From Borneo to a body on a Greek island...

Hello!

I’m sure many of you are busy looking forward to your summer holidays. Sadly we’ve already had ours, but what a holiday it was!

We’re back home after a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Borneo, the third biggest island in the world, and a mecca for wildlife lovers.

We spent the first week in Sabah, staying in jungle lodges and cruising along the mighty Kinabatangan River.

We were so lucky to see macaques, proboscis monkeys, monitor lizards, otters, wild orangutans, a crocodile — luckily only a small one! — and, during one magical golden-hour river cruise, a small herd of pigmy elephants on the riverbank.

It was one of those pinch-me moments that will stay with me forever.

We also visited the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, which looks after rescued and orphaned orangutans.

Orangutans are one of the world’s most iconic but endangered species. At Sepilok, they live independently in the rainforest reserve and it was brilliant to see them in their natural habitat.

Just across the road from the orangutan sanctuary was the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. I’d never heard of sun bears, but they’re the smallest bears in the world and are only found in south-east Asia.

They each have a golden, orange or white patch on their chest, as unique as a fingerprint, and really are the epitome of cute…

* Photos courtesy of the talented Mr Wills!

The second week was spent on Gaya Island, off the coast of Kota Kinabalu, where we lazed on the beach, enjoyed some amazing Malaysian food and spent hours in the sea, snorkelling.

We saw so many beautiful fish in and around the coral reefs, including a ‘Finding Nemo’ clownfish. But the highlight had to be swimming alongside a young green turtle.

Watching him glide gracefully along, completely unperturbed by our presence, was just fantastic (sorry – I’m running out of superlatives!). What a privilege.

And now, somehow, it’s back to real life — and real life is about to get very exciting because my new book, The Greek Island, is published just over three weeks’ time.

It comes out in ebook, audiobook and paperback on Friday 29 May, and I’m thrilled to say the early reviews on NetGalley have been fab.

The day after it went on pre-order, it even hit Amazon’s No. 1 Hot New Release chart in psychological literary fiction in the UK.

I know, right?!

Obviously I took a screenshot immediately to save for posterity…

The Greek Island is my sun-drenched holiday thriller about Amber, who thinks she’s being whisked away for a romantic week in a luxury Greek villa with her handsome boyfriend.

Unfortunately, Dominic has also invited his wealthy university friends.

Even more unfortunately, one of them is his ex-girlfriend.

And then one morning, a body is found…

Here’s what early readers are saying:

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‘Addictive, atmospheric and wonderfully messy in all the right ways.’

‘A J McDine has done it again — 5 stars from me!’

‘I was enthralled from the first page.’

‘I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.’

‘Beautiful setting and untrustworthy characters kept me flipping pages long past my bedtime.’

‘This would make a spectacular movie with an A-list Hollywood cast.’

[And my personal favourite 😆]

‘I predict that this will be thriller of 2026!’

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No pressure, then... 😆

If you love destination thrillers, messy rich people, secrets, simmering tension and the kind of holiday you absolutely would not want to be on in real life, I think you’re going to enjoy this one.

You can pre-order The Greek Island here and it’ll land on your Kindle on publication day.

The Greek Island

I’m so excited — and nervous, as always — to finally get this book into readers’ hands.

It’s my first locked-room thriller, my first Greek island setting and possibly the nastiest group of characters I’ve ever written.

Which, as you know, is saying something.

In other book news, I’m now 42k words into my next thriller which is also set beside the sea, but this time in my own county of Kent. With a bit of luck and a fair wind, I’m hoping to get the first draft finished before the end of May.

I also have Adrian’s new book, The Good Bad Wife, to proofread, so all in all it’s going to be a busy old month. But it’s all good – and it keeps me out of mischief!

So that's it from me for now. Have you got a holiday planned this year? I’d love to hear where you’re heading.

In the meantime, happy reading and speak soon!

Lots of love,

Amanda x