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  • Published: 5 May 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529177343
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

Troublemaker




A gripping, claustrophobic thriller on the theme of the girl who cried wolf: how do you solve a murder when no one believes it took place? And now the killer has their sights set on you…

Storm used to be just like her name. Wild and strong. A force to be reckoned with. But ever since her younger brother was killed in a violent mugging, she has led a very different life: quiet and cautious, seeing danger everywhere. Storm’s tendency to panic has resulted in several false alarms, so when she witnesses a murder with uncanny similarities to the way her brother was killed, and yet no body is found and no one is reported missing, the police don’t take her seriously.

But Storm knows what she saw. And the murder is only the start – the killer will stop at nothing to keep Storm quiet. But how can she solve the murder and stay out of danger when no one believes her?

  • Published: 5 May 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529177343
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

About the author

Lesley Kara

Lesley Kara is a Sunday Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her debut, The Rumour, was the highest-selling print crime fiction debut of 2019. It has sold in over 18 countries and is now a major TV series on Channel 5. Her subsequent novels include Who Did You Tell?, The Dare, The Apartment Upstairs, The Other Tenant and her most recent, Troublemaker. Lesley is also the co-host of the popular podcast In Suspense and a passionate advocate for women’s creative second acts and positive ageing. A Faber Academy graduate, she lives in Kent and writes full-time.


You can follow Lesley on Instagram at @lesleykarawriter, on Facebook at lesleykarawriter, and on X @LesleyKara. You can also sign up for her newsletter at www.lesleykara.com/newsletter.

Also by Lesley Kara

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Praise for Troublemaker

This deliciously chilling suspense thriller is an absolute treat. Kara combines her astute grasp of human psychology with her observational skills to create a twisty and compelling story. I was up way too late reading and I can't recommend this enough.

Chris Bridges, author of SICK TO DEATH

A twisty thriller that had me gripped right from the very start after the protagonist witnesses a murder that then appears not to have happened. Lesley had me guessing all the way through the book and I loved the pairing up of two fantastic characters in Lena and Storm. A fabulous read!

Nikki Smith, author of THE BEACH PARTY

Lesley Kara is brilliant. I read TROUBLEMAKER in one sitting - it just would not let me put it down!

Peter James

I raced through TROUBLEMAKER, desperate to know what on earth was going on. Twisty, compelling and full of heart

Laura Marshall, bestselling author of FRIEND REQUEST

I adored Storm and Lena, I loved everything about this book – one of my absolute favourite reads of the year.

Andrea Mara, bestselling author of IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU

A hugely enjoyable page-turner.

Emma Curtis, author of THE BABYSITTER

Tension mounts by the page in this exhilarating ‘girl who cried wolf’ thriller – a riveting, read-in-one-sitting treat.

Louise Candlish, bestselling author of OUR HOUSE

Take a gripping thriller and throw in grief, paranoia and friendship; Troublemaker is brilliantly written and completely addictive.

Jackie Kabler

Highly immersive! Storm and Lena are wonderfully drawn characters and a reader can’t help but root for them. I flew through this book.

Mary Watson, bestselling author of THE CLEANER

Genius... such a thrill.

Heat Magazine

Tense and thoughtful

Daily Mail

Gripping

Bella

With a shocking and clever conclusion, this slow-burn yet unputdownable thriller from Kara is another hit.

Woman’s Weekly

One of those premises that makes you wonder how it will ever work out and as I read the opening chapters this perplexity deepened. How could this ever make sense? And yet it did, plotted to perfection by Kara and resulting in a satisfying conclusion and my new favourite, crime-solving duo. Twisty, creepy and compelling.

Kit Conway, author of CAT FIGHT

Lesley Kara holds the reader’s attention with just the right degree of empathy and misdirection. Sugar and spite and all things nice

The Times
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