by Mark Edwards
First published 2017
Detective Imogen Evans pulls up to a ruined priory and finds a body. The victim's eyes are open. She is smiling. When more deaths follow the same pattern, Evans recognizes what she is dealing with: a serial killer who somehow sends people out of the world in a state of pure bliss. A few miles away, single father Ben Hofland moves back to the quiet village where he grew up. His marriage is over. His son Ollie has been targeted by bullies. Then things start to shift. Ben finds work. The bullies stop showing up. For the first time in a long time, Ben feels like his luck has turned. He has no idea anyone is watching him and Ollie. He has no idea that someone has decided to make him happy. And he does not know what that person does to the people they have chosen, once the happiness is complete. Two storylines close in on each other, and the question driving every page is a simple one: what does it cost to be one of the lucky ones?
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, adult-fiction, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, psychological, sinister, suspenseful
Tropes: convergence-plot, dual-narrative, unreliable-reality
Setting: priory, village
377 pages · Paperback · Thomas & Mercer
Content warnings: death, murder, violence