Domestic thrillers set out to unnerve you. The settings are familiar, the situations disconcerting. The ones I like best have me questioning what I would do should I ever find myself in the protagonist’s place. They have me frantically turning the pages, and making mental notes. Just in case…
The Magpies by Mark Edwards
This was the first proper psychological thriller I ever read and it left a lasting impression. Loved up young couple, Jamie and Kirsty move into their first home with the hope of starting a family. At first, their problems seem trivial and easy to brush off. Pizzas arrive when they didn’t order them. They receive magazines they never subscribed to. It’s all quite small, innocent stuff until it’s not. There’s a hoax phone call to the fire brigade, dead rats and spider invasions, and it all keeps getting worse. Jamie starts off as a kind, caring, touchy feely sort of bloke, but gradually, he changes, becoming obsessed with their downstairs neighbours who he is convinced are the source of all their ills. This obsession takes over his life, until you can’t quite be sure who’s mad – him or the neighbours.
Cuckoo by Julia Crouch
It’s terrifying to think one of your oldest friends could be out to get you.
When Rose’s oldest friend, Polly is suddenly widowed, Rose doesn’t hesitate to invite her and her two sons to come and stay with her, despite her husband, Gareth’s misgivings. At first, things go well. Polly and her slightly feral boys settle in, getting along with Rose’s own daughters, Anna and baby Flossie. Then there is an accident involving Flossie, and Rose must spend most of her time at the hospital until Flossie recovers. When she returns, she finds her home running a little too smoothly, Polly having stepped in to help out, and she begins to feel like she has been replaced.
This is a chilling story, which again, has you questioning the sanity of the protagonist, as well as the sinister motives of her friend.
The Captive by Deborah O’Connor
This one is very different and slightly dystopian. It’s set in London in the near future, in a world where the victim of a serious crime must host the perpetrator in a cage in their own home. Following the murder of her husband, John, Hannah must now live with his killer, Jem. She will be responsible for Jem’s care and rehabilitation for the next twenty years. At first, Hannah is understandably reluctant to engage with Jem, but he is wily and they soon form a close relationship, one which has her questioning not only the validity of Jem’s conviction, but also how well she really knew her husband. But does Jem genuinely care for Hannah, as he says he does, or is he simply trying to trick her into letting him go?
Lies, Lies, Lies by Adele Parks
This one is brilliantly written, but I love it because it has twist upon twist. Daisy and Simon are parents to six year old Millie. Simon wants to try for another child, but Daisy thinks they should be content with the life they have. Then Simon discovers that Daisy has deceived him, and his functional alcohol use tips over into a serious problem. The result is an accident that injures their daughter and lands him in jail. When he comes out, he wants to patch things up with Daisy, and get his life back but it looks like someone else has already moved in on his wife.
Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris
Something is very wrong with Jack and Grace’s marriage. On the outside, they seem like the perfect couple. He is a handsome, charming lawyer. She is a talented and elegant artist, a housewife who throws elaborate dinner parties. They both appear to dote on Grace’s disabled younger sister, but as soon as their guests leave, their masks slip, revealing something much less palatable. This is a story of mind control and fear. The sinister truth is revealed fairly early on in the story but what you don’t know is how Grace is going to extricate herself – and her sister out of this poisonous relationship.
Lorna Dounaeva is a politics graduate who worked for the British Home Office before turning to crime fiction. She writes dark domestic thrillers and is especially fond of female villains. She lives in the Orkney islands with her Ukrainian husband and his parents, three children, a crafty cat and a happy dog.
https://www.facebook.com/LornaDounaevaAuthor/?locale=en_GB
