The Other Couple

A relationship on the rocks. A body on the beach. A secret they can't escape.

For Beth and Vince, on the brink of a break-up, their island getaway was a last-ditch attempt to save their crumbling marriage. Instead, it’s left them with a haunting memory: the discovery of a young woman’s body on the beach, and Vince’s arrest by suspicious local police. Now back in London after an alibi freed him, they’re desperate to move on—until a familiar face from that terrible night reappears on their street. One they hoped never to see again.

Detective Alison Hegarty was on the scene too, drawn into the case during what was meant to be a relaxing babymoon. Now she’s also back in London, heavily pregnant but in a race against impending maternity leave. Can she unravel the lies that connect the holiday murder, a long-ago crime and a new suspicious fall?

As Beth and Vince are forced to face up to the choices they made that night—and the lies they’ve told one another—one thing seems certain: you can run away from your secrets, but the truth will always find you.

Born in Northern Ireland, Claire published her first novel in 2012, and has followed it up with many others in the crime fiction genre and also in women’s fiction (writing as Eva Woods). Writing thrillers for Thomas & Mercer, she has sold over a million books and has had several number-one bestsellers. She ran the UK’s first MA in crime writing for five years, and regularly teaches and talks about writing. Her first non-fiction project, the true-crime book The Vanishing Triangle, was released in 2022. She also writes scripts and has several original projects in development for TV, as well as having had four radio dramas broadcast. Several of her novels are also in development as television series. She lives in London and would love to hear from readers via the methods below!

Website and email via: clairemcgowan .co.uk

X: @inkstainsclaire

Instagram: @clairemcgowanwriter

TikTok: @clairemcgowanwriter

Facebook: @ClaireMcGowanAuthor

‘McGowan delivers an enticing tale of murder and troubled marriages set in the Canary Islands…It’s an effective bit of escapism.’ —Publishers Weekly

‘A pure roller-coaster ride of a book, effortlessly crafted by a master plotter. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Louise Candlish. 9/10.’ —Express

‘The clever twists and turns means you’ll be left guessing until the very end.’ —Woman

‘This blend of police procedural and domestic noir confirms yet again that McGowan is one of the most quietly iconoclastic crime novelists of her generation.’ —Irish Times