Spotlight & Giveaway: There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh

Posted November 17th, 2023 by Sara @HarlequinJunkie in Blog, Spotlight / 26 comments

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Nalini Singh’s new release: There Should Have Been Eight

In this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh, a remote estate in New Zealand’s Southern Alps hosts a reunion no one will ever forget.

Seven friends.
One last weekend.
A mansion half in ruins.
No room for lies.
Someone is going to confess.
Because there should have been eight. . . .

They met when they were teenagers. Now they’re adults, and time has been kind to some and unkind to others—none more so than to Bea, the one they lost nine long years ago.

They’ve gathered to reminisce at Bea’s family’s estate, a once-glorious mansion straight out of a gothic novel. Best friends, old flames, secret enemies, and new lovers are all under one roof. But when the weather turns and they’re snowed in at the edge of eternity, there’s nowhere left to hide from their shared history.

As the walls close in, the pretense of normality gives way to long-buried grief, bitterness, and rage. Underneath it all, there’s the nagging feeling that Bea’s shocking death wasn’t what it was claimed to be. And before the weekend is through, the truth will be unleashed—no matter the cost. . . .

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from There Should Have Been Eight

Excerpt from THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN EIGHT
By Nalini Singh

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” I promised past the grit of grief and anger that lined my throat. “I’m surprised you asked me, and not one of the others.”
Ash grimaced. “Don’t take this wrong, Luna, but it’s because you’re always watching people. Usually through the lens.”
“It’s true.” I shrugged. “People are fascinating.” And I’d much rather watch them than be watched.
A surprised smile that creased his cheeks. “I swear I never could figure out what you found so interesting about a bunch of uni students. Surely there’re only so many photos of drunken nights out you can take.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised.” I thought of the photo I had of him dancing with Bea, the spotlight only on them, and the tassels on her glittery dress flying, her hair in motion—and Ash watching her as if she were a fallen star come to land in his hands.
I’d intended to gift the photo to Ash and Bea on their engagement because we’d all known where that relationship was going. These days, I kept a print of it in the same folder in which I had a stunning capture of Darcie on the tiny porch of my student flat, her hands cupped around a steaming mug of coffee . . . and a tormented agony in her eyes.
Bea and Ash had been on the lawn in front of her at the time, playing some silly game of lovers. And I’d taken the photo while fiddling with my camera. I hadn’t meant to spy. I never meant to spy. But people reveal so much in the split seconds before they put their masks back on.
“It might only be pregnancy hormones,” I said to Ash today, so far from that morning on the porch where I’d learned that Darcie loved a man who’d never looked at her that way. “I’ve heard they can be powerful.”
Ash glanced over at where the others stood, all animated faces and waving hands. “I’m hoping this reunion will pull her thoughts into the present and away from the memory of grief.”
I almost asked him about his own grief, swallowed the question as I had countless other times. Ash had found a way to move on—and now, he was going to be a father. Nine years after Bea’s death, he’d healed to the point that he could focus on Darcie’s pain and well-being rather than his own loss. I had no right to shake that up by reminding him of the woman who’d chosen to leave him, leave all of us.
She didn’t love me enough to stay.
Whispered, broken words I’d heard by accident when I’d come to the front door at four in the morning, unable to sleep. Though only V, Aaron, Kaea, and I were on the lease, all seven of us had been in the flat that night. Shocked and distraught and unable to face the idea of being alone.
I’d thought no one else was up. I’d been wrong. I would never forget looking through the screen door and seeing Ash slumped on the top step of the house, while Darcie stood in front of him, holding his face to her stomach.
She’d been stroking his hair, the look on her face . . .
Triumphant.

Giveaway: 1 Hard copyof THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN EIGHT by Nalini Singh to a US-based winner

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Meet the Author:

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh is passionate about writing. Though she’s traveled as far afield as the deserts of China, the temples of Japan, and the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her the most. She’s beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer. She is the author of the darkly beautiful Guild Hunter series, the much-loved Psy-Changeling novels, and stand-alone suspense novels.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720714/there-should-have-been-eight-by-nalini-singh/