Erin Kelly was born in London in 1976 and studied English at Warwick University. She has worked as a freelance journalist for ten years, specialising in women, health, sex and lifestyle.
The Drowning Place (2026) (DS Joseph Ashe, book 1) Sarah Hilary "Darkly atmospheric and overflowing with humanity, The Drowning Place is both breathtakingly original and an instant crime classic. A career best from the inimitable Sarah Hilary."
Dear Darling (2026) Ella King "Tender prose that tackles the thorniest of subjects with lush writing and compassion ... Comparisons to My Dark Vanessa are inevitable, but I like this one better."
Based on a True Story (2026) Sarah Vaughan "A juicy, atmospheric and unpredictable family thriller which employs both schadenfreude and empathy to have the reader switching sides with every chapter."
Welcome to the Neighbourhood (2026) Jane Fallon "A hugely enjoyable and totally unpredictable tale of social climbing, curtain-twitching, bed-hopping and scheming. This is Jane Fallon at the top of her game."
Itch! (2025) Gemma Amor "So weird and juicy and gross and brilliant and made me want to slather myself in calamine lotion. I loved it!"
59 Minutes (2025) Holly Seddon "A big-hearted book that pulses with adrenaline on every page. Holly Seddon is at the top of her game as she shows us the absolute best and the absolute worst of humanity. Stop what you're doing and read it."
Sinners (2025) Elizabeth Fremantle "A transporting historical thriller - 16th century Rome, a heroine (kind-of) and a murder trial."
Her Many Faces (2025) Nicci Cloke "An ingenious, indignant, beautifully wrought psychological thriller. Nicci Cloke had me fooled repeatedly and I absolutely loved it."
The Good Liar (2025) Denise Mina "Authentic, compelling and written with wit so sharp it'll cut your fingers. Once again, Denise Mina shows the rest of us how it's done."
Dirty Money (2025) (Farrow & Chang, book 1) Charlotte Philby "Cool, cunning, contemporary, Dirty Money ruthlessly excavates London's layers from the powerful heights to the blood-soaked streets. I can't wait for the next Farrow & Chang adventure."
The Queen of Fives (2025) Alex Hay "A period piece, a full-throttle thriller, and a masterclass in characterization: Historical fiction doesn't get more exciting than this."
Notes on a Drowning (2025) Anna Sharpe "A propulsive, authentic, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, written with biting wit and real heart."
The Underhistory (2024) Kaaron Warren "An original take on the secrets that houses keep, with every page drenched in foreboding. The Underhistory has all the hallmarks of a contemporary gothic classic."
The Kellerby Code (2024) Jonny Sweet "A deft, razor-sharp debut that effortlessly bestrides crime and comedy. Jonny Sweet is annoyingly talented."
Nuclear Family (2024) Kate Davies "A welcome return from one of the freshest voices in fiction. In Nuclear Family Kate Davies turns her acute eye on family, identity and belonging, not to mention the mechanics of insemination. I can't think of another author who can make me ricochet so quickly from painful empathy to helpless laughter."
Five Nights (2024) Rachel Wolf "Deadly glamour on the high seas and lashings of schadenfreude in this addictive, claustrophobic thriller."
Butter (2024) Asako Yuzuki "An unputdownable, breathtakingly original novel about true crime, loneliness and female appetite in all its tricky, transgressive glory. I will be spoon-feeding Butter to every woman I know."
The House on Rye Lane (2024) Susan Allott "The lovechild of Sarah Waters' The Paying Guests and Lisa Jewell's The Family Upstairs... confirms Susan Allott as a huge talent."
The Actor (2024) Chris MacDonald "Ego and ambition, guilt and redemption collide in this masterfully plotted and beautifully written psychological thriller. I couldn't tear my eyes from the page."
Hunter's Christmas and Other Stories (2023) (DI Hunter Wilson) Val Penny "More gripping tales about DI Hunter Wilson, DS Jane Renwick and others by Val Penny. The author weavers stories of family, power, politics and revenge to enthral her readers."
The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou (2023) Eleni Kyriacou "Immersive, gripping, authentic: the kind of historical fiction that has the reader looking up from the page, astonished to find themselves in the 21st Century. Zina will stay with me for a long, long time."
All Of Us Are Broken (2023) (DS Saul Anguish, book 2) Fiona Cummins "Can't remember the last time such a gripping crime narrative blended so seamlessly with an emotional, weepy family drama."
Zero Days (2023) Ruth Ware "Pure suspense, from the first gripping page to the last shocking twist."
Ghost Girl, Banana (2023) Wiz Wharton "An absolute wrecking ball of a novel. Ghost Girl, Banana is an enchanting, suspenseful journey through family, distance, money and betrayal. I loved it so much."
The Close (2023) (Maeve Kerrigan, book 10) Jane Casey "Jane Casey is writing the most dangerously addictive series in crime fiction and The Close absolutely sizzles with her trademark tension."
The People Before (2022) Charlotte Northedge "I read through the night to finish this thriller about a dream country house that turns into a nightmare. Spooky, tense, richly atmospheric and profoundly moving."
Sun Damage (2022) Sabine Durrant "Another masterful trouble-in-paradise book from Sabine Durrant, whose sharp observations strip bare the darkness we all try to hide. The suspense sizzles off every page."
The Best Friend (2022) Jessica Fellowes "An absolute jewel of a book which puts seven decades of complicated female friendship under the microscope - and reveals dark truths. It's a masterclass in things unsaid, in both form and content."
One of the Girls (2022) Lucy Clarke "Lucy Clarke goes from strength to strength; this utterly addictive, trouble-in-paradise novel is her best yet. The plot shifts like sand beneath the reader's feet."
Wrong Place Wrong Time (2021) Gillian McAllister "The unstoppable Gillian McAllister is at the top of her game with this ingenious thriller. Wrong Place Wrong Time is a book to blow your mind and break your heart."
The Heights (2021) Louise Candlish "Impossible to resist, impossible to predict, impossible to put down… this is an author at the top of her game."
56 Days (2021) Catherine Ryan Howard "I was surgically attached to this twisting lockdown thriller. Clever, tender and all too convincing, it's the kind of book you read in one breathless sitting to get to the truth, and then again, slowly, to see how the author did it."
The Hollows (2021) Mark Edwards "An atmospheric thriller that plays on our primal human fear of dark woods. Edwards cranks up the tension with every page until the heart-stopping climax."
Shiver (2021) Allie Reynolds "A white-knuckle-ride through a dangerous world full of deadly ambition."
Never Saw Me Coming (2021) Vera Kurian "Welcome to your new problematic fave. I fell in love with self-confessed psychopath Chloe on page one, and even as she plotted murder, found myself cheering her on. Perfect for fans of Caroline Kepnes and CJ Skuse."
Rachel Ryan "A clever spin on the every mother's nightmare scenario that probes the secrets at the heart of a family, and of a country. Gripping and hugely readable, Hidden Lies heralds a bright new voice in psychological thrillers."
Exit (2021) Belinda Bauer "Exit is ingeniously plotted and every word is perfect. It’s a rare book that has you turning the pages impatiently, desperate to solve the mystery, all the while never wanting it to end because it’s such a joy to read. Felix Pink is the most loveable killer in recent fiction, and only Belinda Bauer could have created him."
White Ivy (2020) Susie Yang "Class, race and coming-of-age lock horns in this original, funny, clever novel. Totally addictive, twisting and twisted: Ivy Lin will get under your skin."
The Searcher (2020) (Cal Hooper, book 1) Tana French "This mystery about family, memory and the cracks in both will haunt you for a long, long time."
The Chalet (2020) Catherine Cooper "I didn’t know who to trust in this twisting, turning thriller. Pure adrenaline, from the killer first page to the chilling last line."
Invisible Girl (2020) Lisa Jewell "Lisa Jewell is the kind of writer you read twice—once as a breathless reader to see how the story unfolds, and then again to see how she makes it look so easy."
Shed No Tears (2020) (Cat Kinsella, book 3) Caz Frear "A crime fiction force to be reckoned with."
Remain Silent (2020) (DS Manon Bradshaw, book 3) Susie Steiner "No one writes crime fiction like Susie Steiner."
Expectation (2019) Anna Hope "A generation-defining book, honest and relatable on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like Normal People with female friendship under the microscope."
Burnt Island (2019) (Isles of Scilly Mystery, book 3) Kate Rhodes "Gripping, cleaver and impossible to put down."
The Body Lies (2019) Jo Baker "Powerful and moving, I read The Body Lies in one sitting. As a thriller, it grips and shocks: as a portrayal of the way women move through the world, and the way men see them, it has never been more timely. Absolutely stunning."
The Last (2019) Hanna Jameson "A clever, original, scarily plausible white-knuckle read."
Suicide Club (2018) Rachel Heng "Life-affirming . . . 'Be careful what you wish for' has never been so chilling, or so gripping."
Give Me Your Hand (2018) Megan Abbott "SO. GOOD. A tense, pitch-perfect thriller about ambition and female friendship and a forensic examination of what it takes for women to rise through male-dominated spaces."
The Almost Wife (2018) Jade Beer "I laughed like a bridesmaid on a hen night, I cried like the mother of the bride. A book to restore your faith in love."
The House Swap (2018) Rebecca Fleet "‘I read The House Swap in one breathless sitting. Dark, smart, sexy, gripping, totally brilliant."
Our Kind of Cruelty (2018) Araminta Hall "A tense intelligent thriller that kept me gripped and guessing until the last page - and thinking long after that."
This is What Happened (2018) Mick Herron "A cat-and-mouse psychological thriller about the people who fall through London's cracks. Perfectly crafted, beautifully written, I started it in the morning and it was dark when I looked up."
Exquisite (2017) Sarah Stovell "A perfect literary thriller. A moving, gripping story told in beautiful prose. The twists keep coming until the very last page. I loved this book."
(b.1976)
