Pack a thriller in your suitcase

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agoraphobic, best friend, best-selling author, bikini, bookshop, café, charming man, chic lit, children, complex web of lies, curious, dark story, date, ddebut author, dead, divorce, Don’t Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon, edgy, epilepsy, evidence, families, fear, girl, Girl Before by JP Delaney, great reads, gripping story, heart, home alone, husband, husband and wife, innocence, journey, karma, landlord, last word, Lisa Jewell, lives alone, man, marriage, memory, mirror, missing, mistress, One Folgate Street, one session read, page turning twists and turns, Perfect Friend by Barbara Copperthwaite, pool side, protect, psychological thrillers, real, right and wrong, safety, seat, secrets, separated, sinister call, sunglasses, T. A. Cotterell, tense tale, terrifying attack, The Date by Louise Jensen, The Dead Ex by Jane Corry, The Girl on the Train, Then She Was Gone, thriller, toothbrush, tough choice, trust, truth, twin sisters, unanswered questions, What Alice Knew, young age

As well as your bikini, toothbrush, and sunglasses, if you are heading away on holiday this summer, be sure to pack a poolside thriller in your bag.

Offering something a little edgier than chic lit, psychological thrillers have seen a rise in popularity in the past couple of years and there is no end of choice when it comes to great reads.

The Perfect Friend by Barbara Copperthwaite is a truly dark story about the turn Alex’s life takes when her husband leaves her and her children won’t talk to her. All she can do is to turn to her best friend, Carrie, who knows all her secrets and is the only person she can truly trust. Carrie would she’d never let her down, or would she???

Following her divorce, Ali goes out on a date with a new man on Saturday night, but on Sunday morning, she wakes up alone with no memory of what happened to her. And when she looks in the mirror, she doesn’t recognise the face staring back at her. If you loved The Girl on the Train, then The Date by Louise Jensen is for you, and if you haven’t read The Girl on the Train – where have you been?

For a ‘one session read’, it has to be The Dead Ex by Jane Corry. A terrifying attack leaves Vicki suffering from epilepsy and without a husband after he runs away with his mistress. When a call comes to say he’s missing, she starts to believe in karma, but when evidence suggests he is dead, things get real and she needs to prove her innocence.

The Girl Before by JP Delaney is a tense tale full of page-turning twists and turns. When Jane moves into One Folgate Street, she falls in love with her beautiful minimal new, despite the bizarre rules it comes with. As the landlord, and the house, become increasingly strange, Jane becomes curious about Emma, the girl who lived there before her and starts to fear for her safety in her gripping quest to find the truth. Tip, don’t read this if you are home alone, but definitely, do read this.

Secrets in families are never a good idea and that is what is at the heart of Don’t Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon. Twin sisters Robin and Sarah were separated at a young age and now, in their 30s, one is agoraphobic and lives alone, while the other seemingly has the perfect family and perfect life. When Sarah is accused of something terrible, she needs to track down her twin sister to put together the pieces. A gripping story that will keep you on the edge of your seat right to the very last word.

Back to the husband and wife scenario, and in What Alice Knew, debut author T. A. Cotterell, takes you on a journey of complex web of lies that will have you turning the pages in fear. From the outside, Alice has everything, that is until her husband goes missing one night. After receiving a sinister call, she faces making a tough choice that has her questioning right and wrong and wondering just how far she can go to protect those she loves.

While Then She Was Gone, by best-selling author, Lisa Jewell, isn’t new on the shelves, it is oh so worth a read. Laurel is trying to piece her life back together, 10 years after her daughter, Ellie, disappeared and seven years since her marriage fell apart. When she meets a charming man in a café, their flirtation develops into something deep, fast. Before she knows it, she’s meeting his daughters, and all those unanswered questions that have haunted her about her own child come flooding back.

Pop along to your local bookshop and buy your books before you go away and let us know what you think.

Team Pure Beauty

Good books to make you glow

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50 Shades, antioxidants, beauty routines, brilliant books, Clean Eating Alice, Clean Eating Alice Eat Well Every Day, Cook Happy, Cook Healthy, Courgette Fritters, creative approach to food, dairy-free, Deliciously Ella, dinner, eat better, exercise, fat, Fearne Cotton, feel fantastic, food tastes great, fresh, fully illustrated book, glossy, gluten-free recipes, GOOP CLEAN BEAUTY, Gwyneth Paltrow, healthy lifestyle, healthy recipe book veteran, images, inside out, jam-packed, Joe Wicks, Lean in 15 – The Sustain Plan, lunches, make-up products, missing, phenomenon, post, Queen on Instragram, Quick Granola, quick-to-prepare meals, reading, recipes for breakfasts, recipes for cakes and puddings, refined sugar intak, Roasted Beetroot Salad, simple, skin issues, Sugar-Free in a Hurry, The Body Coach, trilogy, white stuff

No, we aren’t talking about the 50 Shades trilogy, but never have there been so many brilliant books out there that make living a healthy lifestyle so easy, and so obtainable.

Today we have a round up of our favourites and have a feeling you might be picking up one or two of them up for yourselves once you have read this post.

If you haven’t heard of Clean Eating Alice, where have you been? The Queen of Instragram has been winning the hearts of thousands online and now you can get your hands on ‘Clean Eating Alice Eat Well Every Day’ and become a fan too. This lush, clear book is easy to read, realistic and the images make you want to eat better. Her selection of recipes for breakfasts, lunches and dinner allow you to feel fantastic from the inside out.

We are massive Davina fans, and are in love with her fab book, Sugar-Free in a Hurry. Yes, it sounds scary to give up with white stuff but with Davina it is easy to reduce your refined sugar intake so your blood sugar is balanced, you lose weight and generally feel fantastic. Take a look at her recipes for cakes and puddings and you will see that you won’t be missing out on taste if you do try eating her way.

Another celebrity who is helping our skin glow and hair shine, is the gorgeous Fearne Cotton. Cook Happy, Cook Healthy, is the star’s first cookbook and is pack with super healthy recipes including Quick Granola, Courgette Fritters, Roasted Beetroot Salad, and Almond and Apricot Biscuits. We love the images as well as the down to earth approach that considers the cost of food and busy lives so many of us lead.

Joe Wicks, The Body Coach, has been hailed a ‘phenomenon’ and we totally believe the hype. Lean in 15 – The Sustain Plan is Joe’s third book and part of a plan that is helping thousands shift fat and build muscle. This glossy, fully illustrated book contains quick-to-prepare meals as well as achievable workouts, making it perfect for busy people who want to be healthy. Joe is fast paced and always on the go, but his food tastes great his results really do speak volumes.

Deliciously Ella is somewhat of a healthy eating veteran but we love her new book and continued fresh, creative approach to food. Aware of the impact food can have on health and wellbeing, Deliciously Ella Every Day is all about nourishing your body with wholesome ingredients, the easy way. Her second book is jam packed with ideas for simple but tempting dairy-free and gluten-free recipes that have been designed to be shared, and enjoyed, together.

Last but not least, we have included GOOP CLEAN BEAUTY. Written by Gwyneth Paltrow’s team at, goop, this is a modern day beauty bible. As well as looking at food and diet, this book also covers the power of antioxidants, the importance of sleep, the benefits of exercise as well as great advice about skin issues, beauty routines, make-up products. Whilst some of the ideas on the pages are a little out of reach, the clean, clear pages full of simple, beautiful images offer a little time out from life.

Got a favourite book, let us know about it!

Team Pure-Beauty