The Village

Every few weeks I get a hankering to visit the scariest place on earth: A British country village. And this standalone from Caroline Mitchell—the author of several series, including DI Amy Winters—more than does the trick. Naomi, a London journalist, is making the move to the rural village of Nighbrook along with her new husband, Ed, a filmmaker; and Ed’s daughter Morgan, the teenager from hell. Except Naomi has a secret. She’s long been obsessed with the story of the infamous Harper family, the members of which mysteriously disappeared from their Nighbrook cottage a decade ago, leaving the TV on, the stove ready for a batch of cookies, and no sign of a struggle. Now, not only is Naomi moving her family to Nighbrook but she’s bought Ivy Cottage, the Harper family’s old home, which has been empty this past decade. No one in her family knows its background, but what, after all, can go wrong? Let’s start with the villagers, who could teach a master class in glaring and whispering, and are united in withholding all information. Add to this the police who are in cahoots with the villagers, creeps from the Internet, a dangerous snowstorm, and so much more. Naomi will be lucky if she can get her family out alive, while readers will be happy to read this book in one, terrified, sitting.