Simon Kernick

It's a sunny afternoon, and you're deep in the country on a river trip with your family. You're nearing journey's end when a shot rings out - and your whole life changes in an instant. A woman is coming towards you, chased by three gunmen. It's clear she's in terrible danger. And now you are too. Because although you don't know it, she harbours a deadly secret. Night falls. You're running, terrified, desperate to find safety. All you know is that...

'It's night, and I'm in a strange house. The lights are on, and and I'm standing outside a half-open door. Feeling a terrible sense of forboding, I walk slowly inside. And then I see her. A woman lying sprawled across a huge double bed. She's dead. There's blood everywhere. And the most terrifying thing of all is that I think her killer might be me