The Women: A gripping psychological thriller

by S. E. Lynes

  Do not go blindly into that bright light.

  Back and forth she swipes the lead across the page.

  Wise girls they know that silver tongues do lie.

  They are but dogs which sniff bark sniff and spit and drool

  They are but slavering

  Those men are dogs, they hunt their prey by day.

  Do not go blindly into that bright light.

  She drops the pencil. Her hand is over her mouth. The whole poem lies before her, white scrawl in a crazy charcoal cloud. She had thought this poem too clever in comparison to the other offerings. Instinct told her it could not be by the same hand. But as she has done so many times, she dismissed instinct once Lottie confessed. Dismissed it and forgot it.

  I’m so sorry I wrote the horrible poems, Lottie said in her letter, though of course she didn’t list them. Why would she?

  Peter wrote this after all. Seeing that it was him she turned to in her fear and vulnerability, he wrote this presumably out of some desire to capitalise. Here was an opportunity to bind her even tighter to him in all his insecurity and ongoing diminishment. Pregnancy was not enough. She wouldn’t marry him, no matter all that he was and owned. He needed more. He claimed to be offering her safety, but it was he who needed it, he who feared being alone. He told her she was the one as he drew his last breath. She thinks now that it was, possibly, the truth. He loved her so much, he took a poem written in love for a man’s blind dying father, a poem he himself had read aloud at his own father’s funeral, and used it as an instrument of mental cruelty designed to keep her where he wanted her: with him, for ever. She thinks of the seduction that was not a seduction, the lingerie that was in no way a suggestion, and this, this desperate warning to flee from him that was in fact the opposite, the absolute opposite. The most audacious of his double bluffs, my God.

  ‘What did you do?’ she whispers into the night. ‘What did you do, my beautiful, beautiful monster?’

  Need another gripping psychological thriller from S.E. Lynes? Read The Pact now!

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  The Pact

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  You made a promise to your sister. It could destroy your daughter.

  The Daughter

  15-year-old Rosie lies in hospital fighting for her life. She’s trying to tell her mother what happened to her, and how she got there, but she can’t speak the words out loud.

  The Mother

  Rosie’s mother Toni has a secret. She had a traumatic childhood, and she and her sister Bridget made each other a promise thirty years ago: that they could never speak the truth about what happened to them as children, and that they would protect each other without asking for help from others, no matter what…

  Rosie was Toni’s second chance to get things right: a happy, talented girl with her whole life ahead of her. Having lost her husband in a tragic accident, Toni has dedicated her life to keeping Rosie safe from harm.

  But Rosie has plans that her mother doesn’t know about. She has dreams and ambitions – of love, of a career, of a life beyond the sheltered existence that her mother has created for her. But the secrets Rosie has been keeping have now put her life in danger.

  The Pact

  In order to save Rosie, Toni may have to break her lifelong promise to her sister… and open doors to her past she hoped would remain closed forever.

  The Pact is a chilling psychological thriller about the lies we will tell to save our children. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Apple Tree Yard and The Sister.

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  Books by S.E. Lynes

  Mother

  The Pact

  The Proposal

  Valentina

  The Women

  Available in audio

  Mother (UK listeners | US listeners)

  The Pact (UK listeners | US listeners)

  The Proposal (UK listeners | US listeners)

  A Letter from S.E. Lynes

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read The Women; it means a lot to me that you did. I really hope you enjoyed it and that it gave you food for thought. If you’d like to be the first to hear about my new releases, you can sign up using the link below:

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  The Women is the first book I have written that, after I handed it in, caused me to shed a few tears. Writing a novel is always a long journey, and like most journeys, not all of it goes well – there are problems, hurdles, moments when you want to give up and turn back. With this particular work, I felt the weight of responsibility very keenly because I was trying to tackle an important topic through story and the particular confines of the psychological thriller.

  Human beings have always told stories to help make sense of the world. Around the time of the Me Too campaign, I became interested in trying to weave a story around some of the issues surrounding the abuse of power for sexual gain while trying to underline the challenges faced by women who dare to tell their stories and the collaborative power generated by that. The message that women can give each other enormous strength is one that cannot be reinforced enough. The legacy of Me Too must be made to last, and this means that women must be encouraged to have the confidence to talk to one another instead of hiding in the shadows of shame. This confidence, of course, requires trust, loyalty and believing each other without judgement. We must create environments in which we can tell our stories.

  Samantha’s story is, for me, one of coming up from the fog of youth into active adult consciousness; of developing the edges and the strength she will need to survive and learning to place her trust in the right people. When she meets Peter, she is naïve, while he is a master of seduction who has had years to hone his craft. He has all the power: financial, intellectual, physical. To have any chance against him, Samantha needs to find strength in her friendships but most of all in herself. I enjoyed watching her transform into a woman prepared to fight not only for herself, but for others.

  Experience forms us all. I don’t know a single woman who has not, to a greater or lesser degree, experienced some form of inappropriate behaviour that has made them at the very least uncomfortable, and I wanted to try and reflect that. Lottie suffers the most serious abuse, but I believe that, had Samantha not acted, she would have become a long-term victim and finished up a ghost of herself, no longer capable of fighting. I didn’t want that for her and hopefully you didn’t either.

  If you’d like to share your thoughts with me or ask me any questions, I’m always happy to chat via my Twitter account and Facebook author page, so do get in touch. Any writer knows that writing can sometimes be a lonely business, so when a reader reaches out and tells me my work has stayed with them or that they loved it, I am truly delighted. If you enjoyed The Women, I would be so grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to write a review. It only needs to be a line or two and I would really appreciate it!

  I have loved making new friends online through my novels, Valentina, Mother, The Pact and The Proposal, and hope to make more with The Women.

  My next book is well under way, and I hope you will want to read that one too.

  Best wishes,

  Susie

  Mother

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  Christopher would never hurt anyone. Not intentionally. Even after everything that’s happened I still believe that…

  Christopher Harris is a lonely boy. A boy who has never fitted in to his family. Who has always felt something was missing from his life.

  Until one day, when he discovers a suitcase in his family’s attic. Inside the suitcase is a letter. Inside the letter is a secret about his mother that changes everything.

  What price would you pay for the perfect family?

  Christopher finally has a c
hance at happiness. A happiness that he will do anything to protect…

  An unputdownable thriller about the lies we tell and the secrets we keep, Mother will hold you breathless until the very last page and leave you reeling. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, The Sister and Apple Tree Yard.

  Get it here!

  Valentina

  Get it here!

  When city girl Shona moves with her partner Mikey and their baby to an idyllic cottage in rural Scotland, she believes that all that lies ahead for her family is happiness.

  But with Mikey working long hours away from home, the frightening isolation of the Scottish countryside begins to get to Shona. She feels lonely and trapped.

  That is, until she is rescued by a new friendship with the enchanting Valentina. Valentina enters Shona’s life like a whirlwind, bringing excitement and spontaneity to replace boredom and fear.

  Now Shona has the perfect home, the perfect man, and the perfect new best friend – or does she?

  As Shona’s fairytale life begins to unravel, the deep dark wood outside becomes the least of her fears…

  From Amazon chart bestseller S.E. Lynes, Valentina is an unputdownable thriller with a twist that will take your breath away. Fans of Gone Girl, The Woman at the Window and The Wife Between Us will be gripped.

  The Proposal

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  You invited him into your life. And now you can never go back…

  Pippa wants a second chance. Recently divorced and unhappy at work, she has uprooted her life to move to a beautiful cottage in the countryside in search of a fresh start. But her new life is not working out quite as she planned.

  One night, when Pippa is at home alone, a man arrives at her front door. And Pippa invites him in, and makes him an offer she believes could change everything…

  How much of a risk would you take for a stranger?

  Does everyone deserve a second chance?

  By the time Philippa finds out the answers to these questions, it may be too late to save herself.

  From Amazon chart bestseller S.E. Lynes, The Proposal is a page-turning and utterly gripping thriller about the lengths we will go to for someone we love. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Woman at the Window and The Wife Between Us.

  Acknowledgements

  As ever, first thanks go to my editor, Jenny Geras, who really believed in this project from the start and whose usual light yet laser-like touch means that this story reaches you very much as my original work … only better.

  Thanks to Kim Nash, Noelle Holten, Jane ‘eagle-eye’ Selley and all the team at Bookouture for your incredible hard work and expertise behind the scenes.

  Thanks as ever to my writing group, still eating cheese together after over ten years: Hope Caton, Robin Bell, Sam Hanson and Catherine Morris. Our initial thrashing about of the first few chapters of The Women was invaluable; thanks for not letting me go off half cocked.

  Thanks to my first-draft reader, my mum, Catherine Ball. Our conversation never ends and now you’re doing your MFA in fine art; what a role model you are.

  Thanks to my dad, Stephen Ball, always on hand for lifts and trout and DIY tips.

  Thanks to my agent, Veronique Baxter, for signing me in the first place and for your enthusiasm for my work.

  Thanks to the amazing book bloggers, too many to mention individually, who read so tirelessly, write much-appreciated reviews and help to spread the word about my books. I would be nowhere without you and the equally amazing readers … Again, my lovely readers, you are too many to name for fear of missing someone out. Some of you have been with me since the start, and I can’t believe you’re still reading my books and still get excited when a new one comes out. I owe you all a pint and some chips.

  Thanks to my kids, Ali, Maddie and Franci, for not minding when dinner is Ready Steady Cook with half a can of sardines and a packet of stale crackers. Thanks for keeping me up to date with the latest young-person words for me to mangle with mumspeak – I am proud of all three of you every single day; you are all sick.

  Thanks to Mr Susie. Paul, this year you gave me the best big birthday ever, and as a direct consequence, I love you slightly more than I did before. More than my phone even. And PS, just buy whatever car you think – I don’t care as long as it’s a nice colour.

  Thanks lastly to all my fabulous, funny, feisty female friends. I could not have wished for more support with the whole book malarkey. Some of you have read all of my books and left reviews and that is astonishing to me; I only ever expected you to pretend to read one and say it was fab to my face. Thank you to those of you who have propped me up against the ‘minor wobbles’ that happen before publication, on publication, post-publication and between publications. The rest of the time, I’m rock solid, cheers.

  Published by Bookouture in 2019

  An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.

  Carmelite House

  50 Victoria Embankment

  London EC4Y 0DZ

  www.bookouture.com

  Copyright © S.E. Lynes, 2019

  S.E. Lynes has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-78681-905-5

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.