Hot Water

'Devilishly clever' Val McDermid on Strange Tide She sees everything, but can never tell anyone... a wickedly compulsive thriller from the bestselling author of the Bryant & May series. At a beautiful villa near Nice in the south of France, Hannah Carreras works as a maid. Under strict instructions never to speak to the guests, she blends into the background - but she sees everything. Including the mistress Summer, lounging by the pool awaiting the arrival of her married lover, Steve. When Steve finally shows at the villa - with his family unexpectedly in tow - Summer has vanished. Steve claims he never saw her. But Steve's wife is no fool: she knows there's something going on. Whose tiny bikini lies by the pool? Whose perfume is in the bathroom? Before long, the local police start asking questions, and the villa's occupants have something to hide. Only Hannah, always listening, watching, saw broken glass and blood on the patio the day Summer disappeared. Only Hannah thinks she knows what lies are being told...

Christopher Fowler is the multi award-winning author of 45 novels and short story collections, and the author of the Bryant & May mysteries. He has written comedy and drama for BBC radio, script, features and columns for national press, graphic novels, the play Celebrity and the War of the Worlds videogame for Paramount, starring Sir Patrick Stewart. His short story 'The Master Builder' became a feature film entitled Through the Eyes of a Killer, starring Tippi Hedren. Among his awards are the Edge Hill Prize for Old Devil Moon, the Last Laugh Award for The Victoria Vanishes and The Burning Man. He lives in London.