The sins of the past echo in the present in the new literary thriller from rising star of crime fiction, Rachael Blok. The wind is cold this high up. The man shouts out, but nobody hears. The cathedral roof has caught his fall, but it will not hold him for long. The night is dark. And it is such a long way down... On Good Friday, the verger of St Albans cathedral was supposed to be preparing the Easter service. Instead he discovers a man lying dead, fallen from the famous fifty-foot-high spire. Did he jump, or was he pushed? For DCI Maarten Jansen, it's a simple case of suspected suicide. Until a stranger, Willow, who witnessed the jump, prompts a deeper investigation into a long-buried past, involving a mental hospital, a pregnant woman, and fifty years of silence. As Willow's own family history entwines with the case, Jansen starts to wonder how everything is connected. The Fall is a haunting literary thriller about loss, trauma, silence, and how our past shapes who we are.
Eleven guests. Three nights. One murderer...A haunting and atmospheric thriller from rising star of crime fiction Rachael Blok.
In a crumbling old mansion in the English countryside, eleven people gather, each one famous in their field. They have been invited for a three-day house party, to celebrate the launch of a groundbreaking virtual reality game that promises to unite the worlds of technology, politics and the environment. DCI Marten Jansen has been summoned to join the house party. His instructions are to offer police protection in case of an outside attack. Instead, he finds simmering tensions, long-buried secrets - and a murderer in their midst...
Rachael Blok's novels blend elements of police procedural and psychological thriller, and she has won critical acclaim for her lyrical prose, ratcheting tensions and atmosphere of foreboding.
Praise for Rachael Blok:
"A blistering mystery." ERIN KELLY
"You will suspect everyone in this unbearably tense tale of betrayal and revenge." A.S. HATCH.
"Gripping and original." CLARE EMPSON.
"Assured and compelling ... The author is as deft about human relationships as she is about creating an increasingly foreboding atmosphere." ELLY GRIFFITHS.
Two years ago, Ben Fenton went camping for the night with his brother Leo. When Ben woke up, he was covered in blood, and his brother had gone. Days later, Ben was facing a charge of murder. Ben's girlfriend Ana has always sworn he was innocent. And now, on the hottest day of a sweltering heat wave, a body has been unearthed in Ana's village. A body that might be connected to what really happened between Ben and Leo that fateful night. DCI Jansen, of St Albans police, is sure that Ana has something to hide. But until the police track down the identity of the body, he can't work out how everything's connected. Will Ana's secrets stay buried forever? Or can Jansen bring them to light?
"Supremely atmospheric and suspenseful ...a special talent." DAILY MAIL on Under the Ice
A tense, emotionally charged thriller from a brilliant new voice.
It is the week before Christmas and the cathedral city of St Albans is blanketed by snow. But beneath the festive lights, darkness is stirring. The frozen body of a young girl is discovered by the ice-covered lake.The police scramble for clues. A local woman, Jenny, has had visions of what happened the night of the murder. But Jenny is an exhausted new mother, whose midnight wanderings pull her ever closer to the lake. Then another girl goes missing, and the community unravels. Neighbour turns against neighbour, and Jenny has no idea who to believe. As Christmas Eve approaches, Jenny discovers a secret about her past - and why she could be key to everything...
'Packed with atmosphere, suspense and a cold that chills the heart. Under the Ice announces Rachael Blok as an exciting new voice in crime fiction' LESLEY THOMSON.
