The Birthday Girl The Birthday Girl
Book 1 - A Mallory Dawson Crime Thriller

The Birthday Girl

An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller

    • 3.9 • 7 Ratings
    • $4.99

Publisher Description

Welcome to Eldey, an island with deadly secrets.

Mona: a carefree artist, staying at the Cloister to work on her illustrations.

Beth: the harried mother of a toddler, on the remote Welsh island for a weekend with her family.

Charlotte: a reluctant stepmother who wanted a romantic getaway with her husband.

One of them is a serial killer who poisoned four of her friends at her eleventh birthday party.

They all fit the profile. Who will risk everything to kill again?

An absolutely gripping Welsh crime novel, perfect for fans of Sarah Pearse and Lucy Foley.

Praise for The Birthday Girl

A brilliant Christie-esque page-turner with an amazing sense of location’ Catherine Cooper, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalet

‘Atmospheric, tense, with lots of twists and turns, I couldn’t put this down. With a nod to Agatha Christie, the sharp narrative builds to a nail-biting climax.’ Simon McCleave, author of The Dark Tide

‘A pitch-perfect start to a new thriller series’ Michael Wood, author of Silent Victim

‘There is more than a whiff of Agatha Christie here, which made The Birthday Girl so satisfyingly compelling that I read into the small hours to finish it’ Alis Hawkins, author of A Bitter Remedy

‘Suspense and intrigue abound in this gripping, claustrophobic murder mystery set on a sinister Welsh island’ Roz Watkins, author of The Devil’s Dice

'Takes the classic Christie-esque trope of a remote location and a closed circle of suspects and reinvents it for the 21st Century, weaving a tale of murder, madness, and revenge. I absolutely loved it.' Amanda Mason, author of The Hiding Place

Sharp, elegantly written, and dripping with suspense. A wonderfully crafted ‘closed room’ mystery that had me turning the pages at record speed.’ J. A. Corrigan, author of The Nurse

Cleverly plotted, full of twists and intrigue, with an ending that is both dramatic and satisfying’ Jane Bettany, author of In Cold Blood

A taut, intelligent thriller, elegantly written with an eerie atmosphere and an addictive plot. I utterly love this sharp, clever new series!’ Victoria Dowd, author of A Book of Murder

The Birthday Girl is a satisfying contemporary page-turner with more than a whiff of Christie’s Golden Age locked-room mysteries about it. Compelling reading!’ Marnie Riches, author of All The Pretty Ones

A masterpiece of gothic, atmospheric, Agatha Christie-like mystery. If you love a good locked room style murder mystery, want a book that could keep you up all night guessing, or just want an absolutely thrilling read, The Birthday Girl is for you!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

‘This thriller was absolutely amazing. It was gripping, full of suspense and this was perfect for grabbing you and not letting you go. Two days later and I still can't stop thinking about this!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

‘This has truly been one of my favorite reads of all time. I truly was guessing until the end. This book will stay with me forever.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

Absolutely loved this. It kept me guessing throughout and I could not put it down. Fantastic read.’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

Compelling, Claustrophobic. Perfectly set up in true Christiesque fashion, this immersive suspense is packed with a deftly drawn cast and a plot populated with red herrings galore.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

I was hooked on this, so much so that I got up at two a.m. and read until four. I loved it.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

‘Gripping, dark, atmospheric and thrilling... The best novel I have read this year.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

GENRE
Mysteries & Thrillers
RELEASED
2023
April 6
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
326
Pages
PUBLISHER
Canelo
SELLER
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
SIZE
2.6
MB

Customer Reviews

canary blonde ,

Atmospheric who-dunnit

Mallory is a cop through and through. She has a teenage son, Toby, who chose to live with his father, Joe, also a cop, when Mallory finally left her philandering husband after his latest fling got pregnant. It was the final straw that spurred Mallory to action.

Mallory is action-oriented as a cop, too; even after surviving a near-fatal stabbing on the job, she chose to take medical retirement over a career of desk duties. Mallory is undecided about her exact plans for the future, but she needs work and ends up successfully interviewing for a night security guard position at a swanky hotel which had previously served as a cloisters for an exclusive group of Anglican nuns situated on a small island about a mile off-shore the Pembrokeshire coastline near Wales. The cloistered nuns had been amongst Britain’s elite about a century ago, but one family did not approve of the choice of their daughter’s choice and vowed to bring her back. Determined not to leave the island, young Bridget Marsh poisons herself with berries and creates a legend for the island.

Closer to our time, young Bryony Clive becomes an infamous killer for poisoning to death nearly all her friends at her eleventh birthday party.

During a fierce storm ravaging the island shortly after Mallory begins work at the Cloisters, the past slides into the present as the guests and staff are cut off from rescue while stories of dead nun sightings mix with actually poisoned guests. Mallory must control the narrative, keep everyone alive until the storm passes, and not succumb to the agony of her worsening leg wound and feelings of illness.

Looking forward to learning more about Mallory and seeing where her life leads her.

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