A good read, please. Modern thriller for preference, limited gore and DEFINITELY no dead, dying, lost or murdered children. Ta.

[sparkysparkysparky]

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Have you read The Girl on the Train? If you don't like much gore, that rules out a lot of thrillers! Have you read Anne Cleeves' books? The Shetland series is good.
Tana French is brilliant, so is Marion Keyes, and Rosamund Lupton's Sister is good too.

Before I go to Sleep by SJ Watson? I thought it was thrilling anyway

I love Peter James's Roy Grace series, Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series (although one of them was about children), Denise Mina is excellent and Peter May's trilogy which starts with The Blackhouse.

Thanks. I have read Girl on a train. Suggestions most welcome.

Oh and the Dr Ruth Something series by Elly Griffiths. A couple are about children but the subject is very sensitively handled IMO and the stories are great.

SJ Watson's Second Life. Not as good as Before I Go to Sleep, but no dead children. I am the same as you in that I avoid books where any harm comes to a child.

I've recently come back to the VI Warshawski novels by Sara Paretsky, there's quite a few written more recently (I used to read them in the 80s!). On the whole they're not too violent, and I don't remember any of them featuring children, a lot of them seem to centre around industrial disputes / political corruption.

I love VI Warshawski series - I'm running out of new ones and have reread many.

The Memory Box by Eva Lesco Natiello. What Laura Saw by Sarah King.

My wishlist getting nice and long. many thanks - keep 'em coming if you get chance

Just finished Second Life and its dreadful. I also avoid horrible children related deaths etc and Gore;have you tried Sophie Hannah?

I need to add a caveat about the Simon Serrailler series: I'm just starting no. 8 and I fear it will be a disturbing storyline about children. Trouble is, I'm so involved in the running themes of the lives of Simon and his family I have to read it (or rather listen on audiobook).

Second Life was absolutely appalling.

Yes Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie. LOVE.

MJ Arlidge quite good but a bit 'torture porn'.

Love Serailler too. Even though they are frightfully Middle class.

Actually the first Jackson Brodie - Case Histories - does feature missing children. So you might want to avoid.

Day of the jackal - not hot off the press, but a page turner.

Serailler no. 8 has a very disturbing theme involving children. Try Erin Kelly's books.

Don't forget - wasn't it? Just really really poor mixed up plot lines, unrealistic characters and no real conclusions as to the links or motives of any of them, or who had actually been with one of the characters for part of it. Really really awful badly written book and so obvious who the baddie was.

Several of the Serrailler books have disappearance of children at the heart of them. Book 8 is about a paedophile ring. It's a nasty brutal story and one to avoid if that sort of thing upsets you. I like the novels as audio books but couldn't watch them if they were ever to be televised.

DH read The Secrets of Crickley Hall but said that wouldn't be one for me.

Some of the Roy Grace ones are quite gory imo. There are a couple of images that I can still remember - I always think he deliberately tries to have one creatively memorable gory incident in each book. Admittedly it doesn't stop me enjoying them!

Denise Mina is good I enjoy trying to guess if any journalists we both know have inspired any of her characters but Field of Blood is about children.

I liked Rosamund Lupton's Sister.

Oops and I forgot to add, I like Lisa Gardner. She has very occasional gore but I can't remember any featuring children.

Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson had me on the edge of my seat, Room by Lucy Donahue was excellent, The Little House by Phillipa Gregory is far better than the TV series and a different ending. I'm currently reading Gone Girl by Gillian Clark and loving it.

The Murder Bag by Tony Parsons........though victim is a teenager...but you could skip that bit!

Thanks very much. There just seems to be a trend for novels with some sort of child peril or child peril aftermath. I don't enjoy a book that plays on my worst fears. At best, it feels like clumsy manipulation; at worst it gives me nightmares. I'm the same about what I call "women scaring" novels or films - the book/film is driven by a plot to terrorise a woman because she is physically weaker. Which is why I love VI Warshawski novels. She's not afraid to be scared but she can face down most threats.

Under Your Skin by Sabine Durrant and Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty both v good.

Also The Book of You isn't bad.