The Text: A short story

· Penguin UK
4.0
478 reviews
Ebook
32
Pages
Eligible
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About this ebook

**A new short story from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Local Girl Missing and Last Seen Alive. Her newest novel, Do Not Disturb, is out now!**

A single text changed her life. Did it end his?

Emily Latimer is furious. Her boss Andrew is being so unreasonable, as always. She fires off a text to her boyfriend, only in her haste she sends it to her whole office group.

In it she says Andrew's being difficult about letting her have time off work. That she is angry. That she hopes he dies. The next day her face burns in the office. No one believes her when she says it was a typo, she meant to say does. She hopes he does.

It's a nightmare. But it gets worse - Andrew doesn't turn up for work. And then the police come knocking. Because Andrew Burton has been murdered . . .

Praise For Last Seen Alive

'Thrillingly tense and twisty, a great read' B A Paris, the bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors

'I loved the sense of lurking dread that pervades it all . . . I was absolutely gripped and intrigued' Emma Curtis, the bestselling author of One Little Mistake

'Fast-paced and chock-full of twists, Last Seen Alive is both absorbing and gripping. After reading it you'll never dream of a house swap again' Paula Daly, author of The Mistake I Made

'Brilliant. Twisty, exciting yet so very real' Gillian McAllister, the bestselling author of Everything But the Truth

'Thrilling . . . superb plotting. I could hardly catch my breath between twists!' Jenny Blackhurst, the bestselling author of Before I Let You In

'I love stories when you're not quite sure who is telling the truth! This one kept me guessing' Jane Corry, the bestselling author of My Husband's Wife

Ratings and reviews

4.0
478 reviews
Ananya Atri
April 3, 2024
I got this book during 'Stuff Your Kindle' days, and now I'm regretting making that descision. I was really excited to read a short mystery book. I mean, I have never heard a mystery that can be so short that it hardly fits 50 pages. And the blurb of it was so exciting! So I picked it up last night, and I did not even know that I finished it. Well, that's not a good thing. The story building was great, lovely, suspenseful. But the ending? Why? It was so stupid. I was really racing my brains throughout the book to connect the dots together, but was not expecting such a disastrous ending. Stuart was such a red flag from the beginning! I can't believe the whole book was infact about him. This book is free on Google Play Books and Kindle. For those who are desparately trying to reach their Goodreads reading challenge goal, they can go ahead and read it. But, I will never recommend this book for a fruitful read.
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Shaheen
December 8, 2021
a different type of shirt story. The story despite being a crime thriller on surface hides a lot of other aspects like betrayal in friendships etc. it also clearly shows the boundary between a healthy and happy relationship and a relationship in which you convince yourself that you are happy. It also shows how it takes just a fraction of second to realise and correct our mistake. In conclusion this story's main highlight is the emotional rollercoaster experienced by the protagonist. But if you wanted a story with mystery and suspense then this is clearly "NOT" what you are looking for.
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Adity Sabharwal
May 29, 2020
A really great short story. It deserves a lot more recognition. It is basically a murder mystery but also takes other issues like friendship, abuse and power in consideration. Where to draw the line between lovers or how many secrets to be kept from your best friends. Love it. Good writing style too.
319 people found this review helpful
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About the author

Claire Douglas has worked as a journalist for fifteen years writing features for women's magazines and national newspapers, but she's dreamed of being a novelist since the age of seven. She finally got her wish after winning the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award, with her first novel, The Sisters, which was followed by Local Girl Missing and Last Seen Alive, both Sunday Times bestsellers. She lives in Bath with her husband and two children.

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