Susi Holliday

Be careful what you wish for. Whether searching for love, fame, money or revenge, remember that everything comes with a price. From stepping into an unknown in nature to ignoring the warnings of locals, to finding your perfect match or facing the hidden horrors of your past, beware. The thirteen stories in this brand-new anthology explore the dark side of human nature and take us into the hidden, terrifying recesses of a world we never see. Until it’s too late . . .

18 festive stories of murder and mystery in the grand tradition of Christmas crime fiction, from the masters of the genre. Including the New York Times bestselling JT Ellison, USA Today bestseller Sam Carrington, Sunday Times bestseller C.L. Taylor, and many more...The award-winning Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane invite you to a festive gathering of bestselling, critically acclaimed and award-winning writers in tribute to classic crime stories. From locked room mysteries on Christmas Eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these eighteen seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn. So, unwrap the presents, pour a mug of mulled wine and follow the bloodstained footprints through the freshly fallen snow as winter descends and darkness lurks in the shadows.Featuring stories by:Fiona CumminsAngela ClarkeA. K. BenedictSusi HollidayJ. T. EllisonDavid BellSarah HilaryClaire McGowanTina BakerSam CarringtonLiz MistryC. L. TaylorHelen FieldsRuss ThomasTom MeadVaseem KhanSamantha HayesBelinda Bauer

“Susi Holliday is one of our best and most original creators of tense and twisty tales . . . Nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted in this brilliant page-turner.” —Ian Rankin“Tense and twisty as all hell.” —Mark Billingham“Tense, creepy and utterly brilliant…” —Jenny Blackhurst, author of The Hiking Path“A brilliant concept, superbly executed. Susi Holliday is a master of her craft.” —Marion Todd, author of A Blind Eye“On this street, lock your doors, whisper your secrets, and don’t trust anyone. Compulsive, clever and I couldn’t put it down.” —Louise Swanson, author of End of StoryTheir neighbours welcomed them with open arms. Now they’ve vanished without a trace.Anna and Peter desperately need to escape London for a fresh start. And they’ve found just the place: a perfect house on a perfect street in a perfect new development on the Scottish coast. But before they’ve even unpacked, they discover that the community they’ve moved into might be keeping secrets of its own…Eager to fit in, Anna and Peter spend their first evening with their new neighbours, a couple who turn up on their doorstep to welcome them with open arms. But when Anna pops over the next morning to thank them for their hospitality, there’s no answer. The house is bare and unoccupied, and the neighbours have vanished without a trace. What’s more, everybody else on the street is convinced that no one ever lived there at all.As she battles a growing obsession with the mystery, Anna finds herself becoming increasingly paranoid. She thought she’d escaped her own troubled past, but as the truth catches up with her, life starts to unravel. Maybe she’s not the only resident of The Street with something to hide…

“Susi Holliday is one of our best and most original creators of tense and twisty tales.” —Ian Rankin Four hikers enter the mountains. Only two return. But is it tragedy? Or treachery?When sisters Cat and Ginny travel with their husbands to the idyllic Swiss Alps for a hiking holiday, it’s not just a chance to take in the stunning scenery. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with each other after years of drifting apart—and patch up marriages that are straining at the seams.As they head into the mountains, morale is high, but as the terrain turns treacherous, cracks in the relationships start to show. With worrying signs that someone might be following them, the sun begins to set and exhaustion kicks in. Suddenly, lost high on a terrifying ridge, tensions spill over—with disastrous consequences.When only two of the four hikers make it down from the mountain, the police press them for their story—but soon become suspicious when their accounts just don’t add up.What really happened up on that ridge? Who are the survivors? And what secrets are they trying to hide?

“Susi Holliday is one of our best and most original creators of tense and twisty tales.” —Ian Rankin Three people live. Three people die. You make the choice.Like any mother, Chrissie wants to protect her family. She would do anything to keep them safe. So when a mysterious stranger turns up at her door, offering to prevent the deaths of the people she loves, it sounds too good to be true. The only problem: she must choose someone to die in their place. A substitute.When her daughter Holly has a terrible accident, Chrissie has no option but to enter the programme. In that horrifying moment, she would do anything to save her. But even after Holly makes a miraculous recovery, Chrissie is convinced it’s just a coincidence. After all, who can really control the laws of life and death?But as the dangers to her family escalate and her chosen substitutes begin to disappear, Chrissie finds herself in an underworld of hidden laboratories and secretive doctors. And the consequences of playing by their rules are far deadlier than she ever imagined…

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One perfect crime.When Amelia is invited to an all-expenses-paid retreat on a private island, the mysterious offer is too good to refuse. Along with six other strangers, she’s told they’re here to test a brand-new product for Timeo Technologies. But the guests’ excitement soon turns to terror when the real reason for their summons becomes clear.Each guest has a guilty secret. And when they’re all forced to wear a memory-tracking device that reveals their dark and shameful deeds to their fellow guests, there’s no hiding from the past. This is no luxury retreat—it’s a trap they can’t get out of.As the clock counts down to the lavish end-of-day party they’ve been promised, injuries and in-fighting split the group. But with no escape from the island—or the other guests’ most shocking secrets—Amelia begins to suspect that her only hope for survival is to be the last one standing. Can she confront her own dark past to uncover the truth—before it’s too late to get out?