I thought he was dead. Until I saw him staring back at me… Ten years have passed since my beloved sister was murdered, leaving behind her sweet five-year-old daughter, Lily. I’m trying my best to care for Lily and salvage what’s left of our shattered family. I promised to keep her safe after all she’s been through, and after a lot of challenges, I hope she might be starting to lead a normal life again. But then I see a face in a photo I took just yesterday that turns my blood to ice.

When Natasha meets Daniel, she knows her life is made. Rich, handsome and charming, Daniel will make the perfect husband. Even if she won’t make the perfect wife…She is thrilled when Daniel suggests an all-expenses paid cruise for Natasha, her friends, Barbara, Tracy Ann and Michelle, and their husbands. What better way to show everyone that Natasha has finally made it? But as the ship sets sail, she learns that far from being the perfect husband, Daniel has terrible secrets that are about to be revealed.

Anne is barely keeping it together. A frazzled ghostwriter and aspiring novelist, she juggles nine-year-old twins and a listless marriage from an overcrowded Manhattan apartment, spreading herself thinner each day. Just as Anne is about to give up on her dreams, she lands her biggest client yet: Melody Wells. Melody paints a picture of serenity and empowerment in the lavender haze of her visualization workshops—however, the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher is demanding for her new motivational book. Enter Anne.

On the last day of school, my friends and I gather on the beach to celebrate the long summer ahead. Sipping cans of warm cider and watching campfire embers dance into the inky sky, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. Until a scream pierces the night. The next morning, we find shy newcomer Pippa on the beach, sandflies gathering on her lifeless body…

My wedding was the perfect whirlwind of a day. The happiest I’d ever been. That was until I discovered my beloved husband, Ryan, tucked away in a compromising summer house clinch with Liza, his best friend’s wife. Reeling with this ultimate betrayal, my world in freefall, with nowhere to turn, I flee my own wedding unable to face anyone, not even my family. I just want to escape this nightmare. With our flight, to our luxury honeymoon leaving in a matter of hours, could ten blissful days of Cretan Island life, minus my cheating husband help me figure out my future?

How well do you really know your own family? The wife: Eve is desperate for her life to be perfect. Living in a beautiful house, with gorgeous views of the countryside, is all she’s ever wanted. And she’ll do whatever it takes to hold onto her dream life. The son: Joe is a model student; he never puts a foot wrong. He knows his mother wouldn’t tolerate it. Until the night of his sixteenth birthday party, when things go horribly wrong and someone in the house is left fighting for their life. As the blue flashing lights of the police and ambulance arrive, all eyes are on the Griffiths family.

Wife: I couldn’t be prouder of my charming husband and quiet and kind son. I’ve poured everything into my little family, so I choose to ignore my husband’s late-night phone calls and wandering eye. I won’t let anything ruin my perfect life…

Alex and I haven’t been dating for very long when I go to his place for the first time. Feeling self-conscious as I notice a thread coming loose on my dress, he pours me a glass of wine and I take in the pristine room and expensive furnishings. Everything here is perfect, too perfect. Where are the personal touches, the souvenirs from his life? Where are the photos of his friends and family? ‘You can trust me,’ Alex says as he hands me the wine, and my heart beats wildly in my chest. I really want this to work, especially after the disaster of my last relationship.

Camille Prescott has it all. A doting husband, two children, a charming home in a seaside enclave, and a beautiful, fixed smile that exudes normalcy. But behind her polished mask lurks a much different Camille—one with a padlocked vault of secrets. Raised by a vindictive and psychotic woman, Camille has gone to great lengths to bury her past and for good reason: if her mother ever finds her, she will kill her.

I used to enjoy my job. I was good at it and felt fulfilled. I also used to enjoy spending time with the people I worked with. They say you spend more time with your work colleagues than you do with your family members, but that was fine by me because I made two very good friends at the office. I also allowed myself to get a little too close to my boss, but I soon realized that was a mistake. Unfortunately, it was too late by then, and as my personal and professional lives quickly blurred into one, that was when everything changed.

This is the day my life changes forever. It started so normally. The alarm went at 7am. My husband made bacon and pancakes for me and our seven-year-old daughter, the kitchen full of chatter and laughter. He gave me a quick kiss, told me he loved me, grabbed his wallet, and rushed off to work. Just an ordinary day. Until I get the call from the school. It was Tom’s turn to pick up our daughter. He must be held up for some reason. I find Tom’s phone under our bed. Now I know there’s something seriously wrong. I scroll through his messages. A text sent late last night: I KNOW EVERYTHING.

Standing in my bathroom, the luxurious marble tiles cool under my feet, I stare at the test in my trembling hand. The second line is unmistakable: I’m pregnant. This is all my husband Theo and I have ever wanted, but I didn’t think it was possible. I should be excited, but all I can think about is telling my stepdaughter. Because Ellie’s always hated me, ever since she realised it was no longer just her and Theo. Now she’s seventeen, beautiful and smart–smart enough to see through me. And if Ellie decided to uncover my secrets, it wouldn’t be just my marriage at stake… it would be my life.

My first mistake was raising my daughter to be just like me… His death is reported on the morning news. The man my daughter’s been dating. Dead. Gone… I blink slowly–once, twice, three times. The hair on the back of my neck rises as I grip my coffee harder. My breath comes in short bursts. I didn’t even know he existed until recently. Leah doesn’t tell me anything anymore. But I found the letters she hid. I know she fell head over heels for him. That he broke her heart.

I planned the perfect vacation. But now my son is missing. Everyone believes my husband Donovan and I have it all—a loving marriage, two adorable children and the dream house. But beneath the surface of our enviable American lifestyle lies a secret that binds us tighter than our vows.

Bestselling mystery writer Lucy Harper's talent for invention has given her fame, fortune, and an army of adoring readers. It has also saddled her with dependents, namely her fawning husband Dan. When Dan suddenly goes missing, his disappearance evokes dark memories that take Lucy back more than thirty years—to the day her brother vanished without a trace. That's when Lucy began conjuring stories. The police investigation revealed few confirmed details, so she created tales to fill in the gaps, to explain what happened that day her brother disappeared—and Lucy was the only witness.