Showing results by publisher "Embla Books" in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

On the night when Caitlin and Olivia's parents leave them to go to a dinner party both girls are full of excitement about being old enough to stay home alone. What they don't see is the figure watching them through the open window. Who, after the girls have fallen asleep, will turn the handle of the unlocked back door. When their parents return, they will find Olivia's bed empty. Their eldest daughter gone. Never to return. Until now. But is the woman who claims to be Olivia really all she seems? And is everything Caitlin said she saw that night really the whole truth?

Harry Hedges is a desperate man. Desperate to be a journalist again. Desperate to pay off his overdraft. And desperate to find a decent coffee. There's not much chance of that in Dorset, where he's trying to revive an ailing weekly newspaper and claw his way back to journalistic civilisation, after losing his swanky London job. All he has to do is take on the town busybody, locate his proprietor's lost sister, and help solve the mystery of the body on the roundabout. How hard can it be?

DS Lucas Walker is on leave in his hometown, Caloodie, looking after his dying grandmother. When two young German backpackers vanish from the area on their way to a ranch, he finds himself unofficially on the case. But why all the interest from the Federal Police, when they have probably just ditched the heat and dust of the outback for the coast? As the number of days the couple are missing climbs, DS Walker is joined by the girl's sister. A detective herself from Berlin, she is desperate to find her before it's too late.

September, 1930. Fearless detective Miss Clara Vale is bound for Berlin, but this trip is all about la mode - not murder. Clara is set to walk the runway at Berlin Fashion Week, as a favour to her designer friend Juju, with her assistant Bella in tow. Elections loom in Germany, and among Juju's friends, the Spieglers, all the talk is of the National Socialists. But trouble brews closer to home, when a shocking murder at their clothing factory points the finger at the Jewish couple's brilliant young son.

DC Alex McKenna is meant to be resting following her last case, so she lets her boyfriend to take her to the Isle of Skye for the weekend. But what's meant to be a getaway to see the aurora borealis soon turns into a nightmare when they discover that their hotel has double booked. In desperation, they check into the only hotel with rooms available nearby - The Loch House. But from the moment they step foot in the guest house Alex knows something is very wrong. And as snow starts to fall, and night closes in, she begins to wonder if they will ever leave here alive.

Jodie Evelyn can't think of a better place for a fresh start than the exclusive gated community of The Grove. But from the moment she passes through the wrought iron gates, she starts to suspect she's made a mistake. Despite her vow to keep apart from the other residents, Jodie can't help but feel drawn to her unnerving neighbour Norah Williams and terminally ill daughter, Lacey. Jodie knows she should stay away, but something draws her in.When a murder shocks The Grove, Jodie vows to do everything in her power to save Lacey from her mother.

1929, December: Snow is falling, and Miss Clara Vale is wrapped up against the cold as she braves the icy streets of Newcastle in her latest investigation. When a young actress from the touring pantomime of Cinderella arrives at her door, Clara isn't sure what to make of her request. Sybil Langford, the legendary fairy godmother in their production, has mysteriously vanished. Could Clara help track her down? But a few days into Clara's search, Sybil's body is pulled from an icy river, and Clara finds herself in the middle of yet another murder mystery.

Elodie Fray wants to be more like her perfect sister, Ada, the one her parents are actually proud of. When she decided to quit her job and pursue her dream of becoming an author, she thought it would be her time to shine, but a year on nothing has happened. And she's getting desperate. When Elodie makes one small mistake on a drunken night with a friend, things quickly spiral and suddenly everyone believes she has a book deal. Unable to find a way back from her little lie, her perfect dream becomes a perfect nightmare - and desperate times call for desperate measures.

When hundreds of birds fall from the sky into Slayton's lake in a terrifying freak event, the waters are dredged - revealing a dark, long-held secret. An old pram is pulled from the depths, with the bones of a baby still strapped inside. It's the moment that new mother, Cora, has been dreading since she moved to Slayton - because someone knows, and is going to make her pay.

Since their YouTube channel, Following Finchmere, has taken flight, showcasing Dr Nell Ward's sustainability transformation at her family's Finchmere estate, it's her partner and colleague, Rav, who's become the star. Amongst Rav's fan mail and gifts, Nell makes the chilling discovery that one person's obsession with him has metamorphosed into a deadly threat. Just as Finchmere flings open its gates to welcome swarms of visitors to their idyllic summer fete, Nell realises the disguised peril has already wormed its way into the heart of Finchmere itself.

1930: Miss Clara Vale, chemistry major turned detective, is taking a night off from sleuthing to attend the launch party of a new exhibition at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle. But when the piece de resistance, a rare ornate sarcophagus, is finally opened and it turns out the mummy inside it is a fake it looks like there is no rest for Clara after all... Later that night, she is summoned back to the museum and asked to investigate a series of stolen Egyptian artefacts.

1929: Miss Clara Vale is a woman ahead of her time. Rather than attending Oxford to bag an eligible Duke (as her mother, Lady Vale, so desperately hoped), she threw herself into a degree in chemistry, with aspirations to become a scientist in her own right. But the world isn't ready for Clara. Unable to land a job in science because she's a woman, she is stuck behind the desk at a dingy London library. Until her estranged Uncle dies suddenly, leaving her his private detective agency, and laboratory, in his will.

At Penford Manor, the guests are arriving to celebrate the start of the grouse-hunting season: lords and ladies, barons and baronesses, a Member of Parliament - and chemistry graduate turned detective, Miss Clara Vale, an old friend of the family. But Clara is no ordinary guest: she's secretly investigating a blackmail plot against Lady Penford herself. Someone in the house is already up to no good, but when the body of a local trade unionist is found in the grounds, Clara's case gets even more complicated because a clue left by the body links it to the blackmail note.

Blackhall Manor has witnessed many dark crimes, long before five teenage girls break in to play the Midnight Game. It was supposed to be a game, but only four girls come home. Detective Sarah Noble has just returned to the force, and no one knows more about Blackhall Manor than her. Except perhaps Elliott Carter, who is only seven but has seen things in his dreams most adults could never imagine. It's a case that will bring them together and shake Sarah to her core. Will she be ready to meet the Midnight Man?

After a dazzling Indian wedding, Nell and Rav return to a frost-kissed Finchmere, eager to host their blessing in the woodland Nell loves best. But, as their nearest and dearest gather, someone is setting a deadly snare. The country estate is in its winter finery, with new artisans creating crafts for the Festive Finchmere Christmas Market. Before the celebrations unfold, a shocking secret is revealed, which shows how their families were fatally intertwined, centuries before Nell and Rav said, 'I do.'

Dr Nell Ward is in the lush, emerald hills of Ireland, to attend the wedding of two dear friends at a picture-perfect farmhouse. But family tensions are running high in the days before the happy couple tie the knot. And when Nell sees a fox kill a hare in the early morning light, it sends shivers down her spine. Almost like it is a sign of something to come... Then one of the locals makes a gruesome discovery in a nearby peat bog. Famous for the ancient bodies these habitats preserve, what has been found instead is a woman who died much more recently...

Cynthia and Alex have always been like sisters. Living and working for years on Cynthia's mother's sprawling farm, they've raised their families together. It was the perfect life until the fateful night that Alex finds Hannah, one of Cynthia's eighteen-year-old twins, inexplicably murdered in her own home. Soon Alex's life is spiralling out of control as she questions everything she knows and everyone she trusted. And when local detective, Stefani Warner starts investigating Hannah's murder, one prime suspect quickly rises to the fore: Daniel, Alex's nineteen-year-old son.

It's been over thirty years since Billy last called Northern Ireland home. Back then, his secret love for schoolfriend Conor was the only shining light that kept him going during troubled times. That is, until their romance was tragically cut short when Conor disappeared without a trace. Now a phone call draws Billy back home when his mother falls into a coma. While sorting through old belongings, he stumbles upon an envelope bearing his name. Inside, he finds a mysterious note and a mixtape left by Conor - dated the very day he disappeared in 1989.

DS Lucas Walker is off duty. He's supposed to be showing his little sister Grace the Australian outback, on her visit from Boston, but instead they're headed out bush- where Walker's cousin has been mining for boulder opal. Something seemed off when Walker heard that Blair wanted to get out of Kanpara, so he and Grace are en route to bring him home to Caloodie. But Kanpara is in Channel Country, and a major flood is on the way.

It's an invitation Steph can't refuse when she's handpicked to compete at the prestigious National Trust property Coleton Fishacre. With the country's top garden designers as rivals and a stunning historic estate for inspiration, it feels like a dream come true. But things quickly turn thorny when the youngest competitor falls mysteriously ill and Steph suspects foul play. Her fears are confirmed when a scream echoes through the gardens, leading her to the horrific sight of a dead body at the foot of the cliff.