The Bodies - by Sam Lloyd (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Longlisted for the 2026 CWA Twisted Dagger Award

From the author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick The Memory Wood.

The edge-of-your-seat, chilling thriller you won't forget--the perfect holiday read for fans of Alex Michaelides and Lucy Foley.

"Blood-chilling... the best hook of any thriller in the last few years." -- Helen Fields, author of The Profiler

When did your child become a killer?

When you look down at your newborn baby, you realize what other parents mean--you would do anything to keep your child safe.

So when Joseph Carver wakes one night to find his teenage son, Max, covered in blood--his voice shaking as he insists it was a mistake--Joseph does the only thing he can.

He helps Max bury the body.

Joseph thinks that's the end of the nightmare--until it happens again.

You'd do anything for your child--even cover up a murder. But would you do it twice?

Readers can't get enough of The Bodies:

"A twisty, relatable, endlessly gripping thriller." -- T.M. Logan
"Brilliantly written and genuinely terrifying." -- that's life (Crime Scene)
"The definition of unputdownable. A fantastic thriller." -- Lisa Ballantyne
"So tense I could barely breathe!" -- Jackie Kabler

"A razor-sharp thriller--atmospheric, intense, unnerving, and addictive." -- Five-star reader review
"I was hooked after the first chapter... unputdownable!" -- Five-star reader review
"Never lets up with thrills... deserves five stars and more." -- Five-star reader review
"A fabulous thriller... truly nail-biting." -- Five-star reader review

Praise for Sam Lloyd:

"Propulsive, sinister, gripping." -- Alex Michaelides
"An intense, atmospheric, and truly original thriller." -- Shari Lapena
"Original, creepy, utterly addictive." -- Andrea Mara
"Remarkable. Undoubtedly the best thriller I've read in a long time." -- Lesley Kara
"Fiendishly clever." -- Sunday Times
"A rare new thriller talent." -- Daily Mail

Review Quotes

The Bodies by Sam Lloyd has possibly the best hook of any thriller/psychological suspense in the last few years...it's a blood-chilling, mind-bending, stress-inducing nightmare...I loved it, raced through it, can't praise it highly enough.'-- "Helen Fields, million-copy bestselling author of The Institution and the DI Callanach Thrillers"

A nightmare scenario - and just when you think the nightmare is over, it gets worse. I was so tense I could barely breathe!-- "Jackie Kabler, author of The Life Sentence"

A suburban Breaking Bad. Expertly plotted. The definition of unputdownable. A fantastic thriller.-- "Lisa Ballantyne, bestselling author of The Guilty One"

A twisty, relatable and relentlessly gripping thriller that plays on every parent's darkest fear. The tension never lets up for a moment.-- "TM Logan, author of The Daughter and The Dream Home"

An intense, atmospheric, and truly original thriller.-- "Shari Lapena"

Brilliantly written and genuinely terrifying.-- "that's life (Crime Scene)"

Lloyd is a rare new thriller talent.-- "Daily Mail"

Praise for Sam Lloyd-- " "

Propulsive, sinister, gripping.-- "Alex Michaelides, international bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fear"

Remarkable. Stunning prose and compulsive reading. It's undoubtedly the best thriller I've read in a long, long time.-- "Lesley Kara"

About the Author

Sam Lloyd grew up in Hampshire, where he learned his love of storytelling. These days he lives in Surrey with his wife, three young sons and a dog that likes to howl. His first three thrillers, The Memory Wood, The Rising Tide and The People Watcher were published to great critical acclaim.