Willows Ait: How far would you go to honour a dying wish?

By Chris Abbotsford

Five years ago, Simone ran away to Thailand. Now she's back on Willows Ait-and the secrets buried on the island are about to swallow her whole.

Twenty years ago, Simone's family home on a secluded River Thames island in Teddington, a suburb in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, was the star of a smash-hit TV renovation show. It was hailed as a green, sustainable masterpiece.

But behind the private cable ferry, tall trees, and stone walls, the eco-paradise is literally rotting away. With the TV network returning to film a massive anniversary special, the looming public ridicule drives Simone's mother to the brink.

Desperate to hide the decay, she blackmails Simone into executing a dangerous insurance fraud scheme before vanishing on a trip to Asia. Then, within twenty-four hours, the plan descends into total chaos. Simone's sister, Tori, dies under suspicious circumstances after a night out in Kingston Upon Thames.

Left entirely alone on a decaying island, Simone sets a dangerous, modified scam in motion. But to pull it off, she must survive a shadowy police unit, organized crime networks, and a ruthless, Viking-obsessed enforcer known as "The Norseman".

Told partly through unfiltered, raw emails to her absent mother, the dark truth of Simone's past on a brutal reality TV show begins to unravel.

On Willows Ait, everyone has secrets. Everyone lies. And as family loyalty splinters into betrayal, Simone is forced to answer the ultimate question:

How far would you go to honour a dying wish when nothing is as it seems?

Loosely based around Teddington, Kingston, Richmond, and Rugeley, Willows Ait is a fast-paced, multi-layered psychological thriller packed with jagged twists, dark humor, and a breathless final reveal.

Why thriller readers will love Willows Ait: Unique Claustrophobic Setting: A real-feeling, decaying Thames island cut off by a private ferry.Complex Anti-Heroine: A gritty protagonist with a dark past in reality TV mixed martial arts.Bizarre & Dangerous Villains: Features highly original antagonists, including a reality-show-obsessed enforcer.

Perfect for fans of the dark British suspense and complex mysteries of Mick Herron, Christopher Brookmyre, and Lucy Foley.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08LL4KNRV
• ISBN13: 9798697210536
• Release Date: October 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"