Literature & Fiction

In the long, hot summer of 1995, twenty-two-year-old Alice Lang rents a caravan on a holiday park on the outskirts of the lively holiday resort of Severn Sands. She befriends Marnie, a shy, damaged little girl whose father is the park’s caretaker and whose mother died a few months earlier. Will, whose mother runs the bar, falls in love with Alice, and is unbearably jealous of anyone else she sees. Tensions rise until one evening Alice disappears from her caravan. She’s never seen again, and only her scarlet dress is found washed up on the shore.

A quarter of a century later, the town is run down and nobody comes there anymore. Mr and Mrs deVillars, former owners of the holiday park, have passed the failing business onto their son Guy, who promptly sells the land for development. Builders clearing the land to create an expanse of executive homes uncover human bones. It has to be Alice.

Will and Marnie’s lives were entirely shaped by what happened that summer, and now Alice has been found, they must struggle to pin down their memories, to escape the secrets of the past, the lies they told and the unbearable guilt they’re both carrying.

They need to find out what happened to Alice. Who killed her? And why?

Praise for Louise Douglas

‘Louise Douglas achieves the impossible and gets better with every book.’ Milly Johnson

‘A brilliantly written, gripping, clever, compelling story, that I struggled to put down. The vivid descriptions, the evocative plot and the intrigue that Louise created, which had me constantly asking questions, made it a highly enjoyable, absolute treasure of a read.’ Kim Nash on The Scarlet Dress

‘Another stunning read from the exceptionally talented Louise Douglas! I love the way in which Louise creates such an atmospheric mystery, building the intrigue and suspense brick by brick. Her writing is always beautiful and multi-layered, her characters warm and relatable and the intriguing nature of the mystery makes this unputdownable.’ Nicola Cornick on The Scarlet Dress

‘A tender, heart-breaking, page-turning read’Rachel Hore on The House by the Sea

‘The perfect combination of page-turning thriller and deeply emotional family story. Superb’ Nicola Cornick on The House by the Sea

‘Kept me guessing until the last few pages and the explosive ending took my breath away.’ C.L. Taylor, author of The Accident on Your Beautiful Lies

‘Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lake is Louise Douglas at her brilliant best’ Tammy Cohen, author of The Broken

‘A master of her craft, Louise Douglas ratchets up the tension in this haunting and exquisitely written tale of buried secrets and past tragedy.’ Amanda Jennings, author of Sworn Secret

‘A clammy, atmospheric and suspenseful novel, it builds in tension all the way through to the startling final pages.’ Sunday Express, S Magazine

‘A chilling, unputdownable new novel from the bestselling author of The House By The Sea.

‘A brilliantly written, gripping, clever, compelling story, that I struggled to put down.’

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Ever since her sister Caitlin left the village of Heaven’s Cove, Isla has cared for their beloved grandmother Jessie in her cosy red-brick cottage by the sea. Now, heartbroken after Jessie’s death, Isla hopes to bond again with her sister. Until Caitlin insists she wants to sell the cottage they spent their childhood in.

But their grandmother, who always had a twinkle in her eye, had other plans. At her will reading the sisters are handed an envelope containing a cryptic riddle in Jessie’s handwriting. Certain their grandmother, who loved puzzles and crosswords, wanted them to solve it together, Isla begs Caitlin for more time.

Then Isla meets tall, brooding Ben in the village, come from America seeking answers about his own family history. One of his ancestors was close to a relative of Jessie’s… did Jessie mean for them to meet?

As Ben and Isla walk together on the wild Devon beaches, they discover a heartbreaking generations-old story of a woman who chose her family over true love. But Isla and Caitlin are no closer to solving their grandmother’s riddle: and when Caitlin finally shares a shocking secret about her life back in London, selling their grandmother’s home seems the only way forward.

Without their grandmother to guide them, will the sisters ever rediscover the meaning of family? Or will Isla be forced to leave Ben, and Heaven’s Cove behind forever?

This book can be enjoyed as a standalone.

An absolutely gripping and addictive page-turner about family secrets and sisterhood. Fans of Barbara O’Neal, Faith Hogan and Debbie Macomber will adore being swept away to the rugged Devon coast.

Read what everyone’s saying about The Sisters at the Last House Before the Sea:

‘Took me on a heart-warming journey… Set a smile on my face… I could not put this book down for I was completely lost in the story… Enchanting…I loved this novel so much.’Cindy L Spear, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Fabulous… A wonderful story which I absolutely adored reading! I loved the family relationships… Perfect! A delightful read.’ Stardust Book Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Gorgeous hug of a book… Wraps itself round you like a cosy blanket. It has warmth, charm, laugh-out-loud moments… I absolutely loved it.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Wonderful… I picked it up to read a few pages and wound up reading late into the night. Loved.’ Goodreads reviewer

‘I love these books… It is brilliant… Just fantastic… Liz Eeles writes fab books.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I want it to continue forever… Warmed my heart… Absolutely compelling… Their story captivated me.’ @tessa.talks.books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Love this series, the books never disappoint… Beautiful… Loved the characters.’ Goodreads reviewer

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“This is the best book yet. I loved it.”

Mary Brown heads to the beautiful island of St Lucia on the holiday of a lifetime. She’s planning to relax and take things easy. But on the second evening, while walking on the beach, she finds a purse buried in the sand.

Inside it is a folded map, a key, and an invitation to a party on a boat the next evening. There’s also an identity card for someone called Cara Jeffries.

The wallet has no phone number, so Mary heads to the party on the boat the next night to hand the purse back to its owner.

But when she asks whether Cara is there, there is a stunned silence. Everyone on the boat stops and looks.

Mary is told that Cara disappeared months ago in mysterious circumstances.

No one knows what happened to her.

There are police on the boat who watch Mary carefully.
– How does Mary have Cara’s purse?
– How can the purse contain an invitation to a boat party that was only organised a week ago when the woman disappeared months ago?
– Is Cara Jeffries alive?

Mary Brown decides to find out…

The novel features waterfalls, volcanic mud baths, the very real struggle to keep a large body inside a small bikini, rain forests, Pilates in the sand, endless sugar-coated beaches and peaceful azure waters.

And Mary Brown – in the middle of it all – wallowing in the beauty and majesty of the island while trying to find the missing Cara Jeffries as three angry men & the island’s police force watch her closely, waiting to pounce…

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Two girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes lie decades of secrets yet to be unearthed in a pulse-pounding novel by the Edgar Award–nominated author of Unspeakable Things.

Summer 1980: Despite the local superstition that the Bendy Man haunts the woods, three girls go into a Minnesota forest. Only one comes out, dead silent, her memory gone. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation.

Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide—a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Van follows her gut. Harry trusts in facts. They’re both desperate to catch a killer before he kills again. They have something else in common: each has ties to the original case in ways they’re reluctant to share.

As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood—and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return.

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