The Woman Next Door: An unputdownable psychological thriller with a stunning twist

by Sue Watson

  I think about her a lot as I walk barefoot around the house, just like she did. Wandering around her big, bright airy rooms, I feel her presence, hear her laughter. She once took my life, and in death, she gave me hers. And sometimes, late at night, when Mia’s sleeping soundly and I’m alone, I think I smell a waft of her perfume, and hope she somehow knows that everything worked out in the end.

  ***

  EVIDENCE CHAIN OF CUSTODY TRACKING FORM

  Manchester Metropolitan Police

  Case number 4902342

  Matt Metcalf – A Life of Drama

  Final Chapter

  From that first time I saw her, russet hair shot through by the sun, big brown eyes, I tried not to love her. But I had to be with her, so I found her number on Lucy’s phone and told her how I felt in texts. I used a different, anonymous phone, and when Lucy told me she was flirting with men I’d warn her. Later, I became more brave, more daring, it was exciting to take her spare keys from our kitchen, and go into her house following her from room to room. She never saw me. I watched from a dark corner, or behind a door, always just out of reach, but only a breath away. Sometimes, when she was out, I’d lie in her bed, breathing in her sweet fragrance, my face buried deep in her pillow. And some nights, when I couldn’t bear to be without her, I’d climb in through her window, creep into her room and watch her sleep. One night, I stole her star-sprinkled scarf from the bottom of her bed. It smelled of Amber: citrus and musk. I kept it to wrap around me, and if I closed my eyes I could pretend she was with me.

  Then late one night her tyre had been slashed, and I rescued her, never expecting my feelings to be reciprocated, but she was so grateful she let me kiss her. And I knew this was the love I’d been waiting for and when she became pregnant she came to live with us, and I was ecstatic, but hid it behind a facade of indifference, a performance I’ll always be proud of. But I could see we weren’t enough for her in our little house with our little lives and she talked of going back home to her big house. I knew then how it would end. No one ever kept a woman like Amber Young; she always got away, soon bored, looking for the next adventure. So I sent her a dead bird, wrapped in pink floral paper, a pair of baby bootees. I turned on all her taps in the middle of the night and she called our house, scared – I liked it when she was scared, because that was when she needed me most. Sometimes, when I thought she might leave me, go back to her old house, her old, promiscuous life, I would frighten her, and she’d come back to me.

  But, one day, Lucy almost caught me. She was in her house, she’d been with the plumber, but I saw her looking through Amber’s things. She saw the vile words I’d scrawled in lipstick on the mirror. I’d done this because I wanted to scare her, to need me again, but this time I was scared because Lucy almost saw me, so I ran out of the French doors, escaping just in time.

  Lucy found a knife and Amber’s pregnancy test. I told her to throw it away and then later I dug it out of the bin, and along with the knife I kept it in the scarf I’d taken from Amber’s house. All the time I kept her scared and thinking someone was watching her – more texts, strange gifts, I lit candles in her home, then put them out just as she walked in. And for a while, it worked. She came to stay; she had Mia, and I was finally happy. I set Lucy up by hiding her phone until the right moment, and miraculously finding it in the kitchen drawer (where I’d hidden it). When Lucy was arrested it turned out better than I’d ever hoped. I ‘found’ the bundle of Amber’s belongings wrapped in the scarf and Lucy was convicted – finally I had Amber to myself once and for all, and for a while it was just me and her loving each other. But it didn’t last; these things never do. She went back to work full-time and the TV offers started rolling in and suddenly all she could talk about was her ex – Ben this and Ben that. I hated the sound of his name. I knew she was sleeping with him; she’d stay out later and later, coming home fawning and drunk. Disgusting.

  Then she said she was leaving me and I couldn’t bear it. I asked her not to go, told her I loved her, bought her a ring, but all I saw was her uncaring face laughing at me. So for a while I crushed the sleeping pills and sprinkled them in her cups of tea, the dinners I cooked, and just like my whore of a mother, they made her sleepy. She had no idea, kept complaining about feeling tired, but once she almost gave her scrambled eggs to the baby I realised I was being sloppy, so I put them mainly in her tea. The pills made her helpless. She needed me and I needed her, but no, she was never satisfied, I was never enough. So she booked her flight and told me it was over and now I know what I have to do. I have no choice, she’s just like my mother after all… I thought the weather girl was different… but she’s just like all the other whores.

  So tonight I will make her favourite dinner, buy the Merlot she loves and sprinkle too many crushed pills in both our glasses of wine before we go to bed. And she’ll lie in my arms sleepily, and as she fades I’ll light the candles close to the bed, and kick them over as the pills take us away. And my weather girl will fall asleep in my arms, and never leave me again.

  If The Woman Next Door had you hooked, check out Our Little Lies, the gripping psychological thriller by Sue Watson!

  Order here!

  Our Little Lies

  The first gripping psychological thriller from Sue Watson is available now!

  How far would you go to protect your perfect life?

  Marianne has a life others dream of. A beautiful townhouse on the best street in the neighbourhood. Three bright children who are her pride and joy.

  Sometimes her past still hurts: losing her mother early, growing up in foster care. But her husband, Simon, is always there. A successful surgeon, he’s the envy of every woman they’ve ever met. Flowers, gifts, trips to France: nothing is too good for his family.

  Then Simon says another woman’s name. The way he lingers on it, Caroline, gives Marianne a shudder of suspicion, but she knows it’s nothing – she can’t entertain this flash of paranoia.

  In the old days, she’d have distracted herself by excelling at work, but Marianne left her glamorous career when she married. She’d speak to a friend, but she’s too busy with her children and besides, Simon doesn’t approve of the few she has left.

  It’s almost by accident that Marianne starts to learn more about Caroline. But once started, she can’t stop, because what she finds makes her wonder: is the question she should be asking not ‘should she be jealous’, but… ‘should she be scared?’

  Fans of The Girl on the Train and I Let You Go, who are looking for a dark, gripping psychological thriller with a final twist to put their jaw on the floor, will love Our Little Lies.

  Hear More From Sue

  If you’d like to keep up to date with my latest releases, just sign up at the link below. We’ll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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  Books by Sue Watson

  Psychological Thrillers

  Our Little Lies

  The Woman Next Door

  Romantic Comedies

  The Love and Lies Series:

  Love, Lies and Lemon Cake

  Love, Lies and Wedding Cake

  The Ice-Cream Cafe Series:

  Ella’s Ice Cream Summer

  Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream

  Snowflakes, Iced Cakes and Second Chances

  The Christmas Cake Cafe

  Bella’s Christmas Bake Off

  Summer Flings and Dancing Dreams

  Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake

  Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes

  Younger Thinner Blonder

  We’ll Always Have Paris

  AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

  Our Little Lies (UK listeners | US listeners)

  Love, Lies and Wedding Cake (UK listeners | US listeners)

  We’ll Always Have Paris

  A Letter from Sue

  Thank you so much for reading The Woman Next Door. If you enjoyed it, and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just si
gn up at the following link. I’ll only send you an email when I have a new book out, your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  Sign up here!

  This book started life as an idea I had while working in TV, and I wanted to play around with the idea of fame and friendship, what’s real and what’s fake. And however much we try, we can never really change who we are as we’re all shaped by our pasts, however far we think we’ve come.

  I asked myself what would happen if someone like you or me became friends with someone like Amber Young. Would we be impressed and in awe of her looks, her life and her way with men, like Lucy? Or would we be more cynical, mistrustful, envious? And what might happen when, into this relatively new friendship, comes trouble in the shape of a deranged stalker?

  Who is he, what does he want… and who says he is a he?

  I really hope you loved reading The Woman Next Door as much as I loved writing it, and if you did I would be incredibly grateful if you could write a review. I really want to know what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.

  Meanwhile, I’d love to see you on Facebook. Become a friend, like my page and please join me for a chat on Twitter.

  Thanks,

  Sue x

  www.suewatsonbooks.com

  Love, Lies and Lemon Cake

  Now available

  Faye Dobson has lost her sparkle. Living on film star fantasies and vague memories of a marriage that once was, she can’t help feeling that life is passing her by. She dreams of being whisked to Paris for dinner, making three wishes at the Trevi fountain and having sex under the stars. But the wrinkles are multiplying, her husband’s passion is for plumbing, and the nearest she’ll get to Rome is a take-away pizza.

  So when Faye meets Dan the gorgeous Australian surfer guy working in the local deli she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to see the world. He is blonde, tanned, ten years younger and bakes the most amazing lemon cake. Unlike her husband, Dan actually listens to Faye, his smile makes her feel fizzy inside, and when he smiles… Oh. My. God.

  But is Faye being silly? What would Dan see in someone like her? Even if he did have feelings for her, could she give everything up to be with him?

  A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet comedy about taking your life back before it’s too late.

  Get it here!

  Love, Lies and Wedding Cake

  Will Faye get her happy-ever-after or will bittersweet secrets ruin the recipe for love?

  Order here!

  Since Faye met her gorgeous Aussie boyfriend Dan, they’ve travelled all over the world to meet in amazing, crazy and romantic locations. They’ve eaten gateaux in a chateau, chocolate torte in a moonlit port, and even had stöllen kisses in a sparkling Christmas market. Neither of them wanted to settle down… until now.

  When Dan asks Faye to marry him and to move to Australia it throws a real spanner in the works. Faye’s daughter Emma needs her here, so moving to the other side of the world – even for a hunk like Dan – simply isn’t an option. Is it?

  Faye’s been down the marriage road before and it ended up with her having Ryan Gosling fantasies while her ex-husband obsessed about the plumbing. Is that what she has to look forward to? Is she ready to end her adventure? And even if she is, how can she be sure Dan is the right man for her?

  A delicious romantic comedy about secrets, second chances and following your heart. Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Jill Mansell and Sophie Kinsella.

  Buy now!

  Ella’s Ice Cream Summer

  Ella’s life just hit rock-bottom, but can a summer by the sea mend her broken heart? When life gives you lemons… make ice-cream!

  Get it here!

  Life hasn’t always been easy for single mum Ella, but she has just hit an all-time low; she’s jobless, loveless, very nearly homeless and, to make matters worse, now the owner of a pocket-sized pooch with a better wardrobe than her.

  Packing her bags (and a bigger one for the dog), Ella sets off for the seaside town of Appledore in Devon to re-live the magical summers of her youth and claim her portion of the family ice-cream business: a clapped-out ice-cream van and a complicated mess of secrets.

  There she meets gorgeous and free-spirited solicitor, Ben, who sees things differently: with a little bit of TLC he has a plan to get the van – and Ella – back up and running in no time.

  Ella’s Ice Cream Summer is a heart-warming and hilarious romance that will scoop you off your feet and prove it’s never too late for a fresh start. The ideal holiday read for fans of Lucy Diamond, Abby Clements and Debbie Johnson.

  Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream

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  Dani’s on a mission to get her life back on track by the end of the Summer. Running, rowing, aerobics and more, but perhaps all she needs are sweet treats and a second chance?

  Twenty years ago, Dani fled Appledore with a broken-heart and a suitcase full of shattered dreams. Only now is she brave enough to put her past behind her and return for a summer selling homemade ice-cream and getting fit by doing sit-ups by the sea.

  But the new-look cafe is filled with old memories of Jude, her teenage sweetheart-turned-sour. She thinks of him every time she swirls warm sauce onto a “chocolate-bockaglory” and even with the help of Chris, her gorgeous personal trainer, the urge to break her diet is everywhere she turns.

  When Jude makes an appearance at the cafe on the eve of Dani’s birthday party, history threatens to repeat itself. Is Dani strong enough to say no? And is the love she’s been longing for much closer than she thinks?

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  A truly delicious, laugh out loud beach read that’s guaranteed to melt your heart. Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond, Jenny Colgan and Debbie Johnson.

  Snowflakes, Iced Cakes and Second Chances

  Get it here!

  Escape to Devon for blustery walks along the beach, hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and proof that miracles really do happen, especially at Christmas.

  A year after she separated from her husband, Gianni, on Christmas Day, Chloe’s heart is still in pieces as she unpacks the decorations for her first ever festive holiday alone. That is, until the phone rings…

  It seems Gianni’s new seaside restaurant is in trouble and Chloe must go to Appledore to save the business – and him. Equally famous for his experimental culinary extravaganzas and his explosive temper, Gianni has been really stirring up a sensation with the locals – and not in a good way!

  As pans fly and the temperature in the kitchen rises, Chloe’s calming influence and magic touch might just get critics back on side in time to save the restaurant from sinking like a sad soufflé. But will it be enough to save their marriage?

  Chloe came to Appledore in search of her Christmas sparkle, but when the snow clears, will she finally find the way back to her husband’s heart?

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  A laugh-out-loud festive treat that will give you the tingle of freshly-hung tinsel. Perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Abby Clements and Debbie Johnson.

  The Christmas Cake Cafe

  Heart-warming and hilarious, a story that will make you laugh, cry and bring a smile to your face. Get ready for another deliciously amazing Christmas treat from Sue Watson….

  Available now!

  As the Prosecco chills and Bing Crosby croons, Jen Barker just knows that her long-term boyfriend is about to propose. But instead of a diamond ring nestled in her champagne flute, Jen finds cold flat rejection. Her once perfect life and dreams of a husband and family seem even further from reach.

  A working holiday to the Swiss Alps with her younger sister Jody might not be the Christmas Jen had it mind, but it offers her the chance to recharge her batteries and recover from heartbreak.

  When Jen meets handsome ski instructor Jon Zutter her hopes for a happy-ever-after seem within her grasp again. Jon is kind and gorgeous and as they bond over Sach
etorte at the picturesque Cake Café, Jen thinks he might just be her perfect man. But a relationship with him comes with a catch – and there are some things even cake can’t fix.