Book picks similar to
The Way Down by Danielle Stewart


romantic-suspense
contemporary
freebie
mystery

Second Chance Summer


Allie Boniface - 2009
    He’s trying to escape his. Love may be their only hope.Ten years after leaving home, the last thing Summer Thompson expects is to inherit her estranged father's half-renovated mansion. And the last thing she wants is to face the memories of the night her brother died, fleeting as they may be. Now a San Francisco museum curator, she plans to stay east just long enough to settle the estate and get rid of the house. Until she finds it occupied by a hunky handyman who's strangely reluctant to talk about his past.Damian Knight has been hiding his mother and sister from a violent ex, and Whispering Pines is the one place they’ve found peace and safety. He keeps to himself. He tells no one about his past. Yet when the lonely, haunted Summer steals his heart, he finds himself opening up to her in ways he should never risk. Especially to a woman who's planning to leave town after selling their refuge out from under them.As their attraction grows, the past begins to catch up with them. Summer's mounting flashbacks leave her confused and determined to uncover the truth about the night her brother died. But that truth will cross paths with the man Damian and his family have been avoiding for years.Can new love help them defeat the pain of the past? Or are some scars too deep to ever heal?If you love small towns, memorable characters, and swoon-worthy happy endings, then you'll love this sweet romance by a USA Today best-selling author! (Note: this book was previously released as Summer's Song. Revisions and updates accompany this new version!)

Winters Heat


Cristin Harber - 2013
    Uninterested in his white knight act, she’d rather take her chances without the ruggedly handsome, cold-blooded operative who boasts an alpha complex and too many guns.Colby Winters, former Navy SEAL and an elite member of The Titan Group, has a single objective on his black ops mission: recover a document important to national security. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out operation. But now, by any means necessary becomes a survival mantra when he faces off with a stunning woman he can’t leave behind.When Titan’s safe houses are compromised, Colby stashes Mia at his home, exposing his secret—he’s the adoptive father of an orphaned baby girl. Too soon, danger arrives and Mia lands in the hands of a sadistic cartel king with a taste for torture. As hours bleed into fear-drenched days, Colby races across the globe and through a firestorm of bullets to save the woman he can’t live without.

Killian


Susie McIver - 2021
    That is… until he meets Bird Brewer. The two spend an unforgettable night together.Bird Brewer, a Louisiana native, knew she was in trouble the moment she first laid eyes on Killian. The D.C. based father is everything she wants in a man… if he lived closer to her.When Bird is kidnapped, Killian and a couple of his team of ex Navy Seal buddies are on the case. He doesn’t hesitate to pack his bags and travel to Louisiana to save her, but what he discovers there may be more deadly than he thinks.Find out what happens when a one-night stand could lead to a lifetime if they survive!

Dirty Lies


Tamara Lush - 2015
    A reporter determined to get to the bottom of the story. A scorching romance where dangerous days bleed into hot nights.Luca Rossi is a wanted man waiting for justice. On the run from the mafia and hiding out in Florida, the celebrated Italian writer has turned into a recluse, fearful that the next person he sees may also be the last. Waiting in isolation, he counts the days until freedom.Skylar Shaw is an ambitious young reporter determined to make her name with a scoop. Beautiful, curvaceous, and fiery, her outward confidence masks hidden insecurities that push her to investigate - no matter what.When a plane spirals out of control and plows into the beach opposite Luca's hideout, he rushes to help a victim. Gone before the authorities can get his name, Skylar soon tracks him down. Her intense curiosity about the mysterious rescuer may lead her down a path from which there is no return.Sparks fly as Skylar falls for Luca's exotic accent and chiseled, tattooed body - and Luca finds his natural caution and reserves disarmed by the beautiful reporter. The two soon find themselves entangled in each other's arms. And while Luca tries to keep his secret covered up, Skylar's instincts lead her to dig deeper. What she uncovers could kill them both. * This book was previously published under the title HOT SHADE. This edition is a significant rewrite of that novel.

The Lies that Save Us


J.L. Redington - 2013
    She purchased a diner in the quiet out of the way town of Startup, Washington and hired employees to help run it. She’s just beginning to feel secure in her loneliness. <br>Suddenly her world is jolted awake by Cayman, a handsome young stranger that enters her diner seemingly from nowhere. Event’s happen quickly, and soon Alexa is deep into secret lives, deception and desire. <br>Will she figure out the riddle of her father’s death? Will she be able to resist the temptation to fall in love with Cayman in spite of her suspicions? Will she live to tell the tale?

Blood Ties


J.D. Nixon - 2011
    The Bycraft women are uncontrollable, the men violently obsessive and their kids feral. And nobody in town has suffered at their hands as much as the Fuller family.Surviving a traumatic childhood and the continued focus of sustained aggression from the Bycrafts, Tess Fuller has grown up scarred and wary, highly skilled in self-defence and armed at all times. Although glad to escape to the city at the first opportunity, her dying father brings Tess back to her home town. To support him she abandons her promising city cop career to take up duties as the town’s junior officer. But with a lazy, retiring sergeant as her only colleague and working the state’s worst resourced station, Tess has become increasingly lawless herself trying to police the hostile Bycrafts.Out on parole, predatory Red Bycraft is a constant threatening presence, and Tess’ life is further complicated by her widely condemned relationship with his brother, Jake.Tess’ new sergeant, Finn Maguire, is unimpressed with her approach to the job. He’s from the city – obstinate, taciturn and by-the-books. She’s grown used to working solo and struggles to be subordinate again, especially when he proves patronising and unwilling to respect her abilities or local knowledge. But they must work together to solve the intersecting mysteries of possible land fraud, an abandoned suitcase of money and a peeping tom with a preference for older women. All the while, Tess is the target of a revengeful week of escalating violence that ends in a dangerous confrontation with a gang of Bycraft men. Can Tess and the Sarge put aside their differences, team up to save her life and finally bring some order to Little Town?

Give Him the Slip


Geralyn Dawson - 2006
    She never dreamed that helping a gentle old man would force her to run for her life, right into the arms of the infamous Luke "Sin" Callahan. He has just settled into a fishing vacation, and the last thing he needs on his line is a long-legged redhead stowaway with secrets in her heart and killers on her trail. Lucky for her, he's deadlier than the guys who are chasing her. Unfortunately for him, she's gorgeous, smart and determined to make it on her own. When the secrets start spilling and the nights heat up, Luke realizes he faces a new sort of danger-losing the woman he loves. Can he win the battle for her heart? Or will she give him the slip?

Ponderosa Resort Volume 2: The Novellas


Tawna Fenske - 2020
    Er, Dad got around). Fans of laughter, tears, and tingly bits will love this series from a USA Today bestselling author. This boxed set contains two standalone novellas that not only give you a glimpse of the Ponderosa Resort world, but introduce you to folks you'll be seeing again in the new Juniper Ridge Romantic Comedy Series.About Mancandy Crush (novella 1)A SPECIAL PONDEROSA RESORT NOVELLA!Josh Mattis is totally over getting his heart stomped six years ago, so what’s with the mule kick to the chest when he spots the girl who ghosted him? Turns out she’s not his teenage fling, but her twin sister—and she needs a fake date to her cousin’s wedding.Valerie Vincent would rather shove sewing needles in her eyes than have one more person tell her she needs adventure. All she needs is a quiet reading nook and a chance to enjoy Bree’s quirky Christmas nuptials in the summer sun at Ponderosa Resort. Okay, she’d also like to skip the pitying looks when her twin trots out her fab new fiancé, but Val can fix all that with one rugged river guide who’s happy to play her arm candy.As Josh and Val bond over weird eggnog and messed-up mistletoe hunts, the July sun isn’t the only source of scorching heat. Will the past be a blast of icy cold reality, or can their fling last longer than a peppermint fudgesicle on a hot day?About Snowbound Squeeze (novella 2)A SPECIAL PONDEROSA RESORT NOVELLA!Gable Judson needs a hideout. A safe place to escape the shambles of his Hollywood life. When college pal James Bracelyn offers a secret cabin an hour from Ponderosa Resort, Gable’s got the car pointed toward Oregon faster than paparazzi pouncing on a nip slip.Gretchen Laslo needs a retreat. Not just to work on her PhD dissertation, but to flee the messy breakup that left her inner critic shouting “duh, girl.” Meeting sexy, mysterious Gabe the night before she leaves is just another reminder to stay focused on her brain, because her heart’s kind of a dumbass.When a Bracelyn family mix-up collides with the worst storm to hit Central Oregon in years, Gretchen and Gable end up accidental roommates. Roommates without internet or TV or—God forbid—an ice cream maker. With both hiding secrets they’d rather not reveal, whatever will they do to pass the long winter nights?

Bennett


Seraphina Donavan - 2015
    She takes care of her ailing mother, she manages PR for the family’s distillery, Fire Creek. And every day she quietly resents the fact that he stepped in and kept her from being with the one man she loved… a man who still lives there in their small town of Fontaine, Kentucky and who haunts her every minute of the day, waking or asleep. Bennett Hayes has loved Mia his whole life, and for one brief moment, when they were young and full of hope, it seemed like even the long history of bad blood between their families wasn’t enough to keep them apart. But he’d been wrong. Mia never showed the night they were supposed to run away together and when he confronted her about it, she broke his heart. But fate and circumstance throw them together again and the fire that raged between them at eighteen is even hotter now. The burn is inevitable. But there are forces at play, people on the periphery of their lives whose agenda goes far beyond just keeping them apart… they will stop at nothing to keep their secrets, even if it means murder.

A Love Story


Jean C. Joachim - 2010
    Barely eking out an existence working part-time, she meets Mac Caldwell, the handsome dean. As she and Mac draw closer, a deadly campus drug ring sets their sights on her with heart-breaking results. The blend of tears, laughter, and unexpected twists grips you all the way to the astonishing conclusion. A unique mix of contemporary romance and suspense, this first book in the Caldwell Saga keeps you guessing. No cookie-cutter tale, the riveting story of Callie and Mac will melt your heart.

Love Is Murder


Allison Brennan - 2011
    . . DEAD After a tough breakup with her boyfriend, Lucy Kincaid needs a different kind of break. So she heads west to join her brother, an ex-cop, for a long weekend of skiing in the mountains. At a picturesque lodge tucked high in the Sierra Nevada, Lucy finds just what she’s looking for: a peaceful retreat undisturbed by Internet, television, and cell phone distractions. She also finds an unexpected group of newlyweds seeking their own idyllic getaway.But finding one of her fellow guests dead wasn’t in the brochure. And neither was the overnight snowstorm that leaves the lodge cut off from the outside world. When Lucy’s brother suspects the honeymooner’s death was foul play, he’s mysteriously stricken ill. Now, to keep him and herself alive, it’s up to aspiring FBI agent Lucy Kincaid to figure out which of the lovebirds trapped in the lodge is really a bird of prey.BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Allison Brennan’s upcoming novel Kiss Me, Kill Me as well as an exclusive excerpt from an FBI interview with Lucy Kincaid!

Rings On Her Fingers


ReGina Welling - 2014
    Newly engaged with a photography career just starting to take off, her life is almost comfortable. The only thing she lacks is enough money to repair the family home. But, when her best friend, Gustavia, drags her to a visit with a psychic thinking it will be a fun engagement gift, things get really crazy. A ghostly encounter provides a cryptic clue to the location of the lost family fortune and a warning that her fiancé is not what he seems. Launched into a wild adventure, Julie must learn to listen to her heart, her intuition and the ghosts that will guide her in order to solve the mystery. Journalist, Tyler Kingsley gets drawn into the search. What red-blooded male could resist a treasure hunt? The idea gets his blood pumping and so does Julie. When he realizes that her fiancé might be dangerous, he decides to protect her at any cost, even if he loses his heart. This is a clean, sweet, romance that combines mystery and humor with the paranormal.

Claiming His Treasure


Ember Casey - 2015
    Adventurers. Bad boys.A second chance at love has never been this dangerous…Charlotte “Charlie” Carver knows she’s in trouble when Jackson North shows up at her door in the middle of the night, nearly a year after he unceremoniously broke her heart. She’s always suspected her ex had secrets, but she never thought those secrets would put her in danger—until violent men show up right on Jackson’s tail, and suddenly she’s caught up in an adventure unlike any she ever imagined.Jackson has never been able to forget Charlie, the only women he’s ever loved. He’d do anything to protect her--but he'd also do anything to help his team find the fortune hidden by eccentric billionaire Vincent Rinaldi. Unfortunately, the key to finding Rinaldi’s fortune rests in a gift Jackson gave Charlie back when they were together, and now she’s tangled up in his dangerous life whether he likes it or not.Soon, they’re on a wild chase through Croatia’s islands with Jackson’s teammates, the notorious Devil’s Set. Career treasure hunters, the Set has seen their share of danger and adventure, but they’ve never encountered a hunt like this.As they pursue the ultimate treasure, Jackson and Charlie face one danger after another—but the biggest threat might be the one targeting their hearts. Neither wants to admit that there’s still a sizzling connection between them, but sometimes, the hunt is too intoxicating to resist…

Cowboy to the Rescue


Ann B. Harrison - 2019
    Before his grandfather passed, he tried to make amends for his wild youth and has devoted his future to bringing the family ranch back to financial health. The last thing the confirmed bachelor expects is to stand in as a labor coach for his attorney, and enemy’s wife. Even more awkward, the attentive and attractive woman at the expectant mother's side is making it nearly impossible to keep his focus on his ranch and family legacy. Sadie St. Martin interned in Denver for Layla Cox and followed her to Marietta, Montana, to run her law practice while she's on maternity leave. Sadie has some major decisions to make about her future and they become even tougher after she helps Layla through labor alongside a sexy, confident cowboy who is also a client. Sadie’s fought hard for her career. Jethro is everything she shouldn’t want, but can this big city girl’s head overrule her heart in small town Montana?

Payback


Kristin Harte - 2018
    When a motorcycle club blows that plan apart, I’ll do anything to make them aware that they picked the wrong town to target. As a former Green Beret, I know just how to sabotage an enemy. The only weakness in my armor is my attraction to a five-foot-nothing blonde who unknowingly holds my heart in her hands. My obsession with her could cost me my life, but I’d sacrifice it all to save hers.She owes a debt that could cost her lifeI’ve spent three years hiding out in Justice and paying off a debt to the Soul Suckers, one they’ve decided to collect whether I’m ready to pay or not. When danger lands on my doorstep, one man jumps in to help. Alder Kennard—former Special Forces soldier and current object of all my fantasies. But the Soul Suckers won’t let a debt go unpaid, and with the price on my head rising every day, it’s only a matter of time until they come back for me. Alder would put his life on the line to save mine, which is something I simply can’t afford.Everyone has a debt to pay, and the only currency I have left is my body. So when the time comes, I’ll trade my life for his.