBC, run by the one and only Tracy Fenton. This club was my first online home when I published my debut, Valentina, in 2016, and was where I first realised, to my enduring wonder, that writing stories would connect me to people I had never even met. Thanks to the team: Helen Boyce, Claire Mawdesley (who might have a cameo role in this book), Juliet Butler, Charlie Pearson, Charlie Fenton, Kel Mason and Laurel Stewart. Thanks to Wendy Clarke and her team at Facebook’s Fiction Café, Laura Pearson at Facebook’s Motherload Book Club, Anne Cater at Book Connectors, Dee Groocock and the team at Book on the Positive Side and Mark Fearn at Book Mark! Thank you to all the online book clubs and the people who gather there to share their love of reading. If I’ve missed you out, I’m sorry, that’s a mistake; I’m stressed about it even before I’ve realised I’ve done it, so do message me and I’ll make sure to give you a wave in the next book, which I’m already writing as you read this.
At yet further risk of missing someone, and in no particular order, thanks to flag-waving readers Teresa Nikolic, Philippa McKenna, Karen Royle-Cross, Ellen Devonport, Frances Pearson, Jodi Rilot, CeeCee, Isobel Henkelmann, Sumaira Wilson, Audrey Gibson, Joan Hill, Bridget McCann
, Moyra Irving, Alessandra Nolli, Anne Burchett, Audrey Cowie, Alison Turpin, Theresa Hetherington, Donna Young, Mary Petit, Donna Moran, Ophelia Sings (whoever you are, your reviews make me cry), Gail Shaw, Lizzie Patience, Fiona McCormick, Alison Lysons and many more not named here. Thank you. I read every single review, good or bad.
Every now and again, someone seems to want to have a pop at bloggers, but bloggers are unpaid and work very hard spreading the word about the books they enjoy on account of their passion for reading, and I for one am very grateful for them. I would like to thank the following bloggers, using their blogging names in case you wish to check out their reviews: Chapter in my Life (hen!), By the Letter Book Reviews, Ginger Book Geek, Shalini’s Books and Reviews, Fictionophile, Book Mark!, Biblophile Book Club, Random Things Through my Letterbox, B for Book Review, Nicki’s Book Blog, Fireflies and Free Kicks, Bookinggoodread, My Chestnut Reading Tree, Donna’s Book Blog, Emma’s Biblio Treasures, Suidi’s Book Reviews, Books from Dusk till Dawn, Audio Killed the Bookmark, Compulsive Readers, LoopyLouLaura, Once Upon a Time Book Blog, Literature Chick, Jan’s Book Buzz, and Giascribes. If I have missed anyone, please let me know and I’ll include you in my next book.
Thanks to my friends and family who have continued to read and review my books even though they don’t need to: Elaine Binder, Sam Johnson, Laura Budd, Fiona Kelly, Alison Gaskins, Claire Gowers, Paul Gowers, Warwick Hampton-Woodfall, Jackie West, Katie West, Tracy May, Rachel McDowell, Hannah Droy, Fiona Audibert, Katie Lawrence, Nicky Dyer, Susie Donaldson, Elizabeth Bazalgette, Sue O Dea, Susy Smith, Helen stealer of fudge Barnett, Barbara Matthews, Nicky Andrews, Tara Munday, Louise Oliver, Mike Oliver, Gwen Lynes, Andrea Frost, Andrea Robinson, Sue Thornett, and my sister Jackie Ball.
Thank you to the tremendously supportive writing community, particularly Zoe Antoniades, Judith Baker, Anna Mansell, Barbara Copperthwaite, Pam Howes, Patricia Gibney, Jennie Ensor, Carla Buckley, Joel Hames-Clarke, Angela Marsons (Queen), Emma Robinson (fellow champion cheese snaffler #2), Sue Watson (fellow champion cheese snaffler #3), Eva Jordan, Vikki Patis, Marilyn Messik, Heide Goody, Louise Mullins, Julie Cohen, Kate Simants, Louise Beech, Becca Mascull, Isabella May, Rona Halsall, Fiona Mitchell, Claire McGlasson, Callie Langridge, Tara (Cagney!) Lyons, Paul Burston, Lisa Timoney (whose witty reflections on the menopause in @lisatimoneywrites.com provided inspiration and after whom the character of Lisa Baxter is named), Catherine Morris, Hope Caton, Robin Bell, Adam Woods, Sam Hanson, Colette Lewis, Jayne Farnworth, and my friend and first-ever writing tutor, who always gets a special shout, Sara Bailey. I will definitely have missed someone out and I am already sorry, but please let me know and I’ll shout you next time. I don’t have a spreadsheet, I’m not made that way. This is a running theme, isn’t it?
Finally, thanks to my first reader, my mum Catherine Ball, artist in her own right; Stephen Ball, who told me after reading my last book that one aerates the soil, one does not ventilate it – got it, Dad; my kids, Alistair, Maddie and Franci Lynes, whom I love more than my own life despite their inability to change a loo roll, and finally and as always, himself, Mr Susie, Paul Lynes. I’m sorry for living with make-believe people for a good portion of the time, and for having poor concentration when it comes to numbers and indie bands, but at least I’m always up for a pint and a packet of crisps, so every cloud…
We – both author and publisher – hope you enjoyed this book. We believe that you can become a reader at any time in your life, but we’d love your help to give the next generation a head start.
Did you know that 9% of children don’t have a book of their own in their home, rising to 13% in disadvantaged families*? We’d like to try to change that by asking you to consider the role you could play in helping to build readers of the future.
We’d love you to get involved by sharing, borrowing, reading, buying or talking about a book with a child in your life and spreading the love of reading. We want to make sure the next generation continues to have access to books, wherever they come from.
Click HERE for a list of brilliant books to share with a child – as voted by Goodreads readers.
Thank you.
*As reported by the National Literacy Trust
Published by Bookouture in 2020
An imprint of Storyfire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © S.E. Lynes, 2020
S.E. Lynes has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-83888-621-9
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.