Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
|||
Promotions > Winter Sale > Books > Fiction > Crime & Mystery
Two women and two sides to the story. Whose do you trust? Laila and her husband arrive for a week's holiday in Greece in desperate need of a reset. As Laila sits by the pool she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the other family staying in their resort. Em has no idea who Laila is, or that she has been watching her and her teenage sons and husband so intently. Five days later their worlds will be blown apart by a horrifying event. Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she's seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear. And what if she's got it wrong?
A gripping, emotional thriller that explores the darkest corners of family and the secrets we hide behind closed doors. Amy jumps at the opportunity when she's offered a nannying job in picturesque West Cork. The assignment is for the Carroll family, whose stunning house is situated on a stretch of remote coastline. It's the perfect chance for Amy to start over - far away from her life in Dublin she is trying to escape. With two adorable children to oversee, a pair of generous employers and a lavish new home, everything seems wonderful. So why can't Amy shake a creeping sense of unease? Perhaps it's the husband's erratic behaviour. Or the strange messages that somebody has been painting around the local village. Quickly, it becomes clear that all is not well in the Carroll marriage, nor in their idyllic rural community. Whispered secrets and strange occurrences fill the breath-taking scenery with menace and, as the days pass, Amy realises that the refuge she has sought just might be the most dangerous place of all . . .
A collection of three gripping stories from the world's bestselling thriller writer.
3 Days to Live
Women and Children First
The Housekeepers
An unputdownable, dark and pulse-pounding page-turner that peels back the fragile veneer of two suburban families - next-door neighbours and best friends - and the secrets between them. By the end of the summer, the residents of Hot Springs Drive will never be the same again... Seven years ago, Theresa and Jackie meet in a maternity ward. Sleep-deprived new mothers; instant friends. Then they become neighbours on Hot Springs Drive - a nice street in a nice neighbourhood, filled with flower boxes and emerald lawns. The story ends like this: in the depths of a sweltering heatwave, Theresa discovers that her husband and Jackie are having an affair. The next day, Theresa's body is found. The truth lies somewhere between the picket fences and pink blossoms, where friendships twist into tragic jealousies and barbecues hide bed hopping and bloodshed. By summer's end, the residents of Hot Springs Drive will never be the same... An unputdownable, unmissable, vicious blade of a novel that peels back the fragile veneer of two suburban families and the deadly secrets roiling between them.
"I drove myself out of New York City where a man shot himself in front of me. He was a gluttonous man and when his blood came out it looked like the blood of a pig. That's a cruel thing to think, I know. He did it in a restaurant where I was having dinner with another man, another married man. Do you see how this is going? But I wasn't always that way. I am depraved. I hope you like me." Joan has spent a lifetime enduring the cruelties of men. But when one of them commits a shocking act of violence in front of her, she flees New York City in search of Alice, the only person alive who can help her make sense of her past. In the sweltering hills above Los Angeles, Joan unravels the horrific event she witnessed as a child—that has haunted her every waking moment—while forging the power to finally strike back. Animal is a depiction of female rage at its rawest, and a visceral exploration of the fallout from a male-dominated society.
What happens when the person closest to you has led a life of deception? After the funeral of her mother, Sally, Alice Kent is approached by a man named Angus Tweedy. He claims to be her father and tells her that he served time in prison for marrying Sally bigamously. What does he hope to gain telling her this now, thirty years on? How can her adored dad Ralph not be her true father? And why did her mother betray her so badly? She had accepted Sally's many faults, and her reluctance to never speak of the past. But faced with this staggering deception, Alice knows she must uncover the whole truth about her mother. Whatever the cost. Alice's journey into her mother's past is one of incredulity as she discovers a woman shaped by a truly traumatic childhood.
A retired colleague's suspicious death puts Lt. Eve Dallas on the case in Payback in Death, the electrifying new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author J.D. Robb. Lt. Eve Dallas is just home from a long overdue vacation when she responds to a call of an unattended death. The victim is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Captain. At first glance, the scene appears to be suicide, but the closer Eve examines the body, the more suspicious she becomes. An unlocked open window, a loving wife and family, a too-perfect suicide note―Eve's gut says it's a homicide. After all, Greenleaf put a lot of dirty cops away during his forty-seven years in Internal Affairs. It could very well be payback―and she will not rest until the case is closed.
A quirky group of seniors attempts to solve one murder while covering up another—with the help of an enterprising tortoise—in this twisty, darkly funny mystery from the author of Three Bags Full. Sunset Hall is a house share for the old and unruly, led by Agnes Sharp. It's an eventful day when this group of idiosyncratic seniors gets a visit from the police to inform them of some shocking news. A body has been discovered next door. Everyone puts on a long face, but they are secretly relieved the body in question is not the one they're currently hiding in the shed (sorry, Lillith). It seems the answer to their little problem with Lillith may have fallen right into their lap. All they have to do is find out who murdered their neighbour, so they can pin Lillith's death on them, thus killing two old birds with one stone. To investigate, the group (not forgetting Hettie the tortoise) will venture into the not-so-idyllic village of Duck End and tangle with sinister bakers, broken stair lifts, inept criminals and their own dark secrets.
Victor Zulu has to take control of the family-owned club in which both his father and brother were killed. Will he be next? He’ll have to watch his back with gangsters coveting the club as a place to push drugs. Meanwhile, his brother’s best friend, Fana, wants to buy the club from the Zulus – but with what money? And then there’s Busie, his brother’s widow whom Victor secretly loves, but even she seems to have secrets. A thrilling tale of mystery and suspense, danger and daring.
In the latest novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, homicide detective Eve Dallas sifts through the wreckage of the past to find a killer. The body was left in a dumpster like so much trash, the victim a woman of no fixed address, known for offering paper flowers in return for spare change―and for keeping the cops informed of any infractions she witnessed on the street. But the notebook where she scribbled her intel on litterers and other such offenders is nowhere to be found. Then Eve is summoned away to a nearby building site to view more remains―in this case decades old, adorned with gold jewelry and fine clothing―unearthed by recent construction work. She isn’t happy when she realizes that the scene of the crime belongs to her husband, Roarke―not that it should surprise her, since the Irish billionaire owns a good chunk of New York. Now Eve must enter a complex world of real estate development, family history, shady deals, and shocking secrets to find justice for two women whose lives were thrown away…
A moving mystery set in the 90s, about a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's death after she receives an anonymous note saying 'She didn't die in a car accident'... if only her family would stop lying to her, she might be able to discover the truth. Summer, 1995. On her tenth birthday, July's teacher sets the class a project to find out about a relation they don't know. It's easy for July to choose her subject. She doesn't remember her mother, who died when she was small, and her father refuses to talk about her. Ever. The only memories she has of her are flashbacks from the accident that claimed her mother's life. But then she receives the note: 'She didn't die in a car accident.' Determined to discover what really happened, July begins to investigate, cycling around the street where her family used to live and questioning the neighbours. When she is caught snooping round a crumbling house at the end of the road, she learns that the man living there was the last person to see July's mother alive. In his version of the story, he is a hero. In everyone else's, he is anything but...
From celebrated New York Times bestselling author, Steve Berry, comes the latest Cotton Malone adventure, in which the discovery of a lost historical document challenges the global might of the United States. King Ludwig II of Bavaria was an enigmatic figure who was deposed in 1886, mysteriously drowning three days later. Eccentric to the point of madness, history tells us that in the years before he died Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom, one separate, apart, and in lieu of Bavaria. A place he could retreat into and rule as he wished. But a question remains: did he succeed? Enter Cotton Malone. After many months, Malone’s protégé, Luke Daniels, has managed to infiltrate a renegade group intent on winning Bavarian independence from Germany. Daniels has also managed to gain the trust of the prince of Bavaria, a frustrated second son intent on eliminating his brother, the duke, and restoring the Wittelsbach monarchy, only now with him as king. Everything hinges on a 19th century deed which proves that Ludwig’s long-rumored search bore fruit--legal title to lands that Germany, China, and the United States all now want, only for vastly different reasons. In a race across Bavaria for clues hidden in Ludwig’s three fairytale castles--Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee--Malone and Daniels battle an ever-growing list of deadly adversaries, all intent on finding the last kingdom.
Ek sal elke dag 'n poliesman skiet, tot julle die moordenaar van Hanneke Sloet aankla. So lui die dreigbrief aan die SAPS. En dan begin die jagtog. Bennie Griessel is die een wat die dossier moet heropen. Die saak is 40 dae oud, die spoor is koud. Daar's geen motief nie, geen leidrade nie, net 'n reeks naakfoto's, 'n hoogs ingewikkelde saketransaksie, en onmenslike druk van topbestuur, die media en die meedoenlose, onpeilbare sluipskutter. En deur dit alles moet Griessel sy nuwe vriendin, die sangeres Alexa Barnard, weghou van die bottel voor haar groot terugkeer-konsert, sy seun keer om nie skandes te maak nie, sy kollegas weerhou daarvan om die ondersoek te kelder, en sy eie, verterende lus vir die helende kragte van drank in toom probeer hou. Sewe dae van hel.
The Sunday Times bestselling, twenty-eighth and final novel in the thrilling, wickedly funny Inspector Montalbano Mysteries series by Andrea Camilleri. When Inspector Montalbano receives an early-morning phone call it proves to be the start of a very trying day. For the caller expects Montalbano to arrive imminently at a rendezvous with some friends. But before he can reply the caller announces himself as someone called Riccardino and hangs up. Later that day news comes in of a brutal slaying in broad daylight by an unknown assassin who makes his getaway on a motorbike. And when the Inspector learns of the victim's identity - a man called Riccardino - his troubles are only just beginning. For soon he must contend with the involvement of a local bishop and a fortune teller who reports some strange goings-on in her neighbourhood. All roads soon lead to a local salt mine but the case proves stubbornly intractable until Montalbano receives another unexpected call.
An early morning on a beach in Virginia. As he is taking his daily swim, Arman Bajalan - formerly an interpreter in Iraq - discovers a dead body. After surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US. Now, sure that the murder is connected to his past, he knows he's still not safe. Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her fresh-off-the-beat partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the man's pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman by the Iraq war, who is investigating a nefarious corporation: one on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defence contract. As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down wrong turns and towards startling evidence, they find themselves in a race, committed to unravelling the truth and keeping Arman alive - even if it costs them everything. A Line in the Sand is a sinuous, powerful and white-knuckle thriller, from the award-winning author of The Yellow Birds, shot through with treachery, trauma and the long tentacles of war.
For fans of The Lost Apothecary or the Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, a deliciously atmospheric historical novel about the rivalry between two female mediums during Victorian London’s obsession with Spiritualism. Mrs. Violet Wood is London’s premier medium, a woman of supreme ambition whose unique abilities have earned her the admiration and trust of London’s elite. Mrs. Wood is indeed a clever and gifted seer—her skill is unmatched in predicting exactly what her wealthy patrons want to hear from the beyond. But times are changing. First, a nosey newspaperman has begun working to expose false mediums across London. Many of Mrs. Wood’s friends—and, yes, some of her foes—have fallen to his merciless accusations. Worse yet, though Mrs. Wood’s monthly séance tables are still packed, she’s noticed that it’s been harder to snare coveted new patrons. There are rumors from America of mediums materializing full spirits. . . . How long will her audiences be content with quivering tables and candle theatrics? Then, at one of Mrs Wood’s routine gatherings, she hears that most horrifying of sounds—a yawn. When a sweet girl with an uncanny talent for the craft turns up at her door, Mrs. Wood decides that a protégé will be just the thing to spice up her brand. But is Emmie Finch indeed the naïve ingenue she appears? Or has Mrs. Wood’s own downfall come knocking at last?
After his son is convicted of murder, Vietnam War veteran Jeremiah Fitzjurls takes over the care of his granddaughter, Joanna, raising her with as much warmth as can be found in an Ozark junkyard outfitted to be an armory. He teaches her how to shoot and fight, but there is not enough training in the world to protect her when the dreaded Ledfords, notorious meth dealers and fanatical white supremacists, come to collect on Joanna as payment for a long-overdue blood debt. Headed by rancorous patriarch Bunn and smooth-talking, erudite Evail, the Ledfords have never forgotten what the Fitzjurls family did to them, and they will not be satisfied until they have taken an eye for an eye. As they seek revenge, and as Jeremiah desperately searches for his granddaughter, their narratives collide in this immersive story about family and how far some will go to honor, defend-or in some cases, destroy it.
Ricardo woon in Kewtown saam sy ma, ouer broer, Anton, en sussie, Tracy, wat deurmekaar is met die gangster van die blokke, Capone. Maar voor Ricardo sy oë uitvee, is beide sy ma en broer oorlede, en eindig hy op in ’n wendyhuis agter op Capone se jaart. Hoe moet hy maak, as hy nie eers vir sy girlfriend, Mentha, ’n bord warm kos kan aanbied of ’n Sealy Posturepedic vir hulle kan koop nie? ’n Meesleurende bildungsroman deur die bekroonde skrywer van As die Cape Flats kon praat.
Die wêreld van die gemarginaliseerde is ’n eensame plek, sou Jakkie Duvenhage spoedig ontdek. Die bewuswording van sy “andersheid” dompel hom in ’n lewe wat wipplank ry van skoonheidstitels en aanvaarding tot skokterapie en huisgeweld. Deurentyd voel hy die druk van staande te probeer bly teen die sosiale diskriminasie wat sy lewenswyse ontlok. En dan word hy by ’n reeks sinistere moorde betrek...
In the thirty-second installment of Donna Leon’s bestselling series, a connection to Guido Brunetti’s own youthful past helps solve a mysterious murder On a cold November evening, Guido Brunetti and Paola are up late when a call from his colleague Ispettore Vianello arrives, alerting the Commissario that a hand has been seen in one of Venice’s canals. The body is soon found, and Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Because no official record of the man’s presence in Venice exists, Brunetti is forced to use the city’s far richer sources of information: gossip and the memories of people who knew the victim. Curiously, he had been living in a small house on the grounds of a palazzo owned by a university professor, in which Brunetti discovers books revealing the victim’s interest in Buddhism, the revolutionary Tamil Tigers, and the last crop of Italian political terrorists, active in the 1980s. As the investigation expands, Brunetti, Vianello, Commissario Griffoni, and Signora Elettra each assemble pieces of a puzzle—random information about real estate and land use, books, university friendships—that appear to have little in common, until Brunetti stumbles over something that transports him back to his own student days, causing him to reflect on lost ideals and the errors of youth, on Italian politics and history, and on the accidents that sometimes lead to revelation.
Lemmer se Eerste Algemene Wet: Moenie betrokke raak nie. Hy pas dit veral toe in sy werk as vryskut-lyfwag by Body Armour, waar hy laag af is op die pryslys, want hy’s die een met die kriminele rekord, die gebrekkige sosiale vaardighede en die baie kort humeur. Wanneer die mooi, ryk Emma le Roux hom huur en begin vertel van onwaarskynlike bedreigings en ’n broer wat sy vas glo ná twintig jaar soos ’n Lasarus uit die dood uit opgestaan het, stof hy ook ’n ander ou Wet af: Moenie klein vroue vertrou nie. Maar wat, welvarende mense lieg en as dit ál gevaar is wat hy moet hanteer, dan vat hy die geld, baie dankie. Daarom vlieg hy op 26 Desember saam met haar Laeveld toe – en só begin ’n koorsagtige tog deur ’n wêreld van gierigheid en korrupsie, ekologiese stryde en sameswerings . . . en moord. In ’n lokval skiet hulle boonop vir Emma. Lemmer het nog nooit as ’n lyfwag gefaal nie, en om sy vyande te identifiseer gaan lewensgevaarlik wees, want hul ontmaskering gaan internasionale implikasies hê. Maar Lemmer is siek en sat daarvoor om onsigbaar te wees. Iemand moet betaal – en hy gaan nie rus voor dié rekening nie vereffen is nie.
What REALLY happened at Turtle Lake? You think you know. Think again. California, 2003. A thirteen-year-old girl disappears from a party at Carlsbad's Turtle Lake. Discovered on the trunk of a nearby cottonwood tree is the word 'LIAR' graffitied in blood. Three teenagers went to the lake that night but only two came back. Later, they confess to murdering their friend. But did they really kill her? And if not, why say they did? Told across two timelines and tapping into a horrific crime, All the Little Liars is a novel about sisterly love and toxic friendship that asks: how much would you sacrifice to belong?
There's always a reason for murder. But when a young actress is killed in a swift and violent attack at a cinema screening, that reason is hard to fathom - even for Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her team. It's only when bestselling crime writer Blaine DeLano arrives at the precinct that the shocking truth is revealed. Someone is recreating the murder scenes from her latest series, book by book. With six more novels left in the series, Eve now knows how the killer will strike next. But why has DeLano been targeted? Could her abusive husband be involved? As fiction is transformed into bloody reality, Eve will need all her skill and experience to solve this unique case. Luckily for her, husband Roarke happens to be a fan of DeLano's work. And he's more than happy to work side by side with his brilliant wife - no matter how dark things become...
Soon to be a new HBO Series from J.J. Abrams, Misha Green and Jordan Peele (Director of Get Out) Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, twenty-two year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George – publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide – and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite – heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors – they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours. At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn – led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb – which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his – and the whole Turner clan’s – destruction. A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism – the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today. |
You may like...
|