Rachel Abbott's Blog

New from Rachel Abbott Yesterday, Scott was dead. Today, he’s back.And Anna doesn’t believe in ghosts. Scott was Anna’s boyfriend. She loved him, but he ruined her life. When he died, she should have been free, but today Scott is on the radio, threatening to spill her secrets. Anna is a mother, a wife, and head teacher of a primary school.And she’s a good liar. She made one mistake, and now she is having to pay for it. Scott is the only person who knows the truth about her past, but how can he be alive? Soon, DCI Tom Douglas is going to knock on her door looking for answers. But Anna is already running scared: from the man she loved; the man she watched die; the man who has come back to life. She has one week to find him. One week to stop him.  Find The Shape of ...

I have read some great books this month, and I have chosen just three to talk about. They couldn’t be more different! The Devil in the Marshalsea is the first book in the Thomas Hawkins series by Antonia Hodgson. I had already read the third book – A Death at Fountains Abbey – but these books really can be read in any order. Thomas Hawkins is thrown into a debtors’ prison in the early 18th century, and it’s a place that is both terrifying and fascinating. Tom is faced with a choice – expose the truth of the murder of one of the debtors, or he may be the next to die. What I love most about this book is the amazing sense of place – a world which I had never imagined. Let Me Lie is the latest novel from Clare Mackintosh. I was so looking forward to this ...

Chapter 1 ‘Night, everyone,’ Sharon shouted over her shoulder. ‘You going already, Shaz?’ she heard. She didn’t know which of her friends it was, and she didn’t respond. With her back to them all she raised her hand in the air and waved as she reached the exit. She didn’t want them to see her face – to see the guilt in her eyes and the hot flush of her cheeks. Sharon was looking forward to being married to Jez – he was the best – but somehow the pressure of it all, the finality, maybe even the predictability, had got to her, and she had persuaded her friends to meet at the club in town. Jez had gone out too, staying with his brother for the night, so there was no one to rush home to. She had expected to be dancing until dawn with her friends, but when ...

My latest novel, Come a Little Closer, is available on Amazon right now. Click here to find out more. And here’s the (very short) prologue! Prologue I don’t know myself any more. My life is unrecognisable – severed into two distinct periods: before – when I could feel the wind on my skin, watch the sky turn from blue to black, hear the birds singing in the morning, smell the earth, damp with rain; and after – the life I am in now, where I cannot tell if it is night or day and the only sound I hear is the slap, slap of bare feet on a linoleum floor. I sit on my narrow bed, staring at the bare wall opposite, wondering how I came to be here. But I can find no answers. All I know for certain is that they are coming. They come every night. I didn’t understand ...

See in 2018 in the best way possible – as a family! If you’re fed up of trying to find a babysitter AND paying out for one to work on New Year’s Eve, don’t panic! This list has nailed the best events for adults and kids alike! https://www.familiesonline.co.uk/thin... New Year, new blank canvas, new writer! This is the most EXOTIC list of writing courses I have ever read! From the Aegean to Zanzibar, pick one of a host of amazing destinations to unleash your inner scribe in 2018! https://thewritelife.com/writing-retr... Ten books to treasure in 2018 There’s never enough time to read all the books we want so best earmark some of these beauties right now for that much-deserved summer break http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/...

As those of you who read my last newsletter will know, I finished a book – currently called And So It Begins – that is going to be published by Wildfire (an imprint of Headline) in 2019. Although the writing is complete, as with every novel it still has to go through various stages of editing, and I’m enjoying tweaking and crafting every sentence so it becomes the best I am able to make it. As those of you who are writers will know, getting the story down is only the first stage. It’s already had a structural edit or two, and over the next few months it will be line-edited, copy-edited and proof read. I’ll keep telling you more as it develops. I’m looking forward to revealing what it’s about, but I think it will be a while until I’m allowed to do that! My Tom Douglas books go through the same editing ...

I had a chance to do a bit more reading than usual in the last few months – mainly because of a holiday, and there is nothing like a long flight to provide an opportunity to dive into a good book. The three below were my favourites, and if you’re looking for something to read over Christmas (and you’ve read all of mine, of course!), you might want to try one of these. The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton I was lucky enough to be sent an advance copy of The Craftsman by one of my favourite authors. What a brilliant read! I was gripped from the very first page and loved the characters and the weird and wonderful story. It’s available for pre-order right now. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell What I love about this book is the cleverness of the plot and the way all the strands slowly but ...

I like to make sure that my most loyal readers are given advance information of what’s coming, so you are the very first to see the cover of my next book – Come A Little Closer. Please feel free to share the cover on Facebook and Twitter when you see it there in the next week or so! What do you think of the cover? I really love it, and I’ll be excited to tell you more about it in my next newsletter in the new year. For now, though, the plot is still under wraps – more will be revealed very soon. Keep a look out for it, though. We’re expecting to publish mid-February, if all goes to plan!

It’s a great time for special offers on my books, whether you’re in the USA, UK or Australia! See below for the offers and please do spread the word. THE SIXTH WINDOW – KILL ME AGAIN   – STRANGER CHILD  –

I was looking out for something to make for a party I’m having before Christmas Day and I found this gem on www.allrecipes.com I just love the look of these little penguins – being something of a penguin fancier after my trip to Antarctica last January – and it would be so much fun to make these with the kids and grandkids too. HOURS of fun on a rainy day! Ingredients for 18 penguin lovers 18 jumbo black olives, pitted 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 18 small black olives 1 carrot Directions Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive. Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive. Slice the carrot into eighteen 1/4 inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Save the cut out piece and press into centre of small ...