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Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara

Thriller

Someone in the Attic

by Andrea Mara

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Quick take

Turn those nightlights on! This hair-raising read will awaken your greatest fears and have you checking all your locks.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Psychological

    Psychological

  • Illustrated icon, Nonlinear_Timeline

    Nonlinear timeline

  • Illustrated icon, International

    International

  • Illustrated icon, Creepy

    Creepy

Synopsis

You thought you were home alone.

Anya is enjoying a relaxing bath when she hears a noise coming from the ceiling. Through the open bathroom door, she sees the attic hatch swing down, and a masked figure drops to the floor. Thirty seconds later, Anya is dead.

You’re not afraid of being alone in the dark. You’re afraid you’re not alone.

Across town, Anya's old school friend, Julia, sees an online video of a masked figure climbing out of an attic. She suddenly realizes why the footage is eerily familiar: it was filmed inside her house in a luxury gated community, designed to keep intruders out.

And now your worst fears are coming true.

Why would a stranger target Julia? Unless of course, it’s not a stranger at all.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of Someone in the Attic.

Someone in the Attic

1

Three minutes before it happens, Anya takes a deep swallow of white wine, sets the glass on the shelf, and slides further down in the bath. The water is at her chin, tepid now and cooling fast. She should have closed the bathroom door. Chris is always moaning about steam and mildew, and he always leaves the door open. Now, she does so too, on autopilot. And to stop him nagging. But Chris isn’t here tonight. He’s thousands of miles away in LA and Anya is blissfully alone. He won’t know if she closes the bathroom door. She’s just not sure she has the energy to get out and do it. Three large glasses of wine and a long day at the office will do that.

That’s the other nice thing about Chris being away. Nobody judging her for opening a bottle of wine on a Wednesday night. Or finishing a bottle of wine on a Wednesday night. It sits on the tiled surface at the end of the bath, coated in condensation. Just half a glass left, she notices now. She’s had more than she thought.

Beside the wine, her phone buzzes to life, startling her. She leans forward to see who it is but doesn’t pick up. Chris. It’s nine in Dublin, so lunchtime in LA. He’ll be slipping away from his colleagues, calling to say how much he misses her. That he’s got a big surprise when he comes home. It’s a ring. She knows this because she saw his search history. She shakes her head, wet strands grazing her shoulders. The buzzing stops and she picks up the phone to text.

Sorry, can’t talk. Up to my eyes, working late. Going to be same right the way through week so no point trying to get me on phone, see you Friday when you’re back x

Chris is going to have to go.

He is very good-looking and very nice. He’s also bland and boring and far too particular about the mind-numbing minutiae of everyday life. Like bathroom condensation.

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Why I love it

The good fortune of publishing my novels overseas means I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some brilliant writers who are thriving on the thriller scene in the UK and Ireland. One fellow author’s name came up constantly in conversations with these writers. They all kept saying: “You have to read Andrea Mara!”’ So when I saw Andrea’s latest thriller, Someone in the Attic, would mark her much anticipated North American debut, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on an early copy.

Here’s the verdict: If you’re a fan of domestic suspense and psychological thrillers, you just might have found another favorite new author in Andrea Mara.

Someone in the Attic begins with a relaxing bath scene. We meet Anya, home alone, enjoying a glass of Pinot Grigio as she contemplates life. But then, she’s startled by a noise above her on the roof. Shortly after, we learn Anya is dead. On the other side of town, her old friend Julia sees a video on social media of a masked figure climbing out of an attic and realizes, with dread, that the house in the video is her own. What follows this chilling premise and firecracker opening is a story of twists and turns that will have you reading with your eyes covered…

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Spooky reads
View all
The Collective
This Spells Love
The Unmaking of June Farrow
Someone in the Attic
Practical Magic
Listen for the Lie
Starling House
Weyward
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
The Shadows
Phantasma
The Only One Left
Sleep Tight
A Sorceress Comes to Call
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Ninth House
The Hacienda
White Horse
The Book of Magic
The Cloisters
Home Before Dark
The Stranger Upstairs
Sign Here
The Sun Down Motel
What Lies in the Woods
All the Dangerous Things