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Top 5 thrillers with female leads, chosen by crime author Heidi Perks

Heidi Perks is the bestselling crime author of Now You See Her and Someone is Lying

Image: Josué AS on Unsplash

Heidi Perks is no stranger to thrillers. She’s a Sunday Times bestselling crime author who has just released her seventh book, Someone is Lying. Who better to pick their favourite five thrillers with female leads?

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

An excellent, bold female protagonist, Evie Porter, with only one catch: she doesn’t exist. This is unique, fast paced and thrilling. Everything about the novel is totally unexpected and so very clever. It’s a book that stayed with me long after I’d read the last line.

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Amber Reynolds is in a coma and tells you straight up that her husband doesn’t love her, and that sometimes she lies. This is a story of a sociopath, childhood issues and a split timeline plot that is twisty, brilliantly written and disturbing all at the same time.

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

Jewell’s latest is out this year and in my opinion it’s her best yet. A story of women fighting back against a man they should not have let into their lives. It is brilliantly told and will have you turning the pages well into the night.

Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear

Cat Kinsella is a DC with the Metropolitan police, brought onto a murder case that’s linked to a teenage girl’s disappearance 18 years earlier, which Cat knows her dad had lied about. Flawed characters and a complex story. Caz is humorous and a great writer.

The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini

You’re arrested (you say framed) for the murder of a woman who falls to her death. This is a clever, twisty book. You think you know where it’s going, but every time you are wrong!

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Someone is Lying by Heidi Perks is out now (Cornerstone, £9.99). You can buy it from the Big Issue shop on bookshop.org, which helps to support Big Issue and independent bookshops.

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