Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah Hodder & Stoughton HK$169
Fans of Sophie Hannah, the writer of five best-selling female-centric crime novels, will not be disappointed with her sixth new psycho thriller set in semi-rural, modern-day England.
However, those who like a thriller that doesn't require the reader to completely suspend belief as it reaches its denouement may find it a little difficult to digest.
Connie Bowskill and husband Kit live in a homely cottage where they run their own technology business. Connie also works for her overbearing parents.
Her problems escalate when Connie - who sneaks out of bed in the middle of the night, desperate to avoid waking her husband - sees a murdered woman, face down in a pool of blood in the living room of a house for sale on the website of a real estate agency.
By the time she shows Kit, the gruesome image is gone - an issue made even worse by her prior suspicions that Kit has a 'secret' life related to the address. It is revealed that this concern is already sending her slowly into a spiral of self-doubt and confusion (thus her secretive checking of the site) and continues to drive the story.
