Costa del Sol-based author Karen Brady is celebrating another bestseller, with her latest psychological thriller reaching number one on Amazon after just 22 days.

Brady, who lives in La Cala de Mijas, has returned with her twelfth thriller, a dark mystery exploring identity, missing memories and a sinister institutional conspiracy.

Her latest novel centres on private investigator Polly Stevens, a woman whose professional life revolves around finding missing people. Meticulous and methodical, Polly lives alone in her late parents’ bungalow, finding comfort in her cat, Chopin’s nocturnes and the precise order of her home.

That carefully controlled existence is shattered when she returns home one afternoon to discover that her coat is buttoned incorrectly, eight hours of her life have disappeared and smoke has recently risen from a barrel in the garden. Her surveillance clothes have also vanished.

For a detective accustomed to uncovering other people’s secrets, the mystery becomes intensely personal.

A detective becomes her own case

As Polly investigates the missing hours, memories of her childhood in an orphanage begin to connect with a stranger who arrives at her door. What initially appears to be a baffling personal mystery develops into something much darker, with an institutional conspiracy that powerful people are prepared to kill to protect.

Brady says the inspiration for the story came from researching real-world intelligence agency experiments. “I found the premise after reading Wikipedia articles about intelligence agencies experimenting on people’s minds, which was just around the Watergate scandal, MKUltra etc,” she explained.

The novel explores the fragile relationship between memory, identity and the truth, asking whether Polly can trust her own mind as she attempts to recover the life she has lost.

For Brady, the story also has a personal connection. “It’s nostalgic to me,” she said.

Music plays an important role in the story, providing an emotional anchor as Polly struggles to make sense of what is happening to her.

One online reader review praised the book’s suspense and unexpected twists, describing an original storyline that kept them guessing. The reviewer added that, by the end, they wanted to read the next instalment to discover what happens to the characters.

Twelve thrillers and counting

Brady has previously spoken to the Euro Weekly News about her writing career and the experiences that have shaped her books. Readers can revisit our earlier profile, Karen Brady, bestselling author in La Cala de Mijas, which explored her earlier novels and life on the Costa del Sol.

Born in Birmingham, she has lived and worked in countries including Dubai, the United States, Bali, Thailand, Nicaragua and Ireland before settling on the Costa del Sol.

Despite her success, Brady says writing has never been primarily about financial rewards.

“I’m extremely proud of my success as I have always been a storyteller, but I don’t do it for money. It’s my passion and keeps me out the wine bar,” she said.

The latest release adds another chapter to her catalogue of thrillers, bringing readers a new protagonist whose greatest challenge may be discovering the truth about herself.

Readers can find Unknown Caller, the first book in the Orphan Trilogy, and explore Karen Brady’s other novels and thrillers through her official website.