Book picks similar to
The Lost Girls by Helen Pryke


thriller
bloodhound-books
crime-thriller
bullying-intimidation-stalking

The Operator


Craig Martelle - 2020
    Only bad people and not many, but for a great deal of money.Case the target. Make the hit. Move on until he meets the woman with sparkling green eyes who changes everything.Is his newest target deserving of death? Who is Ian to decide if the politician needs to die? He is the one who has to live with the consequences, that’s who.The contract deadline nears. Too many unknowns, too much to lose. Pull the trigger or not?Ian makes his own rules to get himself out of a quandary where it’s more than just his life on the line. For the greater good, join Ian Bragg.

The Webs We Weave


Michelle Morgan - 2020
    Now it seems Craig has moved on to a younger woman. Helena pleads with Jenny to help find out who the mystery woman is. Jenny’s friend Kate, and adult daughter Rebecca, warn her not to become involved, but Jenny can’t resist. This might just be the opportunity she has been looking for. It’s not very often the chance for revenge comes knocking. But does Jenny really know what she’s getting into, and is Helena really the person she appears to be?

Unlikely Killer


Ricki Thomas - 2010
    This one is breaking all the rules. It takes a journalist's keen eye to grasp the terrifying truth. This killer is recreating infamous murders from history. Despite researching historical murders in an attempt to catch the killer in the act, the police are repeatedly outwitted. With the Jack the Ripper murders next on the agenda, a bloodbath seems inevitable. With the clock ticking and the killer becoming increasingly frenzied, a detective and criminal psychologist join forces to stop this unlikely killer.

Dawn of the Hunter


Blake Banner - 2017
    That, and his twisted, dysfunctional family. His father, a Boston Brahmin Billionaire, taught him how to hate. His English Aristocrat mother taught him he didn’t belong. And when his only friend and childhood sweetheart, Marni, wanted to teach him how to love, he walked away from her, knowing all he would ever be good at was killing, and war. Now, Robert Walker, his father has called him back to Boston from Wyoming, because Marni has gone missing. But before Lacklan can go looking for her, Walker has to tell him the truth: the truth about who he is, what he has done, who has taken Marni…and why: the truth about Omega. And that truth unleashes in Lacklan a rage, a rage that will not be sated until he has hunted down and killed each and every one of his enemies. This is the dawn of the hunter…

The Murderer's Wife


Daralyse Lyons - 2018
     She knew when she married him that Thomas Cutty was a killer. She accepts that about him, just as he accepts everything distasteful about her – like the way she cracks her knuckles when nervous or uses the last of the toilet paper without replacing the roll. Twelve years of marriage and two beautiful babies later, and Laura and Thomas have learned to love the life they built together – a life that depends on Laura never asking the question: Who did Thomas kill last night?

Lion on Fire: A casino-heist thriller


Ted Galdi - 2017
    Nothing goes as planned, and soon Brian is forced to team up with a charismatic co-worker to rob the mobsters who run the casino. Lion on Fire is the third book by Ted Galdi, the Amazon #1 bestselling author of Elixir and An American Cage. He’s been featured by Kirkus magazine, ABC, FOX, iHeartRadio, and many other media outlets. Main character Brian is shocked to learn that his younger brother not only has been dealing cocaine, but foolishly lost a whole package of it, and now owes his boss $30,000. If Brian’s brother doesn’t come up with the money in a few weeks, he’s dead. Brian decides to help. However, he realizes scrapping together that sort of cash in such a short timeframe is nearly impossible legally. So he approaches Dusty, another driver at the limousine company where he works, and asks him about the whispers of lucrative, yet illegal, side jobs he’s heard among the staff. After proving himself trustworthy with an initiation test, Brian is invited to participate in an underground driving network that shuttles wealthy individuals to extravagant, though illicit, gambling events set up in multi-million-dollar Manhattan penthouses. At first things go smoothly, and Brian pockets a lot of much-needed extra income. However, they turn jarring once he finds out a high-profile Russian gangster is behind the gambling events, and becomes mixed up with him not only professionally, but personally. With tensions rising, and the fate of Brian’s relationships with his parents and girlfriend now entangled with the underground casino, not to mention the life of his brother, he winds up in a position where pulling off a mafia robbery may be his only chance to get himself and his loved ones out of this mess alive and intact. Lion on Fire is a fun, fast-paced, action-packed gambling thriller, and also an emotionally charged buddy story, which pairs do-gooder Brian with the charmingly wild and alluringly mysterious Dusty, who not only guides Brian through the dangerous world of the mafia casino, but ushers him toward a new and profound view of the world as a whole. The book is perfect for fans of crime fiction that’s edgy while having a soul. A Russian mafia thriller featuring a revenge plan and heist, it’s loaded with adrenaline. However, it is just as touching as it is exciting. At the core of a plot about organized crime and pursuing police officers is the budding friendship of two young men who initially seem very different.   Set in New York City, Lion on Fire takes readers on a ride through a colorful cross section of neighborhoods and the lives that populate them. It’s written in the tradition of the Manhattan thriller, showcasing both the glamour and the grit of the city.  With this unique story, you’ll find yourself quickly turning pages as your pulse rises, while cheering for characters who make their way into your heart.

Project Cyclops


Thomas Hoover - 1992
    . .”In the sun-dappled waters of the Aegean, ex-agent Michael Vance pilots the Odyssey II, a handmade replica of the sailcraft of the ancient hero Ulysses. Out of nowhere, a Russian Hind gunship with Arab terrorists at the helm fires upon the tiny ship below. The terrorists’ destination is a tiny Aegean island where a U.S. aerospace corporation carefully guards the Cyclops 20-megawatt laser launch facility. But the company security force is no match for the firepower of the Arab invasion and the launch site is quickly overrun. With helpless horror, the executives can only watch as renegade technicians convert the launch vehicle into a ballistic missile that can deliver their stolen thermonuclear warhead to any city in the U.S. Left for dead amid the smoking ruins of Odyssey II, Michael Vance washes up on the occupied island – and becomes America’s only hope.TAGS: Arab Terrorists, Laser, Aegean, Odyssey, Aerospace, Ballistic Missile, Thermonuclear Warhead, Ulysses, U.S. Navy, Israeli Terrorist, Hind, Spacecraft, satellite, Pakistan nuclear bomb, mercenaries

Unstolen: You can steal, but you can't hide


Tony Batton - 2018
    Almost.
 He returns stolen items to their rightful owners.
 For a price.

 A man has to make a living, and Jake more than most. Because he's still paying for mistakes made a long time ago. And they weren't even his.

A Wonderful Life


Melissa Hill - 2016
     'Quite simply, a wonderful book' (Hello magazine) Abby's memories are precious. Even though they're sometimes painful, she can't stop herself looking back, reliving the love of her life. Until a freak accident means that she could lose it all: every memory and experience she has ever had. Abby can't believe it. She feels fine. She is fine. How could she possibly forget all those moments that make her who she is? She's determined to fight it. So with the help of her friends and family, Abby makes a list of things she's always wanted to do. She's going to save her memory by having a wonderful life. First on the wishlist is the trip of a lifetime to New York City. And it's amidst the magic and romance of Manhattan that true love knocks on the door ... 'Be warned, you won't want to put it down' (Sunday World ) 'Blissfully escapist ... with a hint of mystery' (Marie Claire) ***Also published as BEFORE I FORGET***

Silent Echo


J.R. Rain - 2013
    Jim Booker is done with detective work and would just like to enjoy a cup of coffee on a sunny day. But when an old friend shows up with a case about an old flame, Booker can’t say no.What starts as a missing persons case soon delivers more than he bargained for, and when Booker’s own past offers clues, it’s clear that no one else can solve this mystery. But there’s a catch: Booker was given six months to live eight months ago.Author J.R. Rain shows us that when it seems there’s nothing left to live for, there’s also nothing left to lose. His characters will take a chance on danger, doubt, even an unlikely romance—as long as they get a cup of coffee first.

Closure


Randall Wood - 2009
    Special Agent Jack Randall of the FBI finds himself appointed to track down and stop the shooter. Not by his superiors, but by the killer himself.As more bodies fall the shooter takes his message to the press, earning the support of the public with his choice of targets and confounding the FBI at every turn. From the desert of Nevada to the urban jungle of New York City, Jack and his team follow the trail of bodies and haunting messages left behind by the killer. With the pressure to find him mounting on Jack, the assassin’s crimes grow bolder, and his message more sinister and closer to home.It becomes clear to Jack that in order to find the shooter, he may have to look inside his own past, and become the man he was years ago.

The Devil's Deep


Michael Wallace - 2011
    He suffers from total paralysis, locked within a prison of his own mind. After years of silence, he establishes contact with a young nurse's aid through a single blinking eye, but then she is abducted and a staff member begins to administer dropperfuls of cleaning solution into his communicating eye.A heart-pounding thriller that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned, the Devil's Deep is a top rated suspense that travels from the hell of a long-term care facility to the rain forest of Costa Rica. And a crime committed under tropical waters, the dive known as El Bajo del Diablo--the Devil's Deep.

Smilodon


Alan Nayes - 2011
    Jason, with Norah's assistance, soon discovers the ghosts of his past are nothing compared to the battle he's undertaken.Smilodon. A saber-toothed cat. He's angry, he's frightened, he's hungry, and he's 12,000 years from home!Smilodon--75,000 words or about 300 pages

The Curious Case of Faith & Grace (The Trial Series)


David B. Lyons - 2020
    Almost two years ago, Faith and Grace Tiddle arrived home from their Saturday morning dance class to find both of their parents face down in pools of bloodFive days later, the twins — only nine years old at the time — were arrested for the double homicide.And now, twenty months on, the entire country awaits with bated breath as the jury are dismissed to deliberate their verdict on a case that has become a national phenomenon.But if Lead Detective Denis Quayle — the man who knows the case better than anybody else — isn’t fully convinced of the twins’ guilt…Can a twelve-person jury be?

Burned


Melissa F. Miller - 2021
    Light the fuse. Watch Olivia burn.CIA operative Olivia Santos lives on a razor's edge. As a NOC--an agent with non-official cover--she's well aware of the risks: if her cover's blown, there's no diplomatic immunity, and a life sentence in a foreign prison is the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is too gruesome to mention. But she never imagined her cover would be compromised from the inside. She has no choice but to go on the run--as luck has it--with her musclebound driving instructor.Once upon a time, Trent Mann thrived on danger. Now the former Navy SEAL's haunted by a costly mistake in his past. He focuses on his work for Potomac Private Services to hold his nightmares at bay. But when he's saddled with a vapid trophy wife as a defensive driving student, it doesn't take long for the fiery blonde with the enormous eyes to land them both in deep trouble.Soon Trent and Olivia are on the run from the government, foreign agents, her husband, and an endless list of shadowy enemies. As the danger reaches a boiling point, Olivia and Trent will have to ignore the fire crackling between them to focus on staying alive.