Home
/
Fiction
/
Dead Scared
Dead Scared
Apr 29, 2025 8:43 PM

Author:Sharon Bolton

Dead Scared

A pulse-pounding, spine-tingling thriller perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Cara Hunter and Karin Slaughter from million-copy bestselling author Sharon Bolton

'Mesmerising' -- The Times

'Treading a fine line between horror and thriller ... seriously rich yet relentlessly disturbing' -- Daily Mirror

'Managed to keep me on tenterhooks right up to the thrilling end.' -- ***** Reader review

'A haunting and disturbing read that was very difficult to put down.' -- ***** Reader review

'A perfect mix of thrills, gasps and plot twists.' -- ***** Reader review

***************************************************************************************

SOMEONE IS WATCHING YOU...

A series of suicides. Each one a female university student. Each one more horrifying than the last.

The police know it cannot be coincidence. But they can't prove it.

They need someone to go undercover. A young policewoman, as vulnerable as the others. As unprepared for the nightmare that will greet her.

Watch your back, Lacey Flint . . .

Reviews

Mesmerising

—— The Times

Treading a fine line between horror and thriller ... seriously rich yet relentlessly disturbing

—— Daily Mirror

S J Bolton is hot property in crime fiction right now.

—— Stylist Magazine

Brennan is a winner, and so is Reichs

—— Daily News

A truly impressive writer

—— We Love This Book

Writing at full throttle, with unparalleled acceleration and expert control. Hop aboard for a great ride.

—— Steve Berry

A fast and furious thrill ride with the perfect amount of history and humour blended in ...

—— Raymond Khoury, bestselling author of The Last Templar

Nonstop action, ancient mysteries, twisted villains, and memorable heroes. Kuzneski's books have got it all!

—— Boyd Morrison

Chris Kuzneski is a remarkable new writer, who completely understands what makes for a good story: action, sex suspense, humour, and great characters

—— Nelson DeMille

A gothic tale, filled with brilliantly creepy details.

—— Suzy Hansen , Financial Times

If Fifty Shades is your thing, you might just love The Engagement.

—— Wendy Holden , Daily Mail

Hooper serves up a chilling story of obsession, delusion, and the slippery nature of sexual identity.

—— Claire Allfree , Metro

There’s more than a shade of Fifty Shades in this erotic, psychological thriller...the unreliability of the narrator will have you guessing till the end of this dark and thought provoking tale.

—— Sunday Mirror

This is a tense, elegant, psychological thriller about an emotional tug-of-war... This tale of self-willing entrapment keeps us guessing to the end... Compelling and memorable.

—— Viv Groskop , Red Magazine

Hooper has constructed a modern fairy tale of a kind, complete with Bluebeard and his castle, and using some of the fictional paraphernalia of Gothic horror and melodrama she delivers a compelling, at times disturbing, but always humorous and readable cautionary tale.

—— Brian McCabe , Herald

The difficulty with a thriller - even if it is literary - is not to fall into cliche and predictability. At the points where it seems as this may happen, Hooper wrong foots the reader without losing any credibility, leading to a very clever ending.

—— bookmunch

This beautifully crafted psychological thriller really got under my skin.

—— A.N. Wilson , Readers Digest

Hooper is a very clever writer. Her prose is uncluttered, but every phrase is packed with meaning.

—— bookoxygen.com

A chilling, compulsive read.

—— Fanny Blake , Woman & Home

New, dark literary thriller...read it for its seductive plot.

—— Tatler

A dark unsettling read which will appeal to fans of the gothic as well as those who enjoy tales of twisted relationships such as Gone Girl.

—— lisabooks.blogspot

Literary thriller The Engagement by Chloe Hooper takes a Fifty-shades style plot about erotic games between estate agent Liesel and business man Alexander to a darker place.

—— Good Housekeeping

Part gothic novel, part thriller, this will keep you guessing until the end.

—— Glamour

Hooper has crafted a terrific tale full of dark corners and dead-ends that leave the reader wondering what to believe. The result is a collision between a psychological thriller and a very dark romance that has something for fans of either genre.

—— Irish Examiner

The Engagement has all the ingredients of a top psychological thriller with the bonus of literary style. I think it could be a huge hit. I hope so. I really want to see the film…

—— Literary Sofa Blog

Beautifully crafted and sleek psychological thriller… The Engagement, by one of Australia’s newest and brightest writers, explores mind control, power games and emotional abuse, so do not expect it to be a romance novel as it is, most definitely, not!

—— Yattar Yattar

An unsettling thriller... A book which deftly explores the power of money and property, romance and sex

—— Marie Claire

A dark, erotic and tense tale

—— Grazia

Plain and lucid, with beautifully accurate word-choice, and plenty of grace-notes that one pauses to appreciate... A highly intelligent, unpredictable, very grown-up, and crazily readable novel

—— Brandon Robshaw , Independent on Sunday

A sleek and sly two-hander, a thriller almost, that sets everything out clearly for the reader and yet remains filled with uncertainty

—— John Self , Guardian

An intense psychological thriller, strewn with enough red herrings to satisfy the most demanding reader

—— Mail on Sunday

Hooper's writing is singularly challenging and confrontational... For those who prefer their erotic literature less Fifty Shades of Grey, more Jane Eyre

—— Daily Telegraph

A fine, literary thriller; cold, at times almost nauseatingly disturbing

—— Alison Flood , Guardian

A fascinating, subtle, really original modern Gothic thriller

—— Rebecca Chance , Daily Record
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved