The Terrarium

A Thriller

By: Katie Collom

A true crime fanatic uncovers a nefarious secret when she takes a peculiar cat-sitting assignment in this spine-tingling suspense novel from the author of Peter Miles Has to Die.

Annie’s life is going nowhere—she’s in her thirties and getting by with cat-sitting jobs. While her clients head off on exotic beach holidays, Annie is left scooping litter and wondering how she ended up as the spectator in other people’s lives. Her one sliver of excitement is Cuppa Crime, a true crime podcast with an active online forum where she dissects murder mysteries with other fans.

That is until a new client reaches out to book Annie’s services. Zoe is aloof and mysterious, and she seems intent to keep it that way. She gives Annie access to her house and handwritten instructions on how to look after her darling cat, Hades—all without meeting, or speaking, in person. When Annie sees her beautiful home, she can’t help but be jealous of the glamorous and wealthy jetsetter. Soon, she’s vicariously living through the client she’s never met, her imagination running wild with the possibilities of inhabiting another life.

And yet something feels wrong. It’s not just the closed-off room Annie is explicitly forbidden from entering. When odd souvenirs begin to pop up in Zoe’s home—souvenirs that seem connected to ongoing murder investigations—Annie suspects that there may be a more sinister side to her client.

Is it all in Annie’s head, the product of too much true crime and an overactive imagination? Or are her instincts on point? Because the number one rule of Cuppa Crime is "trust your gut." And if Annie’s gut is telling her anything, it’s that her cat-sitting client may be a serial killer.