Helen Monks Takhar

An obsessive power struggle between an editor and her millennial intern turns dangerous in this debut psychological thriller--for readers of Luckiest Girl Alive and You. Trusting you was my first mistake. To Katherine, twenty-four-year-old Lily Lunt is a typical "snowflake." It seems like the privileged, politically correct millennial will do whatever she can to make it big as a writer, including leveraging her family's connections. To Lily, Katherine Ross, a career woman in her early forties, is a holdover from another era: clueless, old-fashioned, and perfectly happy to build her success on the backs of her unpaid interns. When Lily is hired as the new intern at the magazine where Katherine is editor in chief, her arrival threatens the very foundation of the self-serving little world that Katherine has built. She finds herself obsessively drawn to Lily, who seems to be a cruel reminder of the beauty and potential she once had--things Lily uses against Katherine as she slowly begins to undermine her, sabotaging her work and turning the magazine's new publisher against her. Is Katherine being paranoid? Or is Lily seeking to systematically destroy her life? As Katherine tries to fight back, a toxic generational divide turns explosive and long-buried secrets are exposed--with deadly consequences for both. . . . Gripping and provocative, Precious You delivers an unsettling, provocative take on the contemporary workplace, turning the professional roles women play on their heads in a razor-sharp, revenge-driven thriller for our age.

Precious You

Some women would do anything for their children. This provocative novel “goes straight for the jugular of modern motherhood” (Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look)—from the author of the “addictive” (People) thriller Precious You. “Mothers and hustlers can be a lethal combination—and the perfect recipe to keep you up all night.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters Rose O’Connell is barely surviving. Her marriage is rocky; her son isn’t fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy; and their tiny apartment in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood can barely contain her family. As she struggles to make ends meet on her junior bank teller wages, Rose finds that life as the only mom in a name tag and uniform at the Woolf’s shiny school gates isn’t easy. Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle—a tight-knit group of wealthy mothers, led by the charismatic and glamorous Amala Kaur—who rule the school. When the mysterious death of one of the Circle’s members creates a vacancy, Rose dares to hope she could fill it and transform her life. Amala’s shocking decision to invite Rose into her clique provokes resentment among the Circle, especially when her fortunes, self-esteem, and status start to soar. But Rose soon realizes the true price of being on the inside. Far from being a dream come true, the Circle proves her worst nightmare. Unlike the woman she replaced, can Rose escape with her life? Taut, complex, and compulsively readable, Such a Good Mother is a razor-sharp take on the myth of having it all.

A Novel

Such a Good Mother

The gripping tale of a film director with a shadowy past, her missing lead actress, and the disturbing cost of fame—from “addictive” (People) suspense writer Helen Monks Takhar She’s dying to be famous. . . . April Eden is about to have the night of her life. After years struggling uphill as a female director, her debut movie The Vanished Woman is up for a major British film award, placing her firmly on Hollywood’s radar. Her leading lady, Essie Lay—a fragile but magnetic former TV host—is on the cusp of a stunning comeback after being canceled for a disturbing scandal. When Essie messages April saying she can’t face the ceremony, April heads to Essie’s palatial London mansion, Lotus Lodge, to convince her to enjoy their big night together. But upon arriving, April is faced with tragedy: Essie’s body is floating in her swimming pool, all signs pointing to suicide. Panicked, April activates Essie’s team—her put-upon sister/manager, Janine, and her wily agent, Jonathan—expecting them to do damage control while she heads to the awards ceremony; she’s devastated yet determined to do what she can to protect Essie’s legacy. But by the time April returns to Lotus Lodge to face the fallout, Essie’s body has vanished. Was Essie actually murdered? Is this an elaborate hoax or publicity stunt gone wrong? And why does April start receiving unsettling messages, trying to pin the blame on her? Taut, twisty, and deliciously page-turning, Nothing Without Me examines the high price of female fame, how far some will go to climb the slippery ladder of celebrity, and the unbearable pressure of being the woman everyone wants to be.

Nothing Without Me

‘Enthralling... you may be reminded of Villanelle by Lily, the possibly psychopathic antiheroine’ THE SUNDAY TIMES ‘A dark, addictive page-turner’ ALICE FEENEY ‘Supremely twisted and completely riveting’ KATIE LOWE ‘A breathtaking debut’ SAMANTHA DOWNING

That Woman

Nine months into motherhood, Elle is struggling. Struggling to balance parenting with work, struggling to feel at home in her post-baby body, struggling to be intimate with her adoring husband, Dom. If Elle loves her job, her baby, and her handsome and successful husband, why does everything seem so hard, especially when Dom is such a helpful, hands-on dad to boot?

Elle turns to her charismatic new colleague Gabriel to get through the day, and a few too many glasses of red wine to soothe her at night. For a while the distractions work, until one night, she wakes up bleary-eyed in a hotel room next to a man who's not her husband. And he's dead.

Elle knows Dom is the only person who has any hope of helping her escape her hotel room a free woman, even if asking for his support now will destroy their future. Elle also knows she’d never have ended up in such trouble if she’d followed The Marriage Rule, the one thing she’s been told a wife needs to do…

The Marriage Rule

The gripping tale of a film director with a shadowy past, her missing lead actress, and the disturbing cost of fame—from “addictive” (People) suspense writer Helen Monks Takhar “A pulse-pounding roller coaster through the shadows of the silver screen.”—Jaclyn Goldis, author of The Chateau Fame is a deadly game. . . . April Eden is about to have the night of her life. After years struggling uphill as a female director, her debut movie The Vanished Woman is up for a major British film award, placing her firmly on Hollywood’s radar. Her leading lady, Essie Lay—a fragile but magnetic former TV host—is on the cusp of a stunning comeback after being canceled for a disturbing scandal. When Essie messages April saying she can’t face the ceremony, April heads to Essie’s palatial London mansion, Lotus Lodge, to convince her to enjoy their big night together. But upon arriving, April is faced with tragedy: Essie’s body is floating in her swimming pool, all signs pointing to suicide. Panicked, April activates Essie’s team—her put-upon sister/manager, Janine, and her wily agent, Jonathan—expecting them to do damage control while she heads to the awards ceremony; she’s devastated yet determined to do what she can to protect Essie’s legacy. But by the time April returns to Lotus Lodge to face the fallout, Essie’s body has vanished. Was Essie actually murdered? Is this an elaborate hoax or publicity stunt gone wrong? And why does April start receiving unsettling messages, trying to pin the blame on her? Taut, twisty, and deliciously page-turning, Nothing Without Me examines the high price of female fame, how far some will go to climb the slippery ladder of celebrity, and the unbearable pressure of being the woman everyone wants to be.

From the author of That Woman, comes a brand new thriller that will have you at the edge of your seat right until the very end...

Helen Monks Takhar

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