Second Life, by SJ Watson

This is the much-anticipated second book from the man who gave us Before I Go To Sleep, which was the much-lauded thriller of last year.

Following that must have been a tough call. But he's done it, I'm happy to tell you.

On the face of it, Julia has everything. She's a respected, professional woman with great friends, close family, with a secure and happy life.

Then she returns home one evening to the devastating news that her beloved sister has been brutally murdered in Paris. The police investigation seems to be going nowhere; her husband appears distracted; and her son shuts himself in his bedroom. It would seem that everyone has a secret. How well do we really know our family, our closest friends?

Julia starts to investigate online and discovers that her sister had more than a flirtation with a handsome stranger from an online chatroom.

Hacking into her sister's account was easy. Too easy. Julia can't resist becoming her dead sister in an effort to track down her killer.

With a mounting sense of dread, Julia agrees to meet the seductive stranger in real life. And once she starts, she just can't stop. When she goes for her first meeting with the man she meets online, the sense of dread and terror is tangible and I found myself willing her not to go.

This is a stunningly-executed book, with an ambitious storyline that will have you gripped throughout.