New Reader's Guide

New to Mark’s books? Wondering which one to read next? Here’s a guide to help you decide, from the biggest sellers to those the fans love most. They can be read in any order, except where stated.

Latest release

Keep Her Secret

“Heart-in-mouth stuff, with a twist I didn’t see coming. Edwards is at the top of his game.” —Erin Kelly

In this sinister tale from 4 million copy bestselling author Mark Edwards, a deadly secret turns a couple’s new romance into a nightmare. And they’re not the only ones who know the truth…

After twenty years apart, Matthew and Helena have rekindled their college romance and are away in Iceland on their first holiday together. Swept up in the romance on a mountain hike, one moment they are taking the perfect photo, the next Helena is hanging from the cliff edge…

Terrified, Matthew almost misses Helena’s sudden and shocking confession—but what he hears chills him to the bone. And when Helena reveals the full truth Matthew is horrified, not only by what she’s done, but why she did it. Does he really know her at all?

His shock turns to horror when, back in England, they discover that someone not only overheard Helena’s confession but plans to blackmail her. Now Matthew must decide whether to go to the police or help Helena keep her secret—and as events spiral out of control, how far is Matthew willing to go to protect his ‘perfect’ girlfriend?

'No Place to Run is that most wonderful of things—a book that opens with a breath-takingly startling premise and then keeps the momentum going until the very last page…Just brilliant, Mark Edwards really is in a league of his own.'

– Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

Greatest hits

Follow You Home

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. But after a perfect start, an encounter with a young couple on a night train forces Daniel and Laura to cut their dream trip short and flee home.

Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what happened that night. But as they try to fit into their old lives again, they realise they are in terrible danger—and that their nightmare is just beginning…

‘Being set initially in a foreign country made the events that followed all the more bone-chillingly terrifying. It’ll definitely make you think twice about any travel plans.’

– Amazon Review

The Retreat

Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive.

Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.

‘Supernatural, spooky and fantastically creepy, the whole atmosphere in this book is dark. Right from the beginning I felt a bit freaked out!’

– Amazon Review

The Magpies – (Magpies Book 1)

When Jamie and Kirsty move into their first home together, they are full of optimism. The future, in which they plan to get married and start a family, is bright. The other residents of their building seem friendly too, including the Newtons, a married couple who welcome them to the building with open arms. But then strange things start to happen. Dead rats are left on their doorstep. They hear disturbing noises, and much worse, in the night. Jamie and Kirsty find themselves targeted by a campaign of terror.

‘The most frightening aspect of this creepy tale is that the evil neighbours are outwardly normal folk. It was so sad to see Jamie and Kirsty go from such happiness in their dream home to the horrors that begin to unfold turning it into a nightmare property.’

– Amazon Review

Here To Stay

Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot’s life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige – he just doesn’t quite know what he’s signing up for.

The Robinsons arrive with Gemma’s sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot starts to suspect that the Robinsons are hiding a dark secret. As Elliot’s in-laws become more comfortable in his home, it becomes clear that they have no intention of moving out. Elliot delves into the Robinsons’ past. But is he prepared for the truth?

‘This book takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions – happy, sad, maddening, frustrated, and downright angry. It made me realise how nice it is to have great in-laws.’

– Amazon Review

Fan favourites

The Hollows

With his marriage over and his career in freefall, journalist Tom decides to reconnect with his fourteen-year-old daughter, Frankie. Desperate to spend precious time together now that they live an ocean apart, he brings her to Hollow Falls, a cabin resort deep in the woods of Maine.

From the outset there’s something a little eerie about the place—strange whispers in the trees, windchimes echoing through the forest—but when Tom meets true-crime podcasters David and Connie, he receives a chilling warning. Hollow Falls has a gruesome history: twenty years ago this week, a double slaying shut down the resort. The crime was never solved, and now the woods are overrun with murder-obsessed tourists looking to mark the grim anniversary.

It’s clear that there’s something deeply disturbing going on at Hollow Falls. And as Tom’s dream trip turns into a nightmare, he and Frankie are faced with a choice: uncover the truth, or get out while they still can.

'I tried to keep my excitement in check, but it was hard. Because when you've been starved of hope for so long, it's hard not to snatch at it when you see it dangled before you.'

– Goodreads Reviews

The House Guest

British twenty-somethings Ruth and Adam are spending the summer housesitting in Brooklyn. Thena young woman named Eden arrives in the middle of a storm, claiming to be a friend of the homeowners, who told her she could stay whenever she was in New York. Taking pity on her, Adam and Ruth let her in and invite her to stay. But is Eden really who she claims to be? Before long, Adam and Ruth find themselves plunged into a nightmare…

The House Guest is a fast-paced, sinewy thriller the blends action with psychological chills, and explores how far people will go to achieve their dreams.

‘Brilliant, shocking and very creepy. Mark Edwards has done it again.’

– Elly Griffiths, bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway series

The Lucky Ones

When a woman’s body is found in the grounds of a ruined priory, Detective Imogen Evans realises she is dealing with a serial killer – a killer whose victims appear to die in a state of bliss, eyes open, smiles forever frozen on their faces.

A few miles away, single dad Ben Hofland believes his fortunes are changing at last. Forced to move back to the sleepy village where he grew up following the breakdown of his marriage, Ben finally finds work. But he is unaware that someone is watching him and Ollie.

‘The idea is brilliant, yet so incredibly creepy. Full of intrigue.’

– Amazon Review

Because She Loves Me

When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end.

But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on reality is slipping. Items go missing in his apartment. Somebody appears to be following him. And as misfortune and tragedy strike his friends and loved ones, Andrew is forced to confront the frightening truth…

Is Charlie really the girl of his dreams – or the woman of his nightmares?

‘Because She Loves Me takes the obsessive ‘other half’ and ramps the psychopathic level up.’

– Amazon Review

In Her Shadow

For four years Jessica has never doubted that her sister Isabel’s death was an accident. But when Jessica’s young daughter seems to know long-forgotten details about her aunt’s past, Jessica can’t shake the feeling that there’s a more sinister truth behind the tragedy.

As Jessica unearths disturbing revelations about her sister, and about the people she loved and trusted most, it becomes clear Isabel’s life was less than perfect and that Jessica’s might also be at risk.

Did someone murder Isabel? Are they now after Jessica and her family? The key seems to lie in the hands of a child. Can Isabel reveal the truth from beyond the grave, or is the answer closer to home?

‘Likeable characters who you care about, vivid descriptions and a creepy and suspenseful plot.’

– Amazon Review

The Devil’s Work

It was the job she had dreamed of since childhood. But on her very first day, when an unnerving encounter drags up memories Sophie Greenwood would rather forget, she wonders if she has made a mistake. A fatal mistake.

What is her ambitious young assistant really up to? And what exactly happened to Sophie’s predecessor? When her husband and daughter are pulled into the nightmare, Sophie is forced to confront the darkest secrets she has carried for years. As her life begins to fall apart at work and at home, Sophie must race to uncover the truth about her new job…before it kills her.

‘It had it all; sinister owner, broken families, powerful femme fatale, and uncomfortable situations aplenty.’

– Amazon Review

From The Cradle – (Detective Patrick Lennon Book 1) – With Louise Voss

The first child was taken from her house. The second from his mother’s car.  The third from her own bedroom…

When Helen and Sean Philips go out for the evening, leaving their teenage daughter babysitting little Frankie, they have no idea that they are about to face every parent’s greatest fear. Detective Inspector Patrick Lennon is hopeful that the three children who have been abducted in this patch of south-west London will be returned safe and well. But when a body is found in a local park, Lennon realizes that time is running out—and that nothing in this case is as it seems…

‘The story of abducted children morphs into a much more complicated plot and the final chapters take your breath away.’

– Amazon Review

The Blissfully Dead – (Detective Patrick Lennon Book 2) – With Louise Voss

When the body of a teenage girl is found in a London hotel, DI Patrick Lennon is mystified. Nobody saw her or her killer enter the hotel, and there is no apparent motive – until a second teenager is found and Lennon realises somebody is targeting fans of the world’s biggest boy band.

As Lennon struggles with both his home life and his rivals on the force, the pressure to catch the killer before he strikes again reaches fever pitch. And when Lennon makes a terrible mistake that ends in disaster, he finds himself in a race to save not only the lives of more teenage girls but  his own career.

‘If there was ever a reason not to become engrossed in the dark corners of the internet, this novel really spells it out.’

– Amazon Review

Deep cuts

What You Wish For

Marie Walker has vanished from the face of the earth… Her besotted boyfriend, newspaper photographer Richard Thompson, vows to find her, convinced that Marie’s unusual beliefs hold the key. But a shocking discovery makes him question if he ever really knew his girlfriend. And when people around him start to die, Richard is plunged into terrible danger.

Drawn into the world of a sinister cult and the darkest corners of the Internet, Richard finds himself increasingly out of his depth as he discovers just how far people will go to protect what they believe in…

‘Cleverly written tale of simple belief crossing over to the dangerous world of fanaticism. Questioning the whys and hows and the irrational lengths people will go for their cause.’

– Amazon Review

Kissing Games

The first time she killed a boy was the happiest moment of her life.

When two boys accept a dare to spend a night in an abandoned asylum, they have no idea of the terror that awaits… Hollingby Hospital used to house some of the country’s most notorious psychopaths. Now it stands abandoned and rotting just beyond the woods. Ben and Ollie have agreed to spend a night there. But they are unaware that one of the former inmates has returned to the hospital, roaming the silent corridors at night … and she likes boys. She likes to kiss them. She likes to kill them.

‘If you close your eyes you can fully imagine the terror that the two boys go through, and you can almost see the asylum rearing up out of the woods. It has a nice little twist at the end.’

– Amazon Review

Forward Slash – With Louise Voss

When Amy receives an email from her older sister, Becky, announcing that she’s off travelling and “don’t try to find me”, she is worried. Becky would never do such a thing on a whim.

Amy soon finds that Becky had started using online dating sites. Aided by Becky’s neighbour, Gary, Amy sets about tracking down the men her sister had dated, following a trail that leads her into the darkly seductive world of internet hook-ups. But Amy is unaware that a sadistic killer is watching – a killer who’s been using the internet to stalk, torture and kill. Now he’s got something very special planned for Amy.

‘This highlights the perils of internet dating. If I wasn’t put off dating websites before, I certainly am now after reading this novel!’

– Amazon Review

Killing Cupid – With Louise Voss

Alex Parkinson is in love with his writing tutor, Siobhan. He has never loved anyone like this, but how can he convince Siobhan that they are meant to be together?

So Alex stalks her on Facebook, finds out where she lives, buys her presents using her own credit card and sends her messages telling her exactly what he wants to do to her. He breaks into her house, reads her diary and secretly listens to her while she takes a bath.

But when a love rival appears on the scene, Alex has to take drastic action, and soon a young woman lies dead after tumbling from the roof of her house. Now there is no-one standing in the way of Alex and his true love. But someone is watching Alex too and he is about to discover that there is a thin line between love – and hate…

‘Killing Cupid takes the whole stalking theme to a totally new level. The ending left me wondering.’

– Amazon Review

Catch Your Death – (Kate Maddox Book 1) – With Louise Voss

Twenty years ago, Kate Maddox was a volunteer at a research centre where scientists hunted for a cure for the common cold virus. That summer, Kate fell in love with a handsome young doctor, Stephen, but her stay ended in his tragic death and Kate fled to a new life in the US.

Now Kate is back in England and on the run with her young son, this time from her vile husband. But a chance encounter sets her on a terrifying path of discovery. What really happened at the Cold Research Unit two decades ago? Pursued by both her estranged husband and a psychotic killer who is obsessed with his prey, Kate must fight to solve the puzzle of the past.

‘I never want to catch a cold again. This fiction has possibilities of being reality. Very clever, gripping read.’

– Amazon Review

All Fall Down – (Kate Maddox Book 2) – With Louise Voss

Two years on from uncovering a terrifying conspiracy of rogue scientists, all Kate Maddox wants is to lead a normal life with her partner Paul and son Jack. But then a face from the past turns up, bringing chilling news. A devastating new strain of the virus that killed Kate’s parents is loose in L.A. – and when a bomb rips through a hotel killing many top scientists, it becomes clear someone will do anything to stop a cure being found.

While Paul goes on the hunt for answers, Kate finds herself in a secret laboratory in the heart of California, desperately seeking a way to stop the contagion. But time is running out and soon it will be too late to save their loved ones, themselves, and the world…

‘A very fast paced plot. A killer virus and time running out. All the ingredients for a good thriller.’

– Amazon Review