Showing results by author "Maria Frankland" in All Categories

I stand at the front door and meticulously check my reflection in the glass. I must look perfect to meet Lou’s new boyfriend. I haven’t been invited but best friends don't require invitations, right? Scott's arrival coincides with Donna's, leaving me with no choice but to welcome her in, though I've made it clear she's an unnecessary addition to today's gathering. This meal is about introducing Scott to my mother and daughter – a fact Donna conveniently ignores.

It kills me that the only way I can spend proper time with my son Toby is by helping out at his school camp. I sit under the emerald green pine trees and Toby’s little face lights up as he runs past me, joining the other chattering, happy children around us. Then I see my ex, David, glaring at me and my heart sinks. He may have full custody, but he’d love nothing more than for me to disappear. Forever.

You died three weeks ago, so how can you be following me on social media? Your funeral is packed to the rafters leaving standing room only. Everyone talks about your untimely death and the hole you’ve left behind. But no one feels your loss more than me, Mum. I’m the one returning to an empty house and I’m the one who receives the first notification from X.

As I walk into the pine-scented air of my seaside childhood home, gripping my husband Neil’s hand tight, I have a brief moment of hope. Maybe this Christmas will be different — for once my family might get on fueled by mulled wine and festive cheer. But the sound of happy carols are replaced by my older sister Christy’s over-loud laugh and slurred words. Rebecca, my younger sister, stalks out of the room as soon as I enter, as though I’m the Grinch here to steal Christmas. And their husbands, brash and arrogant, slap Neil’s back in a way that promises torment rather than welcome.

Ich habe meine Flucht minutiös geplant. Aber das Schicksal hat andere Pläne… Heute ist der Tag. Die Sachen, die ich gepackt habe, sind versteckt und ich warte auf grünes Licht, um die Schlüssel für das neue Haus abzuholen. Ich bin so nah dran, Justins Launen, seinem Alkoholkonsum und seinen gewalttätigen Tendenzen zu entkommen, die immer schlimmer werden.

In the midst of a sea of holidaymakers, I find myself the lone outsider – no companion, no luggage. An enigma among the carefree crowd. I wonder what they’d do if they knew who I am. Who I really am… What is Liz running away from? Who is this woman my father married? Did he have any idea of what she was capable of? My gaze fixates on the once-familiar house that now feels like a distant memory. I can hardly believe how much my life has changed and that Liz, the woman who puts the word wicked into stepmother has completely vanished.

Watching and listening to Lou and Charlie used to leave me fraught with envy and loneliness. But now, living next door to my old adversary Liz, I long for the old days—when I was left alone. My sister Jenna can’t understand how the girl who was my childhood bully could now want to be my friend. People change, I tell her. But do they? Neither can she understand why Liz is paying for a cruise to atone for the misery she once caused me. There must be strings attached, Jenna says. She’s right. There is.

Seven drownings. Three months. Who is to blame? Lauren is fed up with covering local small-town news in Northern England. The bride-to-be and mother-of-one dreams of recognition and accolades as a national journalist. Yet, the dark and disturbing reporting opportunity that lands on her doorstep is one she would never have invited. When it is thrust on her, she is duty bound, both professionally and personally to investigate. Lauren is the voice for the women whose lives have been cut short in the river Alder.

Es gibt nur eine Person, die weiß, was wirklich nebenan vorgefallen ist. Das Problem ist, dass sie die ganze Wahrheit kennt, weshalb ich dafür sorgen muss, dass sie kein Wort darüber verliert ... Wenn ich Lou und Charlie beobachtet und ihnen zugehört habe, war ich immer komplett neidisch und einsam. Aber jetzt, wo ich neben meiner alten Rivalin Liz wohne, sehne ich mich nach den alten Zeiten zurück – als ich noch in Ruhe gelassen wurde.

The important thing is that my daughter and son are safe after the fire that ripped apart their world as they knew it. And we’re trying to move forward together. Except there’s something I can’t let go of. My frustration at being ripped off with most of what I owned and taken for a fool. Going after the person responsible risks exposing the dark secrets I’ve been forced to keep, yet I can’t seem to stop myself.

Es sollte ein Urlaub werden, um die Risse in unserer zerrissenen Familie zu kitten. Ich wusste, dass die sieben Tage endlos sein würden, aber ich hätte nie gedacht, dass einer von uns nur sechs davon überleben würde. Als ich meinen Koffer in das charmante und rustikale Cottage trage und meine Schwägerin Kelli anlächle, erlaube ich mir einen Moment der Hoffnung. Vielleicht wird dieser Urlaub unsere Familie dazu zwingen, sich mit unserem lang gehegten Groll auseinanderzusetzen und mit dem Versprechen einer glücklicheren Zukunft abzureisen.

Ich steh vor der Haustür und überprüfe mein Spiegelbild im Glas ganz genau. Ich muss perfekt aussehen, um Lous neuen Freund zu treffen. Ich wurde nicht eingeladen, aber beste Freunde brauchen doch keine Einladungen, oder? Scott kommt zur gleichen Zeit wie Donna, sodass ich keine andere Wahl habe, als sie hereinzubitten, obwohl ich klar gemacht habe, dass sie bei dem heutigen Treffen nicht dabei sein muss. Bei diesem Essen geht es darum, Scott meiner Mutter und meiner Tochter vorzustellen – eine Tatsache, die Donna bequem ignoriert.

They don’t need to name the dangerous prisoner who’s escaped whilst in transit between prisons. The chill that snakes up my spine tells me exactly who it is. And I know the first place he’ll be heading. With a history of my own escape from him twelve years ago, I can already foresee the relentless manhunt that’s about to unfold. The question is, will he be caught before he can do any more damage? As a fresh wave of killings creeps closer to our new hometown on the east coast, I know one thing for certain. That he’s coming back for me.

All I want is get back to normal. Whatever ‘normal’ is these days. After all, our family will be scarred forever after everything that’s happened. My sister-in-law falling prey to the serial killer that stalked our usual peaceful town is something I’ll never get over. But equally, I’m beyond relieved that my husband has been exonerated of involvement in any of the women’s deaths. Our nightmare is finally over. Or is it?

Nunca me he sentido bienvenida en la casa familiar de mi marido, Dominic. Sus padres han dejado claro que soy una pobre sustituta de su perfecta exmujer, Carla. Cuando Carla llega, queda claro que no solo quiere recuperar a Dominic: quiere que yo desaparezca. Para siempre… Y, con la tormenta rugiendo fuera, estamos aislados aquí. Pero lo que los demás no saben es que soy mucho más fuerte de lo que creen.