I’m delighted to announce that BURIED LIES, the fifth in my Detective Gaby Darin series, is out today. A huge thank you to HQ Digital for all their help and hard work on this one.
This book takes place during Amy’s wedding, who some of you will remember is the family liaison officer for the North Wales MIT and Gaby’s best friend. The weather is hot and tempers are frayed, including Dr Rusty Mulholland’s, so settle down and enjoy the ride…
The blurb, an excerpt and buying links are below. I do hope you enjoy,
Thanks,
Jenny x
HER PARTNER. HER SON. SHE’S NEXT.
Hannah Thomas returns home one morning to every mother’s worst nightmare: a missing child and a dead fiancé. When DI Gaby Darin questions her, Hannah insists she can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt her family – and yet it all feels disturbingly personal.
Mere hours into the investigation, a second body is found. As Gaby and her team dig into the victims’ lives, they hit dead ends at every turn – particularly when it comes to Hannah’s past. What is the grieving woman hiding?
But when Gaby stumbles upon Hannah’s tragic secret, it doesn’t bring her any closer to the truth. Can she connect the dots before the killer strikes again?
EXCERPT
BURIED LIES, HQ Digital
Chapter 1
Hannah
Saturday 22 August, 10.55 p.m. Ruthin
‘I thought we’d try this next.’ Milly placed the glasses carefully on the table before flopping down on the seat opposite. ‘Blue Bottle Gin as recommended by the barman, no less.’
‘I’m not sure I’d notice the difference, not after all that wine,’ Hannah said, lifting up the glass and running her hand over the little blackberry etched onto the surface.
‘It’s award-winning apparently,’ Milly went on. ‘Good gin is like good coffee – one of life’s essentials, and if we can’t treat ourselves, it’s unlikely anyone else will.’ She raised her glass in a brief toast and took a long sip. ‘Bloody divine, as is the barman by the way.’
‘Ha. You can keep him. Not my type.’
‘You do surprise me. So, what is your type? Certainly not Ian or you’d be married by now.’ Milly stopped, a sudden gleam in her eye. ‘I know, let’s play Truth or Dare.’
‘I don’t really think—’
‘No need to think, hon. I’ll go first.’
‘Oh, come on, Milly. Really! I haven’t played in years.’
‘And what about it? Now’s the time to reacquaint yourself. Far better than I-spy or twiddling your thumbs checking out Bruce the barman,’ Milly said, making a point of glancing in his direction. ‘I have first dibs, by the way, as you’re already taken.’
‘You’re incorrigible! Although he is quite cute, apart from the man bun, which I don’t get on any level.’
‘Hah. I never thought you’d be so fussy. I’ll go first.’
‘But I never agreed to . . .’ Hannah glanced at her phone and the text that had pinged through.
A boring night in with a curry and my best boy. You enjoy, my love. See you soon xx
Milly settled her glass down on the table with a little bang, presumably to regain Hannah’s attention.
‘So, truth or dare?’
‘Hold on a mo. I just need to reply to this,’ she said, her fingers tapping away on the screen.
Hannah hated games of any sort apart from possibly Snakes and Ladders and, after the bottle of wine they’d managed with their meal, she was well on the way to being plastered[J1] . But with Milly staring at her with an eager expression pinned to her glossy lips, she felt she had little choice. She remembered back to the last time she’d played. A similar set-up but then there’d been more people around the table – four nurses intent on a good time. The dares had been increasingly obscene so . . .
‘Truth then, if we must,’ she said finally, dropping her phone back onto the table, her expression as resigned as her tone.
‘We must! Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle. So, how many times has he tried to set a date for the wedding?’
Hannah laughed, settling back in her chair. ‘To be truthful, I have no idea. Must be fifty by now.’
‘Aren’t you the lucky one . . . And when are you going to put him out of his misery?’
Never! Marrying Ian was never going to happen, despite accepting his ring in a moment of weakness. But that was something she wasn’t prepared to tell Milly.
‘That’s two questions. My turn,’ she said, suddenly remembering the rules of the game with a little sigh of relief. ‘Truth or dare?’
‘Oh, truth then.’
‘Would you take Liam back if he asked?’
‘Not on your nelly, even if hell froze over and the moon turned to cheese, and before you ask why, I’ll tell you. He had his chance. One measly chance to stay faithful. If he did it once who’s to say he wouldn’t do it again.’ She sat back, her glass aloft and her smile back. ‘My go. Truth or dare?’
Hannah didn’t know Milly all that well but she knew she didn’t trust her when it came to pranks. At work she was always the one with the loudest laugh and the wildest of ideas. She probably had something in mind that would be mega embarrassing or completely gross.
‘Truth then.’
‘I don’t think you trust me, Hannah,’ Milly said with a chuckle. ‘Okay. Truth it is. Mm, what will it be?’ She propped her chin on her fingertip, pretending to think. ‘Oh, I know. Someone asked me this a while ago. I found it really tricky but you’ll probably do better. What’s the one thing you could change about your life up to now if you could, and why?’
Hannah froze, the colour leaching from her cheeks. Her attention shifted from Milly to her glass, which she picked up and held between both hands like a lifeline.
To choose one thing over the many. Milly couldn’t possibly realise that she’d given Hannah the hardest question of all. Hannah viewed her life like a house of cards but one where someone had removed the foundations, leaving chaos behind. She didn’t like to dwell on the past. It was a very unhappy place but if she could come up with the catalyst that had changed the course of everything, it would have to be before meeting Ian. Even before Hunter’s birth. Way before that.
‘The plane crash that killed both my parents and my brother.’
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