The Suspects: A totally gripping psychological thriller

by Katharine Johnson

When you're bound together by secrets and lies, who can you trust?

Bristol, 1988.

Five young graduates, eager to start their careers, pool their resources to buy a house, hoping to get ahead of the surging property market. But what begins as a hopeful venture quickly turns into the house share from hell.
After a wild New Year's Eve party, they discover a body – and it's clear they're the prime suspects. Each of them harbours a past that makes trusting the police unthinkable. To protect themselves, they devise a plan – one that entangles them in a web of secrets and lies.

But in a house filled with suspicion, can they trust each other?

The Suspects has echoes of Shallow Grave meets The Secret History in this gripping psychological thriller full of twists and turns.


What everyone is saying about The

“Absolutely fantastic!” - Reader review - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“A rollercoaster ride of twists and high tension.” - Reader review - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Totally loved it!” - Reader review - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

280 pages, Paperback

Published November 19, 2024

About the author

Katharine Johnson grew up in Bristol and now divides her time between Berkshire and Lucca, Italy. After doing a History degree she trained to be a journalist and has worked for a variety of magazines, writing about everything including the kitchen sink. She's loved writing since childhood and wrote her first book aged nine. When not writing she can usually be found walking her spaniel, doing the school run, playing netball or being a room guide in a stately home.
Katharine loves to hear from readers so if you fancy a chat do get in touch
https://www.facebook.com/Katharinejoh...

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning with the funeral of one of a group of friends who work and share a house together, the reader is immediately thrown into a situation where secrets and lies colour every thought, word and deed. Under such circumstances, who can anyone trust?
The story is told from Emily’s point of view. We have her insights into the others within the group – Xanthe, Imogen, Stuart, Zak and, later in the book, Imogen’s boyfriend, Rick. The friends are all trying to make successful careers in journalism, get a foothold on the property ladder, and find their way as individuals within their world in Bristol in 1988/89 and beyond.
As Emily questions what her friends tell her, as she uncovers some of the secrets being guarded by her housemates, the reader quickly learns that they each have their own agenda. When a body is discovered in the basement of the old house in which they all live, it quickly becomes clear that whatever they decide as a group will live with them for the foreseeable future.
The central characters are all very well drawn. The dynamics between them shift and change as the story moves forward and as their composite and sometimes single decisions and omissions impact the others. The twists and turns of the plot keep the reader guessing until the very end. Once the police become involved, the tension and the human dynamics within the group are stretched to the limits. I found I couldn’t put this story down and can thoroughly recommend it as a great read.
The Suspects was first published by Darkstroke Books in March 2019. I’m honoured to have been offered an arc in exchange for an honest review of this new and revised version published by Bloodhound Books.

[Alison Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an engrossing read, which I finished in a couple of days.
A group of housemates join together to take out a mortgage on an old house while working as trainee journalists. Little do they do know this would bind them together, even when things start to disintegrate. Secrets, lies, a dead body and lots of twists and turns.