Eerie psychological thrillers for April: Welcome to the Family by Kate Gray, The Model
Welcome to the Family by Kate Gray (Mountain Leopard Press £20, 368pp)
The story kicks off with a gripping prologue about an unknown woman who is being arrested for murder. A luxurious Tuscan farmhouse is the beguiling backdrop for this tale of a highly dysfunctional family. Rosie is the eager to please girlfriend of Theo and Fenna is the mixed up daughter in law of his brother Luke. Marianne is the ultra glamorous mother-in-law from hell.
The locals are openly hostile to the family. They believe they are connected to the disappearance of a young girl fifteen years ago. When another girl disappears the tensions mount inside and outside the family. The story is told from the points of view of Rosie and Fenna and skips along at a tidy pace. All the characters have their own secrets which are strategically revealed and propel the plot to a neat and satisfying conclusion.
The Model Patient by Lucy Ashe (Simon & Schuster £16.99, 416pp)
Evelyn Westbrook was a successful model and is now struggling with the challenges of being married. Or so she thinks. She embarks on a weekly therapy session with Dr Daly a therapist who practises the now controversial transference method where the patient is encouraged to transfer their emotions to the therapist. The story is set in the 1960s and Evelyn’s relationship with Dr Daly gradually goes to very dark places. The tension revolves around how much Dr Daly’s behaviour is crossing boundaries and what his motives really are.
Meanwhile Evelyn’s own background reveals worrying evidence of her reliability as a narrator. But nothing is exactly as it seems and the author cleverly reveals and conceals just enough to keep the reader guessing. A well researched and thoughtful and at times alarming read.
I Did A Bad Thing by Louise Jensen (HQ £9.99, 432pp)
An unusual plot about a Mia Finch, a mother whose 15-year-old daughter is diagnosed with life threatening diagnosis of Aplastic Anemia. She decides to film the family’s search for a donor on YouTube. But there are grisly unforeseen consequences. And Mia hadn’t bargained on turning into a social media sensation which part of her clearly enjoys.
Worse though is her husband’s attitude to the whole enterprise. And soon mysterious events seem to threaten the family’s foundation. Then, a year later, a documentary comes out about the truth behind the family. Mia learns the true price buried secrets and fame. Although this story is partly a parable about the dangers of social media, it is mostly a well told story about the desperation of a parent faced with very hard choices. The original storyline keeps you hooked even when some of the characters aren’t completely relatable.