Books by David Bell

The Forgotten Girl

by India Hill Brown, David Bell

The USA Today bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter and Layover presents a twist-filled thriller about a troubled family with long-buried secrets...

The past has arrived uninvited at Jason Danvers’s door in the form of his younger sister, Hayden, a former addict who severed all contact with her family as her life spiraled out of control. Now she’s clean and sober but in need of a desperate favor—she asks Jason and his wife to take care of her teenage daughter for forty-eight hours while she handles some business in town.

But Hayden never returns.

Her disappearance brings up more unresolved problems from Jason’s past, including the abrupt departure of his best friend on the night of their high school graduation twenty-seven years earlier. When a body is discovered in the woods, the mysteries of his sister’s life—and possible death—deepen. One by one these events will shatter every expectation Jason has ever had about families, about the awful truths that bind them, and the secrets that should be taken to the grave.

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The Forgotten Girl

by India Hill Brown, David Bell

"This ghost story gave me chill after chill. It will haunt you." -- R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps

"Do you know what it feels like to be forgotten?"
On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel -- only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her.
Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing...
Obsessed with figuring out what's going on, Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life -- and in death. As Iris and Daniel learn more about their town's past, they become determined to restore Avery's grave and finally have proper respect paid to Avery and the others buried there.
But they have awakened a jealous and demanding ghost, one that's not satisfied with their plans for getting recognition. One that is searching for a best friend forever -- no matter what the cost.
The Forgotten Girl is both a spooky original ghost story and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery.
"A harrowing yet empowering tale reminding us that the past is connected to the present, that every place and every person has a story, and that those stories deserve to be told." -- Renée Watson, New York Times bestselling author of Piecing Me Together

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Never Come Back

by David Bell

When her mother is murdered, a woman is propelled into a twisted world of danger and double lives in this gripping psychological thriller from the bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter and Cemetery Girl.

Leslie Hampton always cared for her troubled son Ronnie’s special needs and assumed that her daughter Elizabeth would take him in when the time came. When Leslie dies unexpectedly, Elizabeth is consumed by grief. Then police discover that Leslie was strangled, and they immediately suspect that one of Ronnie’s outbursts took a tragic turn. Elizabeth can’t believe that her brother is capable of murder, but who else could have had a motive to kill their quiet, retired mother?

More questions arise when a stranger is named in Leslie’s will: a woman also named Elizabeth. As the family’s secrets unravel, a man from Leslie’s past who claims to have all the answers shows up, but those answers might put Elizabeth and those she loves the most in mortal danger.

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The Request

by David Bell

When a man agrees to do a favor for a friend, he gets more than he bargained for as he becomes embroiled in a woman’s murder in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of Layover.
Ryan Francis has it all—great job, wonderful wife, beautiful child—and he loves posting photos of his perfect life on social media. Until the night his friend Blake asks him to break into a woman’s home to retrieve incriminating items that implicate Blake in an affair. Ryan refuses to help, but when Blake threatens to reveal Ryan’s darkest secret—which could jeopardize everything in Ryan’s life—Ryan has no choice but to honor Blake’s request.
When he arrives at the woman's home, Ryan is shocked to find her dead—and just as shocked to realize he knows her. Then his phone chimes, revealing a Facebook friend request from the woman. With police sirens rapidly approaching, Ryan flees, wondering why his friend was setting him up for murder.
Determined to keep his life intact and to clear his name, Ryan must find the real murderer—but solving the crime may lead him closer to home than he ever could have imagined.

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Somebody I Used to Know

by David Bell

The bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter and Cemetery Girl, “one of the brightest and best crime fiction writers of our time” (Suspense Magazine) delivers a pulse-pounding thriller about a man who is haunted by a face from his past...

When Nick Hansen sees the young woman at the grocery store, his heart stops. She’s the spitting image of his college girlfriend, Marissa Minor, who died in a campus house fire twenty years earlier. But when Nick tries to speak to her, she acts skittish and rushes off.

The next morning the police arrive at Nick’s house and show him a photo of the woman from the store. She’s been found dead, murdered in a local motel, with Nick’s name and address on a piece of paper in her pocket.

Convinced there's a connection between the two women, Nick enlists the help of his college friend Laurel Davidson to investigate the events leading up to the night of Marissa’s death. But the young woman’s murder is only the beginning...and the truths Nick uncovers may make him wish he never doubted the lies.

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The Hiding Place: A Thriller

by David Bell

Twenty-five years after a child's murder shocks a small Ohio town, new evidence forces everyone to question what they believe in this tense thriller from the bestselling author of Bring Her Home and Cemetery Girl.

Janet Manning has been haunted by the murder since the day she lost sight of her four-year-old brother in the park. Now, with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Justin’s death looming, a detective and a newspaper reporter have started to ask questions, opening old wounds and raising new suspicions. Could the man convicted of the murder—who spent more than two decades in prison—really be innocent?

Janet’s childhood friend and high school crush, who was in the park with her that day, has returned to Dove Point, where he is wrestling with his own conflicted memories of the events. And a strange man appears at Janet’s door in the middle of the night, claiming to know the truth.

Soon, years of deceit will be swept away, and the truth about what happened to Janet’s brother will be revealed. And the answers that Janet has sought may be found much closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

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Cemetery Girl

by David Bell

A missing child is every parent's nightmare. What comes next is even worse in this riveting thriller from the bestselling author of Bring Her Home and Layover.

Tom and Abby Stuart had everything: a perfect marriage, successful careers, and a beautiful twelve-year-old daughter, Caitlin. Then one day she vanished without a trace. For a while they grasped at every false hope and followed every empty lead, but the tragedy ended up changing their lives, overwhelming them with guilt and dread, and shattering their marriage.

Four years later, Caitlin is found alive—dirty and disheveled, yet preternaturally calm. She won’t discuss where she was or what happened. And when the police arrest a suspect connected to the disappearance, Caitlin refuses to testify, leaving the Stuarts with a choice: Let the man who may be responsible for destroying their lives walk away, or take matters into their own hands. And when Tom decides to try to uncover the truth for himself, he finds that nothing that has happened yet can prepare him for what he is about to discover.

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She's Gone

by David Bell

A new page-turning thriller from USA Today bestselling author David Bell.
When a girl disappears, who do you suspect?
When 17-year-old Hunter Gifford wakes in the hospital on the night of homecoming, he's shocked to learn he and his girlfriend, Chloe Summers, have been in a terrible car accident. Hunter has no memory of the crash, and his shock turns to horror when he is told Chloe's blood has been found in the car―but she has disappeared.
Back at school, his fellow students taunt him, and his former best friend starts making a true-crime documentary about the case―one that points the finger directly at Hunter. And just when things can't get any worse, Chloe's mother stands in front of the entire town at a candlelight vigil and accuses Hunter of murder.
Under mounting pressure from the police, Hunter takes matters into his own hands by questioning anyone who might know the truth and posting videos to prove his innocence. When Hunter learns he and Chloe were seen arguing loudly outside the dance, he faces a sickening possibility. Was he angry enough to kill the person he loved?
Praise for David Bell:
"David Bell is a top-notch storyteller and Layover is his best book yet. I flew through this twisty, riveting psychological thriller at breakneck speed, hooked from the first page right up through the book's breathless conclusion."―Cristina Alger, New York Times bestselling author of Girls Like Us
"With hints of Patricia Highsmith's THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, this is a riveting thriller." ―Palm Beach Daily News
"Readers will find themselves thoroughly immersed in this riveting thriller…both compelling and surprising."―Booklist
"Bell is a brilliant craftsman as well as storyteller."―The Providence Journal

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In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia anthology

by Olivie Blake, Helen Grant, James Tate Hill, J. T. Ellison, David Bell, Kate Weinberg, Layne Fargo, M. L. Rio, Tori Bovalino, Susie Yang, Kelly Andrew, Phoebe Wynne

ENROLLMENT BEGINS NOW

A beguiling, sinister collection of 12 dark academia short stories from masters of the genre, including Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio, Susie Yang and more!

In these stories, dear student, retribution visits a lothario lecturer; the sinister truth is revealed about a missing professor; a forsaken lover uses a séance for revenge; an obsession blooms about a possible illicit affair; two graduates exhume the secrets of a reclusive scholar; horrors are uncovered in an obscure academic department; five hopeful initiates must complete a murderous task and much more!

Featuring brand-new stories from:
Olivie Blake
M.L. Rio
David Bell
Susie Yang
Layne Fargo
J.T. Ellison
James Tate Hill
Kelly Andrew
Phoebe Wynne
Kate Weinberg
Helen Grant
Tori Bovalino

Definition of dark academia in English:
dark academia
1. An internet subculture concerned with higher education, the arts, and literature, or an idealised version thereof with a focus on the pursuit of knowledge and an exploration of death.
2. A set of aesthetic principles. Scholarly with a gothic edge – tweed blazers, vintage cardigans, scuffed loafers, a worn leather satchel full of brooding poetry. Enthusiasts are usually found in museums and darkened libraries.

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Death Comes at Christmas

by Sarah Hilary, J. T. Ellison, David Bell, Claire McGowan, Tom Mead, Alexandra Benedict, Sam Carrington, Fiona Cummins, C.L. Taylor, Angela Clarke, Susi Holliday, Tina Baker, Liz Mistry

18 festive stories of murder and mystery in the grand tradition of Christmas crime fiction, from the masters of the genre.

Including the New York Times bestselling JT Ellison, USA Today bestseller Sam Carrington, Sunday Times bestseller C.L. Taylor, and many more...


The award-winning Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane invite you to a festive gathering of bestselling, critically acclaimed and award-winning writers in tribute to classic crime stories.



From locked room mysteries on Christmas Eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these eighteen seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn.



So, unwrap the presents, pour a mug of mulled wine and follow the bloodstained footprints through the freshly fallen snow as winter descends and darkness lurks in the shadows.



Featuring stories by:



Fiona Cummins

Angela Clarke

A. K. Benedict

Susi Holliday

J. T. Ellison

David Bell

Sarah Hilary

Claire McGowan

Tina Baker

Sam Carrington

Liz Mistry

C. L. Taylor

Helen Fields

Russ Thomas

Tom Mead

Vaseem Khan

Samantha Hayes

Belinda Bauer

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Death Comes at Christmas

by Sarah Hilary, J. T. Ellison, David Bell, Claire McGowan, Tom Mead, Alexandra Benedict, Sam Carrington, Fiona Cummins, C.L. Taylor, Angela Clarke, Susi Holliday, Tina Baker, Liz Mistry

18 festive stories of murder and mystery in the grand tradition of Christmas crime fiction, from the masters of the genre.

Including the New York Times bestselling JT Ellison, USA Today bestseller Sam Carrington, Sunday Times bestseller C.L. Taylor, and many more...


The award-winning Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane invite you to a festive gathering of bestselling, critically acclaimed and award-winning writers in tribute to classic, British period crime stories.

From locked room mysteries on Christmas eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these eighteen original seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn.

So, unwrap the presents, pour a mug of mulled wine and follow the bloodstained footprints through the freshly fallen snow as winter descends and darkness lurks in the shadows.

Featuring stories by:

Fiona Cummins
Angela Clarke
A. K. Benedict
Susi Holliday
J. T. Ellison
David Bell
Sarah Hilary
Claire McGowan
Tina Baker
Sam Carrington
Liz Mistry
C. L. Taylor
Helen Fields
Russ Thomas
Tom Mead
Vaseem Khan
Samantha Hayes
Belinda Bauer

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