Published By: HQ
Pages: 336
Released On: 29/01/2026
Mack and Hailey Evans are on the cusp of living the American Dream. Established careers, two beautiful children, and a new house on a coveted lakefront estate.
But modern life is expensive, so the anonymous cheques they start to receive are spent before they know it. Could this money be from Mack’s estranged father? Or one of Hailey’s clients? Does it really matter?
Then they discover that this mysterious benefactor expects a return on their investment. How far will the couple have to go to pay them back?
Debt is like fire, and someone wants to burn Mack and Hailey’s lives down to the ground.
*****
Thanks to HQ for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review. I was lucky enough to receive a proof of this at the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Festival 2025.
This was goooood. Billed as a thriller, and I suppose in a way it is, but not what you might expect from a thriller. I understand why they have billed it as a thriller, and I’m not sure what else I’d call it, but for the most part it isn’t that…thrillery. I don’t mean that in a negative way at all, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it was very good. But it’s a quieter thriller, one that makes you look over your shoulder because you’re not sure who to believe or true. It’s a very good character exploration and an exploration of threads, instead of being a full on bells and whistle thriller, if that makes sense.
It is unsettling, it’s unnerving, it’s quiet, too quiet.
Thrillers are my most read genre and because of that, they can get a bit samey, and whilst this had familiar elements, the main story was fresh and I really liked that.
I read it in less than 24 hours – it even accompanied me to a hospital appointment so I could read it in the waiting room as I had to know what happened.
It does ask some interesting questions. If you were in financial difficulty, and you suddenly started receiving checks from an unknown individual, would you keep them? Are you morally expected to report them, even if that means you fall behind on your mortgage payments or food for your children?
We flick from Mack’s POV to Hailey’s POV, with a mysterious third voice coming every few chapters.
I didn’t like Mack particularly. He lied, kept secrets, and let his anger rule. Hailey…I also disliked her but not as much. She was struggling but it felt like she was trying to keep up appearances, be someone she’s not. But as the shit hit the fan, as it were, she became more likeable and I wanted to support her.
I am not knowledgeable about the location and so I can’t comment on its accuracy, but she’s done a good job in describing it that you get a real feel and a real sense of the space.
I’m not sure I liked the ending. There were twists and tuns and I did like the big whodunnit reveal, but I still didn’t really understand it. I mean, I reread the last few chapters and I could see why the person in question targeted Mack and Hailey, but it didn’t seem an appropriate level of retaliation for me.
The ending also felt too open. I don’t mind an open-ended ending generally, or a closed one, but this felt unfinished and I was waiting for an epilogue or something else to tie it all up.
I believe this is her debut and it is definitely a promising one and I look forward to what comes next.
Books By Your Bedside 