It Ends Here by Heidi Perks

Description from Goodreads:

"You are one of five strangers whose day will start with the worst phone call imaginable.

Your loved one is in danger.

They are part of a group trapped in a café in a sleepy marina town.

The young barista on the early shift

The bestselling novelist looking for a writing spot

The husband on his way back from a work trip

The influencer mum whose picture-perfect life isn’t the whole truth

The woman starting her birthday with a quiet coffee

As the hours tick by it will soon become clear that one of them has a secret they would kill to keep.

How well do you know the person closest to you?"

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A bit of a mixed bag

I've previously read and enjoyed Now You See Her by Heidi Perks, so I was really looking forward to diving into this one. The premise is definitely a hooker – a gunshot rings out from a café on the Isle of Wight at 7am and there are five people inside. One is the perpetrator and four are the victims but we don't know who is who. It's a great setup for a thriller and it really makes you think about how well you actually know the people closest to you.

The story is told through alternating chapters from different perspectives and I admit to getting a little confused between two of the wives and who their husband was in the café. It starts off really well with a shock reveal that certainly kept me on my toes. I liked that it wasn't just a standard action-packed hostage situation – it's much more character-driven and focuses on the secrets everyone is hiding.

However, I did struggle a bit with the middle section. It felt like it dragged longer than it to and it became quite repetitive. It also seemed a bit far-fetched that no one made any contact with the café for the entire six hours the group was trapped there.

It's a decent read if you're a fan of psychological thrillers and want something with a unique "whodunnit" angle, but it didn't quite hit the high notes I was hoping for. It's a solid 3-star read – it does what it says on the tin but didn't completely blow me away like I'd hoped.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book.

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Troublemaker by Lesley Kara

🔥🔥🔥 Publication date: 15 January 2026 🔥🔥🔥

Description from Goodreads:

"Storm used to be just like her name. Wild and strong. A force to be reckoned with.

But ever since her younger brother was killed in a violent mugging, she has led a very different quiet and cautious, seeing danger everywhere. Storm’s tendency to panic has resulted in several false alarms, so when she witnesses a murder with uncanny similarities to the way her brother was killed, and yet no body is found and no one is reported missing, the police don’t take her seriously.

But Storm knows what she saw. And the murder is only the start – the killer will stop at nothing to keep Storm quiet. But how can she solve the murder and stay out of danger when no one believes her?"

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Storm used to be a force of nature, but the trauma of her brother’s murder has left her hyper-vigilant and prone to false alarms. When she witnesses a crime that mirrors her own tragedy, the police dismiss her as a "troublemaker" who is seeing things. With no body and no evidence, Storm is forced to investigate herself, but the more she digs, the more she realises the killer is now watching her.

I’ve followed Lesley Kara since The Rumour and she remains one of my favourites when it comes to "quiet" psychological thrillers. This story is a poignant look at grief and the frustration of being a "reliable" witness with an "unreliable" reputation. Storm is a deeply sympathetic lead; her anxiety is palpable and you feel every ounce of her desperation as she tries to make people believe her.

The pacing is a classic slow-burn that builds in tension the more you read on. While the "girl who cried wolf" angle is familiar, Kara adds something else by tying the mystery to Storm's past.

This is an atmospheric, twisty read that I enjoyed and it's perfect for a cold, winter's day or evening.

Thanks to the author, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Penguin and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this, another great book from Lesley Kara.

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