The Bodies

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

How many times would you let your child get away with murder? The new break-out thriller from Sam Lloyd, author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick The Memory Wood.

When you look down at your newborn baby, you realise they were right, those smug parents you’ve always rolled your eyes at: you’d do literally anything for your child. To make them happy, keep them safe.

So when Joseph Carver wakes one night to find his teenage son Max scrubbing the kitchen, hands wet with blood and panic flooding his voice as he promises it was an accident, he didn’t mean to do it, Joseph does the only thing he can. He helps Max bury the body.

Joseph thinks that’s the end of the nightmare. Until he finds Max with stricken eyes and bloody hands once again . . .

You’d do anything for your child – even cover up a murder.

But would you do it twice?

‘Lloyd is a rare new thriller talent.’ – Daily Mail

‘Remarkable. Stunning prose and compulsive reading. It's undoubtedly the best thriller I've read in a long, long time.’ – Lesley Kara

‘An intense, atmospheric, and truly original thriller.’ – Shari Lapena

‘Fiendishly clever’ – Sunday Times

'The best hook of any thriller in the last few years.' - Helen Fields

'Twisty, relatable and relentlessly gripping.' - T.M. Logan

© Sam Lloyd 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

The Bodies by Sam Lloyd has possibly the best hook of any thriller/psychological suspense in the last few years...it’s a blood-chilling, mind-bending, stress-inducing nightmare...I loved it, raced through it, can’t praise it highly enough.’
Helen Fields, million-copy bestselling author of The Institution and the DI Callanach Thrillers
Brilliantly written and genuinely terrifying.
that's life (Crime Scene)
A twisty, relatable and relentlessly gripping thriller that plays on every parent’s darkest fear. The tension never lets up for a moment.
TM Logan, author of The Daughter and The Dream Home
A suburban Breaking Bad. Expertly plotted. The definition of unputdownable. A fantastic thriller.
Lisa Ballantyne, bestselling author of The Guilty One
A nightmare scenario - and just when you think the nightmare is over, it gets worse. I was so tense I could barely breathe!
Jackie Kabler, author of The Life Sentence
Praise for Sam Lloyd
:
Lloyd is a rare new thriller talent.
Daily Mail
Remarkable. Stunning prose and compulsive reading. It's undoubtedly the best thriller I've read in a long, long time.
Lesley Kara
An intense, atmospheric, and truly original thriller.
Shari Lapena
Propulsive, sinister, gripping.
Alex Michaelides, international bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fear

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.