Domestic Marriage Psychological Thrillers

On a warm spring evening, guests gather in a perfectly manicured garden to celebrate Maggie and Len’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Maggie leans against the apple tree, watching her fun-loving husband and darling children as her heart swells with pride. As the joyful party atmosphere disappears into the night, close by, the lifeless body of a young woman is pulled from a river. Slipping upstairs to find the special gift for her adoring husband, Maggie stumbles across something else hidden amongst the dusty boxes of family keepsakes.

My husband is lying. The minute he came home with alcohol on his breath and unable to look me in the eyes I knew it. We used to be in love–the intense ‘I can’t be without you for a second’ kind. Where it hurts deep to be apart. But now, we’re the couple that keep secrets from each other. We hide the truth. He thought I wouldn’t find out. I’m a detective–it’s literally my job to uncover clues and solve mysteries. I know what he did. And now I’m sitting here, in a police interview, being asked the question ‘did you kill her?’ to which I utter one life-shattering word: ‘yes.’

Kylie Gillingham’s disappearance has gripped the nation: the woman with a shocking secret – married to two men at the same time – is missing, presumed dead. And both her husbands are suspects. DCI Clements knows the dark side of human nature and that love can make people do treacherous things; you can’t presume anything when it comes to crimes of the heart. While Kylie's two husbands remain prime suspects, her sons won't accept that she is dead. Until a body is found, this scandalous and sad case remains wide open.

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?

Newlywed Jade Westmore has finally found her forever in husband Wells, a charming, successful, and recently divorced architect—only there’s one caveat: behind the gates of their elysian estate, hidden from street view in the caretaker’s cottage … lives Wells’s first wife, Sylvie. Three years ago, the original Mrs. Westmore suffered a nervous breakdown—and hasn’t uttered a sound since. Not a physician, psychologist, or world-renown specialist has been able to elicit so much as a word from the silent woman … until now.

Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.

Iris and Will have been married for seven years, and life is as close to perfect as it can be. But on the morning Will flies out for a business trip to Florida, Iris’s happy world comes to an abrupt halt: another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board and, according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers. Grief-stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it must all be a huge misunderstanding. Why did Will lie about where he was going? And what else has he lied about?

One spring morning, a bus full of children and their teachers from a Cotswolds primary school head off on a much-anticipated day trip. But as night falls and the well-heeled parents – one or two of them famous, as well as wealthy – wait at the school to collect their weary offspring, it soon becomes clear that something has gone very wrong. The children and their teachers simply do not come back. What’s happened doesn’t seem possible. How can an entire class of children simply vanish?

Kate Bennett vanished from a parking lot eleven years ago, leaving behind her husband and young daughter. When she shows up at a Montana gas station, clutching an infant and screaming for help, investigators believe she may have been abducted by a cult. Kate’s return flips her family’s world upside down—her husband is remarried, and her daughter barely remembers her. Kate herself doesn’t look or act like she did before.

A fierce blizzard is burying the eastern seaboard, but on the icy Rhode Island shore renowned artist Maddie Morrison finds warm sanctuary from a contentious divorce at the legendary Ocean House. Hours later, her body is found buried under a blanket of snow and her little daughter, CeCe, has disappeared without a trace.

Cat Winthorpe has worked hard to get what she has: a gorgeous home; social standing; and William, her successful, handsome husband. Then a friendly new couple moves into the estate next door. While cautious, a good neighbor like Cat greets them with open arms and warm hospitality. Neena Ryder isn’t a fellow lady of leisure. A life coach with off-the-rack dresses, personal issues, and a husband who hasn’t delivered, she’s anxious to move up in the world. This beautiful new town is a step in the right direction. It’s also making Neena aware of what she doesn’t have.

Mila and her husband Ethan are on their way to her sister’s wedding at a luxurious ski resort. As they drive through the mountains, surrounded by snow covered forests, Mila feels like everything is finally going to plan. When the car engine suddenly stops and won’t start again. Stranded, with night closing in, they make their way on foot back to where they saw a sign for some cabins. When they finally reach them, they find the windows boarded up and the buildings in disrepair. They have the eerie sense they shouldn’t be there.

Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple, until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things–both because she loves her husband, and for the sake of their eight-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist, who lost her licence due to controversial methods. If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in ten sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. She helps people overcome everything, from anxiety to domineering parents. Her successes almost help her absorb the emptiness she feels since her husband’s death.

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.

To the outside world Hannah married the perfect man. Behind the closed doors of their imposing home it’s a very different story. Nathan controls everything Hannah does. He chooses her clothes, checks her receipts and keeps her passport locked away. But why does she let him? Years before, in the midst of a relentless storm, the tragic events of one night changed everything. And Hannah has been living with the consequences ever since. Keeping Nathan happy. Doing as she’s told. But the past is about to catch up with them.

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Tania's death, five university friends reunite at a luxurious country hotel to commemorate the life of their dear friend. Always the outsider, Jeannie has thrown everything into making the weekend a success. With two kids and busy work schedules, Keren is looking forward to some time alone with husband, Adam. Facing a messy divorce and bankruptcy, a few nights away is just the escape Johnny needs. Saira has enough on her plate trying to co-parent with her ex-partner and would prefer to be as far away from the event as possible if she hadn't promised Keren.

Leah Dawson and McKenna Hawkins had a lot in common, but they had never met. They are smart, professional women living in the same neighbourhood in lovely houses with picket fences and beautiful gardens. And they were both married to successful, good-looking men who both seem bent on having ‘the perfect wife’. They don’t—ever—find themselves in the same train carriage or meet accidentally at the gym or in the coffee shop. And they don’t—ever—discuss their problems and find common ground. But they do cross paths. And they see something each recognises in the other.

Jane is unhappy. She’s a struggling writer trapped in an underwhelming marriage with husband Ted, scraping by to pay for a mortgage for a house and a life that she’s never really wanted. There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their time together at Oxford. But then the night of the formal which should have bound them together for good, drove them apart. Until now.

I ended my marriage for a man who didn’t exist.... I have everything money can buy. I’m a good wife, but sometimes I feel trapped. And when I start an affair with a stranger called Ewan, my life changes in ways I can’t begin to understand. Because Ewan breaks apart my marriage piece by piece and then he just disappears. He uses a fake name and leaves no trace behind—it’s like he doesn’t even exist. Someone did this to me and now they’re waiting for me to unravel, watching my every move. I can’t trust anyone, not even myself—not even the people I love.

Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving. One evening, Melissa arrives home to the unimaginable: her husband lies stabbed on the kitchen floor, their children standing calmly around him.... With horror, she realises that one of them is to blame. But which one? And why would they attack their own father?