The Forgotten Cottage
The Forgotten Cottage, the eagerly-awaited and chillingly terrifying new book in Helen Phifer’s best-selling ‘Annie Graham’ series. Annie Graham has fought her demons, and is ready to leave them behind. Her new cottage seems like the new start she’s craved: quiet and quaint, it’s empty of the memories which have haunted her for so long.But before long, the ghosts of a forgotten tragedy stir within Annie’s new home. Someone – or something – is coming for her. And this time, she might not get the chance to run…Look out for more in the Annie Graham series:1. The Ghost House2. The Secrets of the Shadows3. The Forgotten Cottage4. The Lake House5. The Girls in the WoodsWhat readers are saying about the Annie Graham series'an atmospheric, spooky read, ideal for the season.' – I Heart Reading'The Ghost House is the most exciting book I have read in a very long time, and would make an absolutely perfect Halloween read! Amazing début from Helen Phifer and I eagerly await more from her!' – Judging Covers‘It was an atmospheric, spooky read, ideal for the season.’ – I Heart Reading‘I was really impressed by this book. … I was amazed how the author got inside of the mind of the serial killer and really showed you his psychotic thought processes.’ – Edler Park Book Reviews‘the twists and turns are fascinating.’ – A J Book Review Club‘The story constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. The Ghost House is a magnificent read and it's perfect for those who have a strong stomach and nerves of steel!’ – Librarian Lavender
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The Forgotten Cottage, the eagerly awaited and chillingly terrifying new book in Helen Phiferâs best-selling âAnnie Grahamâ series.
Annie Graham has fought her demons and is ready to leave them behind. Her new cottage seems like the new start sheâs craved: quiet and quaint, itâs empty of the memories which have haunted her for so long.
But before long the ghosts of a forgotten tragedy stir within Annieâs new home. Someone â or something â is coming for her. And this time she might not get the chance to runâ¦
The Forgotten Cottage
Helen Phifer
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2014
Copyright © Helen Phifer 2014
Helen Phifer asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
E-book Edition © June 2014 ISBN: 9781474007788
Version date: 2018-06-27
HELEN PHIFER
lives in a small town called Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and five children and has done since she was born. It gets some bad press but really is a lovely place to live, surrounded by coastline and not far from the Lake District, where she likes to spend at least one of her days off from work. She has always loved writing and reading and loves reading books which make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Unable to find enough scary stories to read, she decided to write her own.
You can contact follow Helen on her blog at http://helenphiferblog.wordpress.com, her website at www.helenphifer.co.uk and on Twitter, @helenphifer1.
This past year has been amazing and Iâd like to thank the following people for sharing my journey.
My heartfelt thanks go to my amazing editor Lucy Gilmour and the rest of the fabulous HQ Digital Team. My wonderful readers, who have taken Annie, Will & Jake into their hearts and for following them on their adventures; without your support we wouldnât be on our third adventure. I would like to thank my children Jessica, Joshua, Jerusha, Jaimea and Jeorgia for nearly always understanding that I have to write and putting up with the terrible cooking. A huge thank you to my granddaughter Gracie, who always makes me smile and fills my heart with joy whenever she walks into a room.
A special thank you to my fellow bloggers Jo Bartlett, Julie Heslington, Alex Weston, Helen Rolfe, Deirdre Palmer, Lynn Davidson, Jackie Ladbury & Rachael Thomas, who all form The Write Romantics, you all rock and I donât know what Iâd do without you. Finally, my friends at Cumbria Constabulary for keeping it real; itâs a tough job but someone has to do it.
Helen xx
For my husband Steve, thank you for your unwavering support.
Contents
She looked out of the bedroom window onto the front gardenâa garden full of flowers, some wild and some she had planted herself. The brightly coloured blooms were swaying in the breeze. She heard the men and the dogs before they came into sight; they were a good distance away but they were coming. She took one last look at the garden she had so nurtured and locked it into her mind then she turned and ran. Annie Graham was running for her life. She held onto her left side to ease the stitch which was making it difficult for her to breathe. Running out of the back door of the house and over the dry stone wall, she wasnât familiar with the woods she was in but she knew that if the dogs and men caught up with her it wouldnât end very well. The dogs were snarling. She could hear their teeth clashing together; they were getting too close. Panting hard and clutching her side, she continued looking for a tree she could climb or a building she could take cover in. Her bare feet were cut, bleeding, and giving the dogs a trail to follow. It was no good, there was no way she could outrun them. She didnât even know why she was running; tired and overwhelmed, her body was telling her to give up and wait for them to find her. Whatever it was she had done could be explained; she was a police officer so she couldnât have done anything too bad. Slowing down to catch her breath, she heard the shouts of her pursuers closing in on her. They were hyped up and chanting the same words over and over:
