The Red House

Praise for The Red House‘Huge praise for this cleverly crafted, twisty standalone from Roz Watkins. Gripping and suspenseful’ B. A. Paris‘I could not put it down … I absolutely raced through The Red House I was so desperate to find out the real story behind the murder of Eve’s family – a proper page turner with a brilliantly juicy twist’ Lisa Hall‘I wanted to immediately start reading again to check the very clever clues … It’s a clever and engaging mystery with a resolution that will completely blow you away’ Susi Holliday‘Buckle up, readers: Roz Watkins is about to take you on a wild ride. You won’t know where you’re going until the very last page. A genuinely delicious mystery’ Christina Dalcher‘Tense, immersive, clever, surprising and unique. I loved it. Roz Watkins is one of the finest crime novelists writing today’ Andrea Mara‘Atmospheric landscapes, intriguing characters and moral complexity always grace the pages of Roz Watkins’s novels, but this is her best yet. She paints it red with a gothic setting and sinister premise that will not fail to grab you’ Jo Furniss‘Roz Watkins is a beautiful suspense writer – her writing holds you still and keeps you turning pages. I love everything she writes’ Suzy K. Quinn‘Beautifully written, with a perfect sense of pace. I thought I was good at spotting clues, but I was baffled by this wonderfully clever mystery. I loved it’ Amanda Brittany‘A book so full of atmosphere you have to keep checking you’re safely at home, reading, and not actually living through every dark moment with the characters’ C. S. Green‘A believable and likeable, yet tortured, central character and an irresistible, fascinating premise, not to mention the twisty narrative which is like a game in itself. The Red House is Roz Watkins’s best yet, which is saying something!’ P. L. Kane‘Fiendishly plotted with twist after twist after twist. A story about a game wrapped in a mystery and told like a game. Roz Watkins is at her writerly zenith’ Syd Moore‘Brimming with tension, The Red House is an atmospheric and gripping novel which features a sinister house surrounded by marshland, a young woman desperate to leave her past behind her, and a constant search for justice. Clear your calendar… you’re not going to be able to put this one down!’ Sarah Linley‘Everything I want from from a thriller. Clever, addictive, and left me guessing until the very end’ Jo Jakeman‘I am a huge fan of Roz’s writing and this novel showcases her ability to expertly draw in the reader and keep them gripped. I love when a place is almost a character ROZ WATKINS is the author of the acclaimed DI Meg Dalton series. The first book in the series, The Devil’s Dice, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger award, and was The Times Crime Book of the Month.Roz was previously a patent attorney, but this has absolutely nothing to do with a dead one appearing in her first book!She lives in Cornwall with two demanding cats, and likes to walk by the sea, scouting out good murder locations. The Red House, a standalone thriller, is her fourth novel. Also by Roz WatkinsThe Devil’s DiceDead Man’s DaughterCut to the Bone COPYRIGHTAn imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd1 London Bridge StreetLondon SE1 9GFwww.harpercollins.co.ukHarperCollinsPublishersMacken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper,Dublin 1, D01 C9W8, IrelandThis edition 2023First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2023Copyright © Roz Watkins 2023Roz Watkins asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or NOTE TO READERSThis ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings: Change of font size and line heightChange of background and font coloursChange of fontChange justificationText to speechPage numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008422790 To Magnum and Ginge, the cats, who helpfullydemonstrate the charming, manipulativepersonality-type in action every day. CONTENTSCoverPraiseAbout the AuthorBooklistTitle PageCopyrightNote to ReadersDedicationChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 1Celestine2002I’m trying to be good. Mummy said, Stay in your room, be