Louise Candlish is the author of seven novels, including the bestsellers Since I Don’t Have You, The Second Husband and Before We Say Goodbye. After studying English at University College London, Louise worked as a travel writer, art book editor and copywriter, before beginning her first novel on a whim during a holiday in Sicily. Her books are emotional dramas, often located in foreign settings where characters behave quite differently from the way they might in their lives at home. Other People’s Secrets (published by Sphere in July 2010) is set in Orta San Giulio in the Italian Lakes, where Louise spent several (rainy) weeks researching. She lives in South London with her partner and daughter.
The Silent Ones (2025) (Mary Shea Murders, book 1) Anna McPartlin "An engrossing police procedural and a beautifully drawn portrait of a time and place. Mary Shea is such a brilliant new character: intuitive, ballsy, compassionate, achingly ahead of her time. Highly recommended."
The Killer Question (2025) Janice Hallett "Brilliantly twisted, laugh-out-loud hilarious and devilishly addictive. I loved every line of it."
The Wasp Trap (2025) Mark Edwards "Never trust a reunion - especially one in a Mark Edwards thriller... Tense, artful and satisfying, The Wasp Trap buzzes between past and present delivering one deadly sting after another."
Three Mothers (2025) Hannah Beckerman "Suspenseful, spellbinding and profoundly moving, Three Mothers is a deliciously tangled web that had me ensnared from page one."
The First Girl (2025) Claire McGowan "The only thing scarier than your boyfriend being a convicted serial killer is the news that he might not be...The First Girl has a brilliant premise that delivers with both style and substance. Claire McGowan is one of my favourite authors and this is a truly first-class read."
The Queen of Fives (2025) Alex Hay "Audacious, cunning, quick-witted - thisis a jewel of a book from the seriously talented Alex Hay. I was rooting for the Queen of Fives from the very first line."
Look in the Mirror (2024) Catherine Steadman "An inheritance puzzle turns sinister in this beguiling, atmospheric mystery. A seductive, expertly plotted page-turner that will give you the shivers."
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby (2024) Ellery Lloyd "What a fascinating, intricately stitched literary treat from Ellery Lloyd. Bold and ambitious and consuming from start to finish - I absolutely loved it."
The Honeymoon (2023) Kate Gray "Secrets, lies and the mother of all cover-ups ... I was gripped by this twisty tale of two couples' honeymoons colliding."
The Mother (2023) T M Logan "I ripped through The Mother in a day, my heart in my mouth the entire time. Superbly plotted and packed full of danger, this is T.M. Logan's best, most adrenaline-fuelled thriller yet."
In the Blink of an Eye (2023) (Kat and Lock, book 1) Jo Callaghan "A fresh and intriguing detective double act - I fell hard for all-too-human Kat and her AI colleague Lock . . . a riveting cold case mystery told with compassion and verve."
The Skeleton Key (2022) Erin Kelly "A feat of real ambition and imagination - original, suspenseful, and with complex characters that spring irresistibly to life on the page, this is Erin Kelly at her finest."
Do No Harm (2022) Jack Jordan "With proper breath-taking, pulse-racing levels of tension. Tracking heart surgeon Anna as she grapples with an impossible moral dilemma, I almost felt I was going under the knife myself."
It Ends at Midnight (2022) Harriet Tyce "It Ends At Midnight takes us into the deepest, most toxic recesses of human behaviour. With the author's signature blend of courtroom suspense and relationships in mortal crisis, this is another delicious treat from Tyce."
Reputation (2022) Sarah Vaughan "A terrifically entertaining legal drama and an unsettling cautionary tale for any woman considering entering politics - 5 stars."
Tell Me Your Lies (2022) Kate Ruby "A brilliantly constructed tale of rivalry, manipulation and revenge."
The Maid (2022) (Molly the Maid Mystery , book 1) Nita Prose "The Maid is elegant, warmhearted, and wry, and Molly the most winningly offbeat narrator since Eleanor Oliphant. An absolute joy - I didn't want it to end!"
The Wedding Party (2021) Tammy Cohen "Tense plotting, razor-sharp writing, and some on-the-nose relatable characterization. Highly recommended."
Adele Parks "I've always loved Adele Parks’s gripping, immersive novels and Both of You is one of her very best. Ambitious, nail-biting, darkly voyeuristic – I tore through it in two sittings."
The Wild Girls (2021) Phoebe Morgan "When three estranged friends set off for an all-expenses-paid trip to Botswana, you just know it won’t be long before the discover the catch – and what a terrifying one it is! Tense, well-paced and with a cast of relatable flesh-and-blood women, The Wild Girls is an exhilarating, read-in-one sitting ride."
Five Strangers (2021) E V Adamson "Both a tightly-plotted, entertaining work of suspense and an unflinching study of the trauma of witnessing violence, FIVE STRANGERS had me gripped from the first shocking chapter."
While Paris Slept (2021) Ruth Druart "Both epic and intimate, this unexpected story of two couples' sacrifices in war-torn France had me completely and utterly enraptured. You'll have your heart in your mouth and tears on your cheeks as it reaches its rich, life-affirming conclusion."
One by One (2020) Ruth Ware "The sense of dread deepens as the snow falls in Ruth Ware's tensely plotted and deliciously cast alpine thriller."
Christina Dalcher "Like all the best dystopian fiction, Q takes the reader just a pace or two beyond where we’re already at. This is a sharply written and terrifyingly plausible tale of an education system where less than perfect is a life-threatening condition… I devoured it in a single day."
The Silent Treatment (2020) Abbie Greaves "Not so much a case of 'he said/she said' as 'he didn't say/she didn't say, ' this moving debut unpicks the secret selves of Maggie and Frank to reveal the tragic miscommunications of their broken family. It's a pleasure to read such a stylish and confident new voice--readers are going to love discovering Abbie Greaves."
To Kill a Man (2020) (Maggie Costello, book 5) Sam Bourne "A compulsive, zeitgeisty tale of gender politics and social-media manipulation. The perfect post-#MeToo thriller -- I gobbled it up."
She (2020) HC Warner "SHE is a dark and delicious guessing game, designed to be read with the same relish as it is told. I gobbled up the story of the villainous Bella and her destruction of her husband Ben’s world in less than a day. Addictive stuff."
The Lying Room (2019) Nicci French "The hook of The Lying Room is chilling… From the very first page, Nicci French remains one step ahead of us as we race to unpick Neve Connolly's deadly tangle. Expertly paced, psychologically sharp, thoroughly enjoyable."
Layover (2019) David Bell "You meet someone at an airport and the connection between you is so irresistible you change your flight and chase after them. This killer premise kicks off David Bell's twisty, breakneck thriller, and has you tearing through the pages to a shattering finale."
Part of the Family (2019) Charlotte Philby "Charlotte Philby’s debut The Most Difficult Thing is an enigmatic and slippery beast, a cool new generation of spy novel. Just as the characters play cat and mouse with one another, so does the author with her readers – it’s a guessing game right to the end and I turned the last page with my heart pounding. Recommended."
Little Sister (2017) Isabel Ashdown "A missing baby girl, a marriage ravaged by mistrust, a sibling rivalry with a very dark heart: LITTLE SISTER had me gripped from start to finish."
This Secret We're Keeping (2016) Rebecca Done "You might be surprised who you find yourself rooting for in this engrossing and intelligent tale of forbidden love. I enjoyed it hugely."
Truly Madly Guilty (2016) Liane Moriarty "A masterclass in teasing, drip-feed storytelling, this tale of three recognizably flesh-and-blood couples navigating the fallout of a disastrous social gathering is another triumph for Liane Moriarty. I loved every line of it."
