The Couple at No 9, but which couple. There have been several couples there together. The most recent is Tom and Saff who is expecting a baby in a rural cottage owned by her grandmother who suffers from dementia. As that couple starts extending the cottage, a couple of bodies are discovered. Then they learn about the couple one of whom was the grandmother. This books grabs the reader from page one and does not let go. The story is well conceived and further bits of information are revealed gradually. The characters are well drawn, the events realistic. Any more than that and the plot will be spoiled. I strongly recommend this compelling story.

A clever take on the nightmare scenario of moving into a new house and digging up bodies in the garden. The house was owned by Saffy’s grandma at the time and family secrets slowly get uncovered. An tense and riveting read with many twists and turns.

Claire Douglas has been a long standing favourite author for me. I dont know what it is, but as an author she has this talent to always make me stop and have re-read before I believe it!

And this book is no different. The twists and turns written into this story were just amazing. I never even began to come to the conclusion of what actually happened.

I really enjoyed the story of Saffy and her mum Lorna. Rebuilding a relationship over awful circumstances, but couldn't have brought them closer together.

This book is creepy, edge of your seat good. It grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and didn't let go. I purposely got up early in the morning to finish this fantastic book!

Amazing thriller, so scary. I highly recommend this book. I was constantly on edge discovering what happened. I

I was enthralled by this psychological thriller. The story continually threw up new questions about events of the past and I did not see the twist coming! Claire Douglas remains a favourite author with this latest offering.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Michael Joseph UK, for the ARC,

This is such an absorbing mystery/thriller - a really good read, with later twists that can send your head reeling.
It's well-written, with good characters and dialogue.

Tom and Saffy Cutler have the chance to have a new life away from Croydon near London when Saffy's grandmother Rose Grey transferred the deeds to a Cotswold cottage to her daughter Lorna: Lorna was enjoying life in Spain and in turn gifted the property to Saffy. They have the builders in preparing the land for a large kitchen extension when work stops because human remains have been found. The police treat it as a crime scene and of course want to interview all the owners/tenants of the cottage. Lorna thought she never knew her mother owned the cottage - she'd lived in Bristol; but when Lorna flies home to be with Saffy she begins to remember the cottage in fleeting flashbacks.
Rose Grey is suffering with dementia and is in a nursing home in Bristol. She can only give the detectives, as well as Saffy and Lorna, snippets of names and events which seem disconnected.

Meanwhile, in Yorkshire, Theo checks in on his father - a retired doctor still living in his mansion and as obnoxious towards Theo as ever. However, Theo notices a newspaper cutting on his desk relating to the Cotswold find - marked with the words "Find Her".

Saffy scours the village for information; Lorna goes off investigating, and Theo and partner Jen are determined to investigate as well. Gradually all the investigations come together - with Rose Grey at the centre of it all.

Absolutely riveting!

Thank you for my copy of this book to review.

This is only the second book from this author that I have read. To be honest this one took me quite a while to get in to that I almost gave up on it. I’m so glad I stuck with it though.

I really enjoyed the split timeline of ‘then’ and ‘now’ and I always enjoy stories told from the different characters perspectives. Once I’d gotten in to it, I couldn’t put it down and I definitely did not see the big twist coming!

I would definitely recommend this book and I will look at reading some of the previous ones now too.

This book was full of twists and turns, with multiple narrators and a dual timeline in place.

Saffy and Tom are delighted when they learn that Saffy’s grandmother has a Cotswold cottage that they can take ownership of. They move in and during renovations, a discovery is made that will have massive ramifications for them....two bodies are found in the garden, having lain undiscovered for many years. Who are they, how did they die and what does Saffy’s gran, now in a care home, know about them?

I was glued to this book and couldn’t put it down. The characters were carefully drawn out and the plot was laid down well. Would recommend.

Saffy and Tom have moved into her grandmother’s old cottage, but during renovations two bodies are discovered. The bodies have been buried for at least 30 years back when Saffy’s grandmother Rose, who is now suffering from Alzheimers, lived in the cottage. With Rose’s memory fading, how do they discover who they are and how they got there?

A good suspenseful story linking the past and the present. This was a compelling and entertaining read.

Well wow what a thriller a couple of epic twists and incredible characters what more could you want? Well yes obviously that as well but from a thriller this huts the spot.

Saffy and Tom get a cottage from Saffy's Mum Lorna who got it from her Mum Rose! Well sorted of!!! Rose is in a care home in Bristol suffering from dementia, Lorna lives in Spain with her Toy Boy the latest of a few, but comes home when Saffy tells her of the 2 dead bodies dug up in her back garden (be a big shock if they were alive I guess), by the builders doing their extension. Their lives are upturned as is the little village of Beggars Nook in the Cotswold as you'd expect from such a find, there not that old but I guess that depends on your age my kids would call them ancient but there rudeness is another story. The 70s and 80s are fairly recent enough for the Police to get involved.

There also Theo and Jen from Harrogate what's there connection to the tale, Why is Theo's Dad so angry all the time what's his secret, well that's a great story in itself and the letter you need to read it (the thriller) for that piece of info!

The Police question everyone including Rose which is a challenge mind Lorna isn't on the list but she does talk to them a fare bit. As the story unfolds and the truth is slowly revealed there are some great surprises from various characters as the real them becomes clear sometimes as mud but eventually the waters clear and a mindblowing reveal stretches out by it so worth the while.

I giving it 5 stars as I was gripped from the beginning and didn't want to put it down but well in to the small hours when I finished my mind was well past the point where sleep mattered. Well a few hours later it did close to the time I needed to get up 🤨. But no regrets and I hope you have none either I highly recommend it if you enjoy Thrillers with great twists this is 100% for you.

I was so excited to read this as Claire Douglas is one of my favourite authors. I'm not going to lie, at first I was afraid that I wasn't going to like it. It took me three sittings to get to the 20% mark as I just couldn't get into it, there seemed to be a lot of names thrown around that didn't mean anything to me at the time.

But then WHAT A TURN AROUND! From the 20% mark onwards, I was completely absorbed in the story and thought the characters were wonderful. My feelings towards Saffy's grandmother vacillated so much during the course of the novel and I love it when characters stir up that level of emotion.

There is a lot to the plot and I think that's why I found it a little confusing at first but when everything comes together it makes a wonderful story. By the time I was approaching the final few pages, I didn't want it to end.

This is a bit of a slow burn and takes a while to get the momentum going, but once it does I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

I will preface this by saying I am particularly fussy about domestic/family thrillers, but have had excellent luck with other authors in the genre published by Michael Joseph so decided to take a punt on this one. Sadly it was a DNF from me: I couldn't get on with the writing style at all. There was nothing that gripped me and I found the central characters, Saffy and Tom (who are both purportedly in their early 20s but spoke and acted more like a couple in their late 40s) unconvincing.

A terrifying psychological thriller by the queen of suspense! I had to keep the lights on while reading this frightening tale of bodies being located underneath an old house, and trying to figure out just how they got there...

Bodies In The Back Yard....
When Saffron and Tom move into a pretty cottage originally owned by Saffron’s grandmother the last thing they expect to find are bodies in the back yard. When digging commences in the idyllic garden as part of their renovations bodies are discovered and a nightmare ensues for the young couple. With a swiftly moving narrative and differing points of view this is an entertaining, compelling and solid suspense from Claire Douglas.

Saffy and Tom move into a cottage in Skelton place. During renovations, 2 bodies are found in the garden and Saffy and her mother Lorna are caught in a nightmare as they try to unravel the past.

The story is dual timeline with Saffy and Lorna the main voices in the present and Rose narrating the past. It got a bit confusing at times, but I think it was because I was reading so quickly- trying to work out what was happening! I did guess the big twist quite early on, but it didn’t spoil the story for me as I was keen to see how and why it happened.

The writing is good and the story is well paced and interesting with believable characters. I would definitely read more books by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Another excellent read from Claire Douglas, with a plot which keeps you on your toes. A twist near to the end is totally unexpected. Would definitely recommend this book.

Another great thriller from Claire Douglas. Over three generations, they discover the truth about two bodies found buried in the garden of an old family property. A twisty read which keeps you intrigued and wanting to read more. Enjoyed this book and would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

This is a complex story mixing past and present. The different parts of the book are written from the point of view of several of the main characters in the present and in the past giving a depth to the story as the plot is gradually revealed.
I really enjoyed the unraveling of the different themes and was very keen to get back to finish the book. The final reveal was not a complete surprise as I had worked out the possibilities.
This is a cleverly woven story that keeps the reader interested and is thoroughly recommended.

This is a rollercoaster of a book. Brilliantly written as all of Claire’s books are, and so much detail none of it unnecessary. It starts with two bodies being found during renovations to a cottage that a young couple have just moved into. The bodies are estimated to have been there some thirty years, so nothing for the couple to worry about - or is there? Events then start their twists as the difficulties in identifying the bodied become apparent. The suspense builds, all meticulously plotted, and I couldn’t put it down. It stretches between the present day and the 1970’s and perhaps reminds us that whatever we think, things have changed for the better. The story is multi layered and encompasses a gamut of emotions. Definitely a favourite book (and I read a lot of good books!) and recommended for all those who like a good intelligent thriller.
Thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the opportunity to receive an ARC in return for an unbiased review.

Be prepared to stop doing anything else when you pick up this book! I absolutely loved it, and couldn't put it down. The story is so clever, and the characters very believable. My only slight criticism is that there is some unnecessary detail given to anchor the earlier story in the 1970's but regardless, this is an excellent book.