"The Mother" by T.M. Logan

An audio book.

A mother attends her own funeral.

Heather, a mother with 2 sons aged 4 or under, is grumpy when her MP husband Liam comes home late again. His parents own a big company. He's been talking to women on his phones. He hints that there's a whistle-blowing situation at work. He sleeps downstairs. Next morning she finds pills and alcohol by her bed. Her murdered husband is downstairs. She remembers nothing, but on her phone are pictures of a dishy blonde sent from her husband's burner phone. She's convicted of murder. She spends 9 years in prison during which she doesn't see her sons. She wasn't allowed out for her mother's funeral. When released, she befriends Jodi in a half-way house. Heather wants to clear her name so she can see her sons. She gets in touch with Owen (ex-Guardian) who's written articles online about her innocence. She collects from storage a box left by her mother for her. She meets her sister-in-law Amy, who's not too against her. She's being followed by thugs. She tracks down her case's main detective - he's in a hospice. She manages to access his e-mail account, discovers that he was writing a book. She breaks into his house to get a draft. There are clues that a US company, North Star, exploited a corrupt MP to gain access to the UK.

She's kidnapped in a van, the draft and her phone taken, and her life is threatened. She's released. Amy is threatened and released. Owen takes Heather and Jodi to stay in his house. Safer. Heather wonders how the thugs knew where she'd be. Had they paid Jodi? A bank statement shows that £75k was paid by North Star not long before her husband's death.

She gets an emergency call from Jodi and finds her dead - overdosed. She exchanges IDs with her. Amy's in on the trick, identifying the dead body as Heather's. She attends her own funeral. She lies low, hoping that Owen will present the evidence to the poice. He doesn't. Suspicious. She's sent a photo showing Amy dead from overdose and is told to give herself up or her sons will die too. She arrives at the family residence as ordered. Amy's ok. Actually she's planned everything. Heather's father had been leaking info to the family company and was about to confess when she threatened him, accidentally killing him. She told her father the truth only 2 years later. She fabricated the conspiracy evidence. Heather's about to die when Owen and her sons save her.

I enjoyed reading this. Lots of plot. At the end though, through the misted clear-plastic bag over her head she sees a surprising amount of detail.

"The Dream House", T.M. Logan

An audio book.

It's 2024. Having moved into an old house with wife Jess and children, Adam finds a secret room behind a wardrobe. Lea is 16. She was 7 when Adam and Jess married. Daisy (4) and Callum (now 9) came later. Daisy wets the bed saying that she’s seen a ghost.

In the room he finds a Rolex watch initialled EJS and sells it for £4,000. He finds an old flip-up mobile with one number in the address book. They try it and they’re texted back. On the phone is a picture of wrists tied by a scarf. He finds a dog collar with an address, and visits the address. The collar belonged to the dog of the woman’s ex-husband. The woman, Max says that her husband disappeared about 20 years before. She has a son who never saw his father. Adam finds a coded message and a scarf.

Adam's just been sacked, not telling Jess. He finds a surveillance camera in a tree, and suspicious cameras around the house.

Someone comes to the house wanting the items, pretending to be the previous occupant's grandson. Adam gets a text demanding the items. Lea is stalked. Adam's suspicious of the cleaner and gardener. He tries to buy the watch back, but it's gone.

There are interludes when we learn of other people - loners, closet gays, etc.

Adam's knocked out by an intruder. He tells Jess everything, including about him losing his job, etc. He decides that he'd better return everything. He buys a fake replacement watch. Jess (surprisingly) does to the drop. The people aren't fooled.

An ex-detective turns up with the real Rolex. He says he worked on the original case. His theory is that there were 2 people and serial murders.

Adam sacks the gardener and cleaner. Jess (puzzlingly) thinks he's becoming paranoic. The ex-detective suggests that they try to give the real items over, and trap the baddies using his police contacts. Things don't work out. Adam gets a call which makes him realise that Jess is being held captive in the hidden room. He rushes back. It's the estate agent. He tells them that the items were evidence that his partner in crime had hidden as insurance. He locks Adam and Jess in, then sets the house alight. Max and her son catch him on the way out, and Adam escapes carrying Jess.

In the end I liked it. Adam begins to suspect everybody, with justification.

"Lies" by T.M. Logan

An audio book

Joe, driving with his little son William (4), sees his wife Mel's car. He stops and with his son follows her into a hotel. He sees her argue with Ben, an ex-classmate who's a tech/computing millionnaire. He talks to Ben in the underground car-park. Ben thinks Joe must surely know by now. Know what? They tussle. Ben falls, unconscious. John rushes home with his son. His wife (she does HR) at first denies she was there, then says it's a confidential business matter. He's lost his phone. Pictures taken with it of the car-park appear online, with captions about him being a loser.

Mel tells Joe that she'd talked Ben out of hiring thugs to hurt a man who'd tried to sabotage Ben's work. Beth (Ben's wife) turns up at Joe and Mel's to say that Ben got back late on the night of the hotel meeting. Drunk, and swearing about Joe, Ben disappeared with a gun.

Beth confronts Mel among friends, showing her stuff that's on one of Ben's mobile. There are compromising txts and photos of Mel nude in the house. At home she admits to Joe that she started an affair 4 months ago but had ended it. She'd told Ben that she had to end it because Joe had threatened her. She criticises Joe's lack of ambition (he's a teacher) and says she'd been bored. A faked Facebook post shows Joe in handcuffs. He's suspended from work. The police think Ben might be dead. They're suspicious about Joe, so Joe want to give police proof that Ben's alive, planning a meeting with him, etc. He finds Mel's hidden phone. An escort agency number is on it, and Ben's, and a legal firm specialising in divorce. A tech wizard, Ben seems in control of Joe's PC.

Joe's house had been broken into. A rifle cartridge had been left behind. Ben's been posting him threatening messages. The police think Joe's been sending them to himself. Joe realises that Ben's been in control of his phones. He realises that Beth and her daughter are in trouble and rushes to their house. He's fallen into a trap. Beth and Mel are lovers. They've killed Ben and plan to kill him. But Beth's teenage daughter has been suspicous and is recording the scene.

Months later Beth and Mel are in prison. Joe lies to William that his mummy will be back soon.

Reading the reviews, I see several opinions about the ending. I didn't expect it. It reveals that the plotting is more complex than it first seemed. The characterisation is sometimes secondary to the plot (e.g. Joe seems very tolerant of Beth's repeated lies, and surely Joe over the years must have seen clues) but I think the sacrifice is worth it.

I'm not keen on -

• "... an icicle of realisation sliding into my stomach"
• "Larsen sighed audibly"