Bestselling Novelist Ellery Lloyd Recommends Five Thrillers for 2023

Born-and-bred North Londoner Collette Lyons writes with her husband Paul Vlitos under the pseudonym Ellery Lloyd. Their debut novel, People Like Her – a thriller set in the world of  Instagram parenting influencers – was as a Richard & Judy summer read in 2021. Their second novel, The Club, was a New York Times bestseller, selected by Reese Witherspoon for her Book Club’s March 2022 pick. They are currently working on their third book.

Here,  Collette tells us which thrillers we should be looking out for in 2023. 

The Mother, TM Logan 

Mister Million-Seller (I’d be bitter if he wasn’t one of the nicest men in publishing) returns with a book that I zoomed through in 24 hours. Heather has imprisoned for murdering her husband – we meet her after she has been  released on parole on the condition she stay away from her two young sons, and refrain from contacting anyone connected to the case. But she is determined to prove her innocence and so…well, you’ve have to read this heart-wrenchingly emotional, tightly-plotted tale to find out. 

The Only Suspect, Louise Candlish 

The author of the smash hits The Other Passenger and Our House, which was turned into an edge-of-your-seat series for ITV, is back with what I think is her best yet (and Candlish is brilliant, so the bar is very high). This smart,  twisty page-turner is told in dual timelines, the nineties (the music and fashion references are pitch-perfect nostalgia) and the present day. Alex lives with his wife Beth in a leafy suburb and is sent into a spin when Beth’s   campaign to clean up the local nature trail succeeds. What lies down there that he is so afraid of anyone uncovering? You’ll be up well past midnight racing to find out.  

Strange Sally Diamond, Liz Nugent 

Once in a while a book comes along that is utterly unlike anything you’ve ever read. This is one of them. Strange Sally Diamond opens with forty-something Sally, a completely singular character with a world view that makes sense to her (but nobody else in her rural Irish village), putting her recently deceased adoptive father out with the bins, as he has repeatedly told her to in his advancing years. We follow the fall-out from this, and become ever fonder of reclusive Sally as she slowly comes out of her shell and discovers the dark and sinister story of where she really came from. Just don’t go expecting a neat little happy ending…

The Marriage Act, John Marrs 

Fans of Black Mirror-esque thrillers will already know Marrs’ name – his book The One was turned into a Netflix drama that had us all glued to our screens during lockdown. His latest imagines a near-future world in which a right-wing government has enshrined the Marriage Act in law, so I Do is not only encouraged by actively rewarded – although those rewards are only doled out to couples who agree to constant surveillance through a wearable  device. Throw in a serial killer, an influencer or two, and a rebel alliance of sorts and you have a gripping, unsettling and scarily believable story. Highly recommended. 

The Ugly Truth LC North

​A headline-worthy hook woven into a compelling look at the way society treats women, reveres and reviles celebrity at the same time, and forces us to pick sides without absorbing all sides of the story. North riffs on recent news – Britney Spears’ emancipation from her father and Princess Latifa’s disappearance in Dubai spring to mind – and creates something completely unique.

Former teen model and mother of two Melanie Lange has disappeared apparently to take a mental health break. Her father, Sir Peter Lange, says she is a danger to herself and has been admitted to a private clinic. Her ex-husband, Finn, and best friend, Nell, say she has been kidnapped. The media  has an absolute field day. But what is the truth? The story unfolds through a series of interviews, Twitter posts, YouTube transcripts and diary entries, constantly switching between narrators, making it impossible to put down.