Claire Ladds Author

Do you read your e-books on a Kobo device? Have you got the Kobo app on your mobile or tablet? And do you love historical psychological crime and suspense books? If so, you’re in luck!

I’m delighted to say that The Secrets That Haunt Us is included in a Kobo deal for crime, mystery and suspense books. For one week only, The Secrets That Haunt Us is available to download from Kobo, worldwide, for FREE from Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd August.

If you’ve not encountered the book before, let me enlighten you:

Dark and haunting secrets, lies, betrayal and vengeance.

A diary that holds an unbearable secret. Misplaced jealousy with devastating consequences. Threatening letters which unearth traumatic memories and have the power to destroy lives. One man, back from the dead, who has only one thing on his mind – vengeance.

Set in 1970s England on the day of the Women’s Liberation March, this is a novel of four people’s haunting memories, shadows of the past and truths that threaten to destroy them.

When the lines between memory and reality are blurred, and honesty is more devastating than the secrets that haunt us, what do you do? Do you ignore it? Do you try to protect those you love? Or do you seek revenge?

Some secrets can’t be forgiven.

PLEASE NOTE: This book was previously published as Baby up the Chimney.

You can find The Secrets That Haunt Us on Kobo here. If you’re searching for your free copy on Monday 16th, please allow time for Kobo to filter the price through to your country – time zones may skew this a bit!

Please do take this chance to download your freebie copy, and don’t be shy – tell your friends! I’d love the book to be read by as many readers as possible who enjoy historical psychological crime and suspense books. 😊

If you read on any other device and buy your e-books from a different store, you can still buy your copy (with grateful thanks from this author!). You can buy it on your preferred store here.

The Secrets That Haunt Us by Claire Ladds ebook

Join my Readers’ Club to get updates, news of works-in-progress and upcoming releases, sneak peeks and special offers that I have from time to time, as well as other crime, mystery and suspense-related snippets. When you join you’ll also receive a FREE gift to read!

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Read a short story by Claire Ladds: Judgement day

From time to time, I intend to release a complete short story for you to read. Today’s story is entitled ‘Judgement day’ and is one that I wrote a number of years ago, partly in response to a competition run by Chapter One Promotions (now defunct) and judged by Tom Chalmers of the wonderful Legend Press. I was delighted when it ended up in the anthology! It was, however, also partly in response to a previous story I had written a year or so earlier, called ‘Casualty of a situation’.

‘Casualty of a situation’ tells the story of a woman, Suki, brought to England by an older man who agrees to pay for the upkeep of her boyfriend and schooling for her son in return for her hand in marriage. As time goes by, and when her husband promises every year to let her see her family but never allows it to happen, Suki becomes more desperate for those she loves. When she becomes pregnant, a string of events leads to a devastating conclusion. (You can find this story in my collection, The Reason for Everything here).

‘Judgement day’ takes a different slant on Suki’s story and is told from the viewpoint of a novice priest who is doing his job in the confessional box for the first time. He is full of his own sense of pride and power as he sits down to listen to the woman who has come in for… what exactly has she come in for? Forgiveness? To unburden herself? Whatever the reason, her harrowing story has a profound and long-lasting effect on the young priest and his own pride, and makes him rethink his own motivations.

I’ve changed Suki’s story a little bit in ‘Judgement day’, mainly in details of her life with her husband and in the way she is treated when news of her pregnancy hits her husband’s ears. Both stories are equally devastating, both have their moments of poignancy. As I have not included this version in my collection and it is out of print elsewhere, I thought it would be nice to let you read this one, too. (And if you’re a writer, it shows how you can take one story and rework your initial idea to make it a completely new piece of work). I really hope you like it. You can read the entire story on its own dedicated page here. Alternatively, you can access it through the ‘Read a story or excerpt’ page, where you can also find other work.

Happy reading!

Claire x