Thrillers: Sophie Hannah, Peter May, Doug Johnstone and more

But something is terribly wrong. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily were five and three. Today, they don't look a day older. Why haven't they grown?

Beth delves into every possibility, from scientific to supernatural, but nothing makes sense. The more digging she does, the odder things become, and it soon becomes clear that the Braids cut ties with the Leeson family for far more sinister reasons than Beth could have envisaged.

With its jaw-dropping hook, twisting plot and ingenious conclusion, Haven't They Grown, is a galloping read that will have you rattling through the pages, desperate to solve the mysterious puzzle at its heart.

Who Did You Tell? by Lesley Kara (Bantam Press, £12.99)

If you loved Lesley Kara's debut offering, The Rumour, then Who Did You Tell? won't disappoint as we return to the seaside town of Flinstead with an entirely new cast of characters.

Astrid is trying to turn her life around. She's moved back in with her mother, far from the temptations, mistakes and painful memories of her old life. The focus is on recovery. She attends AA meetings and has been sober for five months.

However, her fresh start is tempered with unease. Someone is watching from the shadows. Waiting and biding their time. When Astrid catches a fleeting glimpse of an old lover, she begins to question her sanity. It's impossible, yet, the scent of his aftershave seems to linger around every corner.

Someone knows what Astrid is running from and it becomes clear that they intend to make her pay for the terrible deeds in her past. A deftly woven and clever thriller.

When The Dead Come Calling by Helen Sedgwick (Point Blank, £14.99)

You might know Helen Sedgwick for her spellbinding novel, The Comet Seekers, or perhaps follow-up sci-fi offering The Growing Season. When The Dead Come Calling marks her crime thriller debut and will be the first in a series of Burrowhead Mysteries.

Sedgwick's inspiration was sparked by a visit to the pilgrimage site of St Ninian's Cave in Dumfries and Galloway. The story is set in the fictional Burrowhead, a run-down village in rural north England, where a murder exposes the prejudices and desperation of a crumbling way of life.

The theme of outsiders looms large at its heart, from the victim found dead in a playground to incomer Detective Inspector Georgie Strachan, who must lead the investigation amid a maelstrom of racism, misogyny, abuse and homophobia.

READ MORE: What it feels like ... to be a curator for GoMA

When it becomes clear that someone – or something – is hiding in the haunted cave beneath the cliffs, things become altogether more disturbing.

A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books, £8.99)

When we first meet the Skelf family, they are carrying out the wishes of their recently deceased patriarch Jim by burning his body on a pyre in their Edinburgh back garden. The Skelfs know a lot about dealing with the dead. They are funeral directors with a sideline as private investigators.

After Jim's departure, three generations of women – his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah – take up the reins of the businesses.

Things soon begin to rip apart at the seams: the discovery that Jim has been making secret payments to a mystery woman; dealing with the disappearance of Hannah's best friend from university; and the perils of unravelling what had, at first, seemed like a simple adultery case.

An engrossing and beautifully written tale that bears all the Doug Johnstone hallmarks in its warmth and darkly comic undertones.

Pine by Francine Toon (Doubleday, £12.99)

A modern gothic thriller that draws on the author's own Highland childhood, according to Toon: "One day I imagined a road running through a bleak, hilly landscape in Sutherland and a woman appearing, standing in only a dressing gown, by a passing place."

Mysteries are commonplace to 10-year-old Lauren, who lives with her father Niall on the edge of a remote pine forest. There was the trapper found hanging with the dead animals for two weeks. The locked doors and stone circles. The disappearance of her mother a decade ago.

When a woman stumbles out onto the road one Hallowe'en night, Niall drives her back to their house. In the morning, she's gone. Lauren searches for answers in tarot cards, but when troubled local teenager Ann-Marie goes missing, it is no longer clear who she can trust.

A Silent Death by Peter May (Quercus, £20)

This latest offering from Peter May delves into what the tabloids like to call the "Costa del Crime". Set in the south of Spain, its chosen stomping ground is one of drug-running and people trafficking, gangs and violence.

When the girlfriend of ex-pat fugitive and drug dealer Jack Cleland is shot dead in a police chase, the underworld figure retaliates by launching a bone-chilling vendetta. He becomes hell-bent on destroying the world of the officer he blames for her death.

Step forward John Mackenzie, a no-nonsense Glaswegian investigator with a steel-trap mind, who is seconded to assist the Spanish authorities in their manhunt. The race is on to catch Cleland before he exacts his revenge in this fast-paced and gritty thriller.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins, £14.99, published February 20)

Last year, Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party generated a huge buzz and topped bestseller lists thanks to its fresh and effervescent take on the classic whodunnit. The Guest List is another cracking read with a gripping and twisty plot.

On a rugged island off the Irish coast, guests congregate to celebrate the nuptials of uber-glam couple Jules and Will. With all their friends and family present it should, on paper, be a perfect day. But beneath the surface lurks old grudges, dark secrets, bubbling tensions and scores to be settled.

READ MORE: What it feels like ... to be a curator for GoMA

A storm sweeps in. And then the lights go out. Someone will end up dead. But who? And what is the motive of murderer? A whip-smart, dexterous and brilliantly drawn novel that will have you holding your breath as its explosive conclusion looms.

The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd (Bantam Press, £12.99, published February 20)

For 12-year-old Elijah North, the Memory Wood is the only home he has ever known. Its shadowy realms, deep within the trees, are both playground and prison.

When Elijah stumbles upon 13-year-old Elissa Mirzoyan in the dark place where her abductor is hiding her, he knows exactly what to do. The two copper half-pennies placed on his pillow – two watchful eyes – were a clear message that telling police would be bad. For both of them.

After all, Elissa isn't the first girl Elijah has found inside the Memory Wood. As chess prodigy, Elissa knows something about outsmarting opponents, but as a tactical game of deception ensues, Elijah is a worthy adversary. A chilling, suspense-filled and heart-wrenching read.

Bury Them Deep by James Oswald (Wildfire, £16.99, published February 20)

DCI Tony McLean returns for the 10th book in the popular Edinburgh-based crime thriller series. McLean and his team are gearing up for a major anti-corruption operation, one which may raise the hackles of several powerful people across the Scottish capital.

When police staffer Anya Renfrew fails to show up for a briefing and her burnt-out car is found in woodland to the south of Edinburgh, a desperate search begins. It hardly seems coincidence that her disappearance has happened on the eve of such a pivotal case.

Then there is the phone call that McLean took earlier that morning from a doctor in a secure psychiatric facility and the mention of a name he would rather forget. A meaty thriller that packs a punch.

The Deep by Alma Katsu (Bantam Press, £12.99, published March 5)

We all know the story of the Titanic, right? Ship hits iceberg and sinks with the loss of 1,517 lives. It is a tale that has been retold in countless films, books and TV shows. But what if there was more to it?

As a self-confessed Titanic buff, the hook for Alma Katsu's forthcoming thriller, The Deep, sent an icy tingle down my spine. Part historical novel and part thriller (with a creepy, ghostly element), it charts four days of eerie and unsettling events during the liner's ill-fated maiden voyage.

READ MORE: What it feels like ... to be a curator for GoMA

Years later Annie Hebbley, a former maid and Titanic survivor, is working as a nurse on sister vessel, the Britannic, now refitted as a wartime hospital ship. When Annie sees a familiar face among the soldiers onboard, she fears that history could be repeating itself.