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Helen Cooper

Biography

Helen Cooper

Helen Cooper is the author of MY DARLING BOY, THE COUPLE IN THE PHOTO, THE OTHER GUEST and THE DOWNSTAIRS NEIGHBOR. She is from Derby and has a MA in Creative Writing and a background in teaching English and Academic Writing. Her creative writing has been published in Mslexia and Writers’ Forum; she was shortlisted in the Bath Short Story Prize in 2014, and came third in the Leicester Writes Short Story Prize 2018.

Helen Cooper

Books by Helen Cooper

by Helen Cooper - Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Women's Fiction

In a close-knit English village, Chrissy and Alice were once best friends. So were their sons, Leo and Robbie. Until the night Leo killed Robbie with a single, devastating punch. Now Leo has gone to prison, Chrissy has lost her pub, and Alice has been pouring her anger into a twisted project. As Leo’s parole date approaches, the villagers are incensed and fearful about the prospect of his return. But when Chrissy arrives to collect Leo from prison, he isn’t there. The staff tells her that he already has been released, but nobody knows where he’s gone. As the village closes ranks, Chrissy realizes her former friends are suspects in her son’s disappearance, not the least of whom is still-bitter Alice. Is Leo being punished for what happened that terrible night? Or do the answers lie further back, in a dark past none of them wants to revisit?

by Helen Cooper - Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Lucy and her husband, Adam, have been best friends with another couple, Cora and Scott, for years. They vacation together, co-own a beach cottage, and their children are inseparable. So Lucy is devastated when, while looking at a colleague’s photos of a trip to the Maldives, she spots a picture of Scott, apparently on vacation with another woman. Then she learns that the woman in the photo has gone missing. Lucy can’t help but fear that Scott was involved. But searching for answers might uncover secrets about Scott, Cora and even her own husband that could destroy the picture-perfect lives they have built together. Or maybe she was never part of the picture at all. Is it possible that everyone knows more than they are letting on? If so, what are the consequences of exposing the truth?

by Helen Cooper - Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

One year ago, Leah’s feisty 21-year-old niece, Amy, mysteriously drowned in the beautiful lake near her family-owned resort in Northern Italy. Now, Leah’s grief has caught up with her, and she decides to return to Lake Garda for the first time since Amy’s death. What she finds upon her arrival shocks her --- her sister, brother-in-law and surviving niece, Olivia, seem to have erased all memories of Amy and fought to have her death declared an accidental drowning, despite murky circumstances. Leah knows she must look beyond the resort’s beautiful façade and uncover what truly happened to Amy, even if her digging places both her family ties and her very life in danger.

by Helen Cooper - Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

From her downstairs apartment in suburban London, Emma has often overheard the everyday life of the seemingly perfect family upstairs --- Steph, Paul and teenage daughter Freya --- but has never got to know them. Until one day, she hears something that seizes her attention: Freya has vanished, and the police are questioning Steph and Paul about their life. Do either of you have any enemies? Anyone who might want to harm or threaten you? The effects of Freya's disappearance ripple outward, affecting not just her parents, but everyone who lives in the building, including Emma and local driving instructor Chris, who was the last person to see the teenager before she went missing.