Two days ago, the Wilson family checked into the imposing, glass-fronted Lodge, surrounded by snow and perched perilously on the edge of a cliff looking out to a gray sea. Not everyone was looking forward to the family get-together. But mother-in-law Angela insisted the winter trip would help heal their rifts....

When Nigel Baxter, a middle-aged married banker with an unremarkable past, is found dead in the bath of a plush hotel suite, his wrists slit, it looks as if he's taken his own life. At first. But when Detective Inspector Daniel Riley is assigned to the case, he soon realises all isn't as it first appears to be. When a postmortem shows Baxter was poisoned, Riley suspects foul play. And then there's the odd addition of a teddy bear left at the crime scene....

In the wake of my darling husband’s death, I am so lucky to have my three beautiful, grown-up daughters by my side at our holiday home in Scotland. We need some time together to recover from the shock. But I also need to set some things straight about their beloved father....

It was surreal returning to work after a five-month enforced sabbatical following the suspicious death of my best friend Livvy at a work event. I was grateful for the time away to grieve and had slotted straight back in work but a surprise awaited my return. Amanda Dowd, Livvy’s replacement, was entrenched as my new flatmate in the company apartment. Something didn’t feel right, I felt on edge. But everyone seemed to love her. Even my ex-Jayden was blinded by her outgoing personality and model looks.When I began to receive calls, photos and presents supposedly from Livvy, I became spooked.

Alice has everything, I mean everything. A stunning suburban house, Instagram-perfect in its soft grey walls and textured neutrals. And then there's her handsome husband, with his flat stomach and that sexy sleeve of tattoos he keeps hidden for his well-paid job in the city. The PTA mamas can't stop staring at him, and who can blame them? And let's not forget her three adorable, well-behaved children. Meanwhile, here in Boston, I'm struggling to start a family with my husband Ollie. Our marriage is suffering, and I feel so isolated all the time.

Of course, I’m not going to murder her in the night. I need my laptop back first. That’s the whole point of making friends with Emily Harper, author of the hugely successful novel Diary of an Octopus. So I could get into her apartment and take back what’s mine. Emily doesn’t know who I really am. She thinks I’m her biggest fan, her new best friend who happens to need a place to stay for a few days. She doesn’t realize the laptop she found—and took—from a busy airport almost two years ago was mine. I don’t care about the laptop, just what's on it: my diary.

As I sit in her dimly lit bedroom, surrounded by flickering candles, I feel the crushing weight of my daughter’s absence. It's been two years since Layla was murdered. The police have searched tirelessly for her killer, but they've found nothing – it's like whoever did it vanished into thin air. My once-perfect marriage is falling apart, we can hardly look at each other anymore. Our ten-year-old son Gale is struggling. He’s changed since she died. He’s more secretive and also…

Jake and I were childhood sweethearts. Strong, dependable, and with a smile that melts my heart, he is the perfect husband and father to our beautiful little daughter. We have our money troubles–but getting a lodger, Kara, calms the panic I feel about our bills. Jake is reluctant but what choice do we have?

My darling little boy Albie adores playing at our new neighbours’ house. And after the terrible year we’ve had, I feel so lucky that we can start over in this perfect place, with new friends who treat Albie like the son they never had. He can’t stop talking about the tree house they’re building him, and the cookies they bake together. But as time passes, something starts to feel wrong. Why don’t they ever open the front door more than a crack? They told me they had no children so who does the small pink tricycle I saw in their hall belong to?

Twenty years after a baby is stolen from a stroller, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth. Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning messes and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything. Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door…and their intentions aren’t good.

I stand in the mortuary and take a deep breath before identifying the body of the man I’ve been married to for 26 years. Victor and I built Serenity Falls, a successful couples’ retreat, together. Honesty and trust were the bedrocks of our marriage, and we helped other couples repair their relationships too.

Alice and Seth are a perfect love story: the handsome doctor and his beautiful fiancée. They’re wealthy, well liked and made for each other—the envy of all their friends. Alice can’t wait for the day of their dream wedding. But when she arrives at the altar, she doesn’t recognise the man waiting to marry her. When this stranger insists he’s Seth, her husband-to-be, the entire congregation seems to agree. Even her parents try to persuade Alice to go through with the wedding.

Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are best friends—or were, as children. Despite drifting apart in adulthood, shared secrets have kept them bonded for better or worse, even as their childhood dreams haven’t quite turned out as they’d hoped. Then one day they receive a wholly unexpected—but not entirely unwelcome—invitation from another old friend. Poppy Greer has invited them all to her extravagant bachelorette party: a first-class plane ticket to three days of white sand, cocktails, and relaxation on a luxe private island in the Bahamas.

Alice Tandy has dreamed of her wedding since she was a little girl. The perfect venue, the perfect dress, the perfect groom. It’s all going exactly to plan. But then her whole world comes tumbling down. Just as she and her new husband, Ben, are cutting their wedding cake, three policemen storm in and arrest Ben. Alice looks on in horror, unable to comprehend what is happening. Did they say murder? The next day, Ben is released on bail, but for Alice, the nightmare is only just beginning.

It’s the day I’ve been dreaming about my whole life. As I glide down the flower-strewn aisle overlooking the Greek orange groves, in my pearl-encrusted ivory gown, I finally see my fiancé Nik. We look like the perfect couple, but not all fairy tales have happy endings....