‘Best not to read it at night’; The best Thrillers out now – There Came A-Tapping by

There Came A-Tapping by Andrea Carter (Constable £22, 336pp)

documentary producer Rory disappears en route back to the Dublin flat he shares with his partner Allie after filming in Galway.

His two colleagues are back safely.

So begins this beautifully written thriller that turns increasingly menacing when – with Rory officially a missing person – Allie leaves Dublin for the isolated Raven Cottage they had planned to move to in the eerie Slieve Bloom Mountains. 

There she finds herself in a home that the locals insist is haunted.

This dark tale never loses its grip – part mystery, part ghost story – with the terrified Allie at its heart. Best not to read it at night.

A missing partner and a haunted house

Retreat by Krysten Ritter with Lindsay Jamieson (Sphere £22, 272pp)

Liz is a con artist, an expert at assuming people’s identities and extorting money. 

She’s young, sexy and free of inhibitions, but her past crimes are starting to catch up with her in Chicago.

So when the chance to escape to a socialite’s villa on the Mexican coast presents itself, Liz jumps at it – only to find herself impersonating the real owner, who is holidaying in Bali. 

But then the owner is found dead.

Written with enormous verve by actress and director Krysten Ritter, this effervescent story featuring the resourceful – if amoral – Liz glitters like the diamond on her finger.

The Crime Writer by Diane Jeffrey (HQ £9.99, 304pp)

five years ago on a late November evening Leona Walsh, the 34-year-old wife of crime author Matthew, goes out for a run with their dog on the edge of Exmoor and never returns. 

A distraught Matthew calls the police and a manhunt is launched, but Leona is never found. 

Inevitably, the shadow of suspicion falls on Matthew. Has he planned the perfect crime – one he described in one of his own novels?

When remains are found at a house that belonged to Matthew’s mother, reporter Gabriella Conti investigates.

But is she getting too close to a monster? This is compelling storytelling.