The Bad Place - blog tour

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The Bad Placeby M.K Hill

About the book

The newspapers called it The Bad Place. A remote farm out on the Thames estuary, where six children were held captive for two weeks. Five of them got out alive.

That was twenty years ago. Now adults, they meet up annually to hold a candlelit vigil for their friend who died. The only rule is that no-one can talk about what happened the night they escaped. But at this year's event, one of them witnesses a kidnapping. A young girl, Sammi, is bundled into a van in front of their eyes.

Is history repeating itself? Is one of them responsible? Or is someone sending them a twisted message?

DI Sasha Dawson, of Essex Police, is certain that the key to finding Sammi lies in finding out the truth about The Bad Place. But she also knows that with every second she spends trying to unlock the past, the clock ticks down for the missing girl...

EXTRACT

To Becky,’ they all said.

Karin dropped her gaze to the floor, unable to look anyone in the eyes. After a moment’s tense silence, Michelle reached for the wine and Paul chatted to Simon, who stood – as always – near the door. It wasn’t unusual for him to slip away early without saying goodbye.

Pretending to arrange napkins, Karin watched these sad, broken people. They may all have survived that ordeal, but none of them had come out of the other side of the experience intact. None of them, her included, had gone on to enjoy anything remotely like a normal life.

Simon was a solitary wanderer who disappeared off the grid for weeks, sometimes months, searching for solace in distant places. Paul was a charity worker who had battled desperately to find meaning in his life, finally announcing that he had become a born-again Christian. To look at her you’d think blunt, forceful Michelle, with her expensive clothes, thick mask of make-up and towering bouffant of hair, was every inch the successful businesswoman. She lived in a big house along the coast, had a flash car, enjoyed luxury holidays. But Michelle was a four-time divorcee with a drink problem, and behind her brittle exterior she was as emotionally insecure as the rest of them.

And Lydia was… it was difficult to know where to even begin with fragile, damaged Lydia.

As for Karin herself… well, things hadn’t worked out the way she expected. ‘I’ll heat up the food.’

In the kitchen, she pulled silver foil off the lasagne and placed the dish in the oven.

‘I don’t know how you do it.’

She turned to see Michelle in the doorway, a large glass of wine pressed to her chest.

‘Do what?’

‘I don’t know how you put up with her.’ It was still early, but Michelle was already slurring. ‘Oh, I know what you do for Lydia. Giving her money, running around after her like a headless chicken. Mark my words, darling, she’s going to bleed you dry.’

‘Pass me those plates.’

Michelle picked up five plates from the counter and handed them to Karin, who placed them in the microwave to warm, and continued.

‘Let me give you some advice. Mollycoddling Lydia is a waste of time. She’s all take, take, take. Tough love is what she needs. Sooner or later she’s going to fling your friendship back in your face. She’s that type, she’ll always be that type. But you know that.’ The doorbell rang. ‘Speak of the devil.’

Karin called, ‘Can you get that, Paul?’

‘Or maybe,’ Michelle lifted the glass to her lips, ‘there’s some other reason you keep her close.’

Karin looked up sharply, just as they heard a commotion in the hallway. They headed out to see Lydia pressed against the wall. She was sobbing, hands lifted to her face, as she fended off Paul’s attempts to calm her.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Karin. ‘What’s happened?’

Paul stepped back. ‘I don’t know, she’s upset.’

Pressing the wine glass against her cheek, Michelle leaned against the door frame. ‘She looks how I feel.’

About the author

It's nice to see you here, thanks for coming.

I've been a journalist and an award-winning music radio producer. I worked for about five minutes in PR. But I write the Drake and Crowley thriller series now, which is just as well, because I love writing. It's my dream job.

If you enjoyed His First Lie or It Was Her, do get in touch. There are plenty of ways to do it! 

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