Picked up a book that promised to be a thriller. It's 'The Bodies' (June 2025) by Sam Lloyd. It was pretty well-written, and the plot was decent. Some might gasp at the twist, but it's not surprising to readers of the genre. However, the story reads like a Netflix six-episode limited series.
We're in Crompton, presumably in Lancashire. We get all the characters — Joseph Carver had lost his wife Claire to a home invasion and is now married to his new wife, Erin. Her ex-husband had died by suicide wrought from a gambling habit. Erin has her daughter Tilly. And Joseph has his almost college-going son with deceased wife Claire, Max. Their blended family seemed fine on the surface.
When the book opens with a too-easy murder of a hit-and-run seemingly confessed by Max, and Joseph offered to cover it up, I knew Max wouldn't be a killer. I still didn't believe he was a killer even when he sat by the body of Drew, his step-sister's BFF and a girl he was secretly dating for a bit.
It didn't help that the dead man in the hit-and run, Angus Roth is a unlikeable man with questionable sexual preferences. Angus Roth has a lived-in partner Teri Platini whom apparently he controlled loads and she was willing to suffer it for a bit since she got all the estate if he dropped dead. Angus Roth also had a twin brother Gabriel who didn't like him much. Angus Roth sought sexual gratification in Drew. It wasn't that shocking to learn that Erin also had a fling with Angus. There was a ton of deceit and manipulation going on.
I didn't bother to over-think the bit about parental responsibilities, dilemma and decisions, or how far a parent would go to cover up for his child, even if he confessed to two murders. I was simply interested in the truth and carried on reading fast. Ultimately, the whole family is involved in this murder-cover-up drama. Talk about skeletons in the closet. This blended Carver family has got tons.
It's of no surprise that the killer is Tilly. She had manipulated Max to take the blame for Angus's death, then Drew's. In fact, Tilly's probably one psychopathic killer. And she had gotten away with it. She isn't likely going to stop.
Last night, in the pub, he'd purposely kept some things back. He hadn't told Max that these days he does most of the cooking. That he avoids eating anything Tilly's made unless he can randomly choose a plate. Most of the coffee he now drinks he buys from Costa.
He no longer believes that his wife's second husband died by suicide. He's convinced that Tilly poisoned Mark to protect Erin and safeguard their mother-daughter relationship. Now, through his words to Gabriel at Thornecroft, Joseph has likewise proved himself a threat: She's a damaged kid. I had no idea how damaged. But Max isn't responsible. She is.
Their house is no longer stocked with weapons he could call on in an emergency. Instead, he's filled it with CCTV. Two cameras cover the front of the house; another two cover the rear. Inside three more keep a constant watch, including one hidden inside a smoke alarm. Each night before he gets into bed, he locks the bedroom door.
The book ends with this current tension in at home. Erin knows nothing about her daughter's psychotic tendencies, but Joseph does. Tilly doesn't seem to be in any hurry to kill Joseph, but the ending indicates that she would, one day, when he lets his guard down.
LOL How does one live like that, guarding against a potential killer and one's own murder at home? How do you even sleep at night? You need a gate and two locked doors!
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