Maria Frankland

I keep getting the sense of being watched. But when I glance up, it’s not by the person I want it to be. Dale’s always busy doing something else. Really, I must have the most unromantic partner on the planet. Or so I thought.

I open the front door and there’s Amy, smiling sweetly and ready to help. She’s been a lifesaver since Jon and I moved here–from walking the dog to picking up my little son Teddy from nursery last minute. I’m so lucky we met in the playground the first day we arrived.

I’ve never felt welcome in my husband Dominic’s family home. His parents make it clear I’m a poor comparison to his perfect first wife, Carla. But we’re here for Christmas, so it’s important to pretend everything is fine. Until Dominic’s mother bustles into our bedroom.

I stand at the front door and meticulously check my reflection in the glass. I must look perfect to meet Lou's new boyfriend. I haven't been invited but best friends don't require invitations, right?

It was supposed to be a family Christmas to remember. But I never thought it would end with one of us dead.

The important thing is that my daughter and son are safe after the fire that ripped apart their world as they knew it. And we’re trying to move forward together. Except there’s something I can’t let go of.

My wife is dead. No one believes that I’m innocent — and honestly, if I were them, I wouldn’t either. Everything you ever read, anything that makes the news? It’s always the husband.

I’m dreading turning fifty more than I’ve dreaded any other birthday in my life. Now that my kids are at university, the prospect of spending the rest of my life with my bullying, balding, and boring husband is a miserable one. Which is why I employed Jay.

I stand at the front door and meticulously check my reflection in the glass. I must look perfect to meet Lou’s new boyfriend. I haven’t been invited but best friends don't require invitations, right?

As I race towards the lake, Toby's life unfolds before me, from the day he entered this world to his first day at school. Please let me find him. I’ll do anything. But my sweet little boy is nowhere to be seen.

From where I stand in the shadows outside the pub I own, I can already tell what mood my husband’s in and it makes me want to stay exactly where I am. However, I can also see my bar manager, Jay. Sexy, young and exciting, he’s the person who’s going to set me free from my middle-aged monotony.

Today’s the day. The things I’ve packed are hidden away and I’m waiting for the go-ahead to collect the keys to the new house.

The moment she sees Caitlyn, wearing her ‘bride-to-be’ sash and brimming with excitement, it hits her. She hates Caitlyn. She knows who she is – what she’s really hiding. And the temptation to do something about it is too strong to resist…

Becoming Tom’s mum had always robbed me of the chance to sleep, and here I was, fifteen years on, alone in the dead of night, longing to be able to rest like everyone else. When I saw the thin blue line on my pregnancy test, I dared to hope for a future of blissful motherhood.

This collection contains Book 1 - Undercurrents, Book 2 – Drowned Voices, and Book 3 – Emergence.

Sunny afternoons are the worst for a recovering alcoholic. But I’m doing OK and I’m proud of myself. I stretch out on my sun lounger with my book, basking in the peace before I have to collect my son from school.

Every time I turn the corner towards home, I yearn for Ed to have returned. But he’s not coming back. The man I thought was my forever has been living a lie with me since the moment we met.

In the midst of a sea of holidaymakers, I find myself the lone outsider – no companion, no luggage. An enigma among the carefree crowd. I wonder what they’d do if they knew who I am. Who I really am…

As I stand outside the registry office with my husband-to-be, Hugh, I can tell something isn’t right. He won’t speak to me, he won’t even look at me and it’s almost making me have second thoughts. Almost.

It was supposed to be a holiday to fix the cracks in our fractured family. I knew the seven days would be endless, but I never imagined that one of us would only survive for six of them…