Book picks similar to
The Phoenix Project by Michelle Kidd


suspense
action-adventure
crime-thriller
ku

The 39 Steps


John Buchan - 1915
    Initially sceptical, Hannay nonetheless harbours the man—but one day returns home to find him murdered... An obvious suspect, Hannay flees to his native Scotland, pursued by both the police and a cunning, ruthless enemy. His life and the security of Britain are in grave peril, and everything rests on the solution to a baffling enigma: what are the 'thirty nine steps?'

The Treble with Murder


Christy Barritt - 2021
    . . and for trouble.When public relations expert Camryn Paine’s alma mater requests her help, she agrees to do some image intervention for the music conservatory. She’s thrown into the thick of things her first day on the job when she witnesses a student drop dead during a talent show sound check.Camryn’s unique auditory abilities lead her to suspect foul play. The more questions she asks, the clearer it becomes that something is amiss at the school. She’s determined to crack the case before any more dead bodies are found.Unfortunately, her abilities also make Camryn a threat to a killer who doesn’t want anyone to hear the truth. Will she solve this case and redeem the conservatory’s reputation? Or will her body be the next one to take center stage?

River Bodies


Karen Katchur - 2018
    The crime is eerily similar to a twenty-year-old cold case: another victim, brutally murdered, found in the Delaware River. Lead detective Parker Reed is intent on connecting the two murders, but the locals are on lockdown, revealing nothing.The past meets the present when Becca Kingsley, who returns to Portland to be with her estranged but dying father, runs into Parker, her childhood love. As the daughter of the former police chief, Becca's quickly drawn into the case. Coming home has brought something ominous to the surface - memories long buried, secrets best kept hidden. Becca starts questioning all her past relationships, including one with a man who's watched over her for years. For the first time, she wonders if he's more predator than protector.In a small town where darkness hides in plain sight, the truth could change Becca's life - or end it.

Rogue Male


Geoffrey Household - 1939
    An Englishman plans to assassinate the dictator of a European country. But he is foiled at the last moment and falls into the hands of ruthless and inventive torturers. They devise for him an ingenious and diplomatic death but, for once, they bungle the job and he escapes. But England provides no safety from his pursuers - and the Rogue Male must strip away all the trappings of status and civilization as the hunter becomes a hunted animal.

The Promise


Teresa Driscoll - 2019
    Three schoolgirls made a promise – to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave.Thirty years later, Beth and Sally have tried to put the trauma behind them. Though Carol has distanced herself from her former friends, the three are adamant that the truth must never come to light, even if the memory still haunts them.But when some shocking news threatens to unearth their dark secret, Beth enlists the help of private investigator Matthew Hill to help her and Sally reconnect with estranged Carol ­– before the terrible act they committed as teenagers is revealed.Beth wishes she could take back the vow they made.But somebody is watching and will stop at nothing to ensure the secret stays buried. Now, with her beloved family in peril, can Beth still keep the promise?

Broken Glass


Alexander Hartung - 2019
    Both are almost identical. Detective Nik Pohl has seen every shade of darkness in his career. Not used to playing by the rules, he finds himself frozen out by his superiors. What’s worse, now he’s being blackmailed by a shadowy businessman into investigating a seemingly crimeless disappearance.A young woman, Viola, left her home months ago, leaving a letter to her parents saying she wouldn’t be coming back. With a little digging Nik discovers the case of an almost identical-looking woman, who went missing in similar circumstances. There’s one important difference: that woman is dead. Viola may still be alive… but perhaps not for much longer.When Nik is viciously attacked, it becomes clear that whoever is behind Viola’s disappearance has some high-level connections, and they will stop at nothing to shut him down. But he’s in too deep and the clock is ticking. He has to find Viola, and her captors, before it’s too late. From million-copy bestselling German author Alexander Hartung

An Eye for an Eye


Carol Wyer - 2021
    A detective spiralling out of control.DI Kate Young is on leave. She’s the force’s best detective, but her bosses know she’s under pressure, on medication and overcoming trauma. So after her bad judgement call leads to a narrowly averted public disaster, they’re sure all she needs is a rest.But when Staffordshire Police summon her back to work on a murder case, it’s a harder, more suspicious Kate Young who returns. With a new ruthlessness, she sets about tracking down a clinical, calculating serial killer who is torturing victims and leaving clues to taunt the police. Spurred on by her reporter husband, Young begins to suspect that the murderer might be closer than she ever imagined.As she works to uncover the truth, Young unravels a network of secrets and lies, with even those closest to her having something to hide. But with her own competence—and her grip on reality—called into question, can she unmask the killer before they strike again?

Liars Lane


L.A. Dobbs - 2021
    But now she’s not so sure. She’s been getting cryptic threatening messages ever since her teenage daughter, Ballad, did a school report about her journalist grandfather. It turns out someone has a dark secret and doesn’t like Ballad digging into the past. But Nova has a dark secret of her own. One that she can’t let anyone - especially not Ballad - find out about.Too bad she’s not the only one who wants the past forgotten. And the other person will stop at nothing to silence the most precious thing in Nova’s world - her daughter Ballad.Nova did what she had to do to protect her daughter once, will she be able do it again?Welcome to Liar’s Island… a stand-alone series of interconnected domestic thrillers set in the picture-perfect community of Liars Island. Here, nothing is quite as it seems.On this island, families and friendships are more than meets the eye … secrets, deceptions, and jealousies threaten to ruin everything these influential people have built. But it isn’t only the rich that live here … and power comes in all shapes and sizes.Everyone here is a liar … just how far would you go to get what you want?

The Cleaner


Mark Dawson - 2013
    A craftsman. His trade is murder.Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. But now, after ten years, he's had enough - there's blood on his hands and he wants out. Trouble is, this job is not one you can just walk away from. He goes on the run, seeking atonement for his sins by helping the people he meets along the way. But his past cannot be easily forgotten and before long it is Milton who is hunted, and not the hunter.The CleanerA career of state-sanctioned murder has taken its toll. Milton is troubled by nightmares, a long line of ghosts who torment his dreams. He resolves to make his next job his last and, then, perhaps, he can start to make amends for everything that he has done. Sharon Warriner is a single mother in the East End of London, suicidal with fear that she's lost her young son to a life in the gangs. After Milton saves her life, he promises to help. But the gang, and the charismatic rapper who leads it, is not about to cooperate with him.As London burns through summer riots, Milton finds himself in unfamiliar territory, dealing with an unfamiliar foe. And when his employer sends another agent after him, the odds against him are stacked even higher.

Next Victim


Helen H. Durrant - 2019
     DISCOVER A BRAND NEW MYSTERY FROM #1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR HELEN H. DURRANT THAT WILL HAVE YOU GRIPPED FROM START TO NERVE-SHREDDING FINISH. A young man’s body is found burnt and tortured by a Manchester canal. He was a journalism student who told his friends he was working on a big story. His death leads the police on a false trail. Detective Rachel King investigates. She has a secret, the love of her life is a well-known villain. He has recently come back on the scene. But what does he really want? A brutal serial killer with a taste for good-looking young blonde men. A student who thinks she has a long-lost brother. But even her own father doesn’t believe her. She was involved with the first victim. As the murders continue, can Rachel keep her family together and stop the killer? A RACE AGAINST TIME TO STOP A SERIAL KILLER WITH A HIDDEN AGENDA Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Kimberley Chambers, Damien Boyd, Rachel Abbott, Patricia Gibney or Mark Billingham. What readers are saying about NEXT VICTIM “I couldn’t put it down.” Barbara “This new series by Helen H. Durrant certainly has got off to a thrilling start.” Viv “If you want a book to get your teeth into, this is the one. A massive 5*” Greta “Another fast-paced murder mystery” Aileen “The writing was top notch and the characters were very real.” Kat THE DETECTIVE DCI Rachel King. Thirty-nine year-old mother of two teenage daughters. Divorced from Alan. She lives in the Cheshire village of Poynton – about ten miles from central Manchester. She is good at her job, gets results but does make mistakes. One of them was getting involved with a budding villain in her teens. No one, family, friends or colleagues know anything about this. ALSO BY HELEN H. DURRANT THE CALLADINE & BAYLISS MYSTERY SERIES Book 1: DEAD WRONG Book 2: DEAD SILENT Book 3: DEAD LIST Book 4: DEAD LOST Book 5: DEAD & BURIED Book 6: DEAD NASTY Book 7: DEAD JEALOUS THE DCI GRECO BOOKS Book 1: DARK MURDER Book 2: DARK HOUSES Book 3: DARK TRADE

When They Come for You


James W. Hall - 2017
    When the local police fail to take the arson seriously, Harper takes the reins and discovers her husband was investigating some mysterious deaths at a cacao plantation on the Ivory Coast. Now she’s convinced he was targeted in a corporate conspiracy to silence him.Aided by her former mafioso grandfather and well-connected financier brother, Harper embarks on a global manhunt, flying first to Africa, then Zurich to expose a high-level cover-up inside a powerful chocolate conglomerate.But Harper has a few secrets of her own—starting with her lethal martial arts skills—and she’s not afraid to take on any hired guns or guerrillas standing in her way. In trying to cover their tracks, the conspirators made one fatal miscalculation: they didn’t count on Harper McDaniel coming for them.

Beneath Devil's Bridge


Loreth Anne White - 2021
    True crime podcaster Trinity Scott is chasing breakout success, and her brand-new serial may get her there. Her subject is Clayton Jay Pelley. More than two decades ago, the respected family man and guidance counselor confessed to the brutal murder of teenage student Leena Rai. But why he killed her has always been a mystery.In a series of exclusive interviews from prison, Clayton discloses to Trinity the truth about what happened that night beneath Devil’s Bridge. It’s not what anyone in the Pacific Northwest town of Twin Falls expects. Clayton says he didn’t do it. Was he lying then? Or now?As her listeners increase and ratings skyrocket, Trinity is missing a key player in the story: Rachel Walczak, the retired detective who exposed Pelley’s twisted urges and put him behind bars. She’s not interested in playing Clayton’s game - until Trinity digs deeper and the podcast’s reverb widens. Then Rachel begins to question everything she thinks she knows about the past.With each of Clayton’s teasing reveals, one thing is clear: he’s not the only one in Twin Falls with a secret.

Winter Memorial


C.C. Warrens - 2018
    In the paperback version, there is a three chapter preview of Cross Fire. A winter memorial, held to recognize fallen officers, becomes slightly more than they bargained for when hard feelings and unresolved issues rise up.

Ancient Revenge


J.F. Lourens - 2011
    An explosion rips the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris apart during celebratory mass, killing hundreds and revealing a hidden crypt with a most gruesome find: the crucified body of a naked young woman; twelve tombstones inscribed with a single phrase -- in domina nostra salus. CIA agent John Russell, an expert in religious crime, is summoned to investigate a wave of atrocities that surges through Europe: Bodies on cathedral towers covered in baffling tattoos; the massacre of a Cistercian monastery; the relentless execution of senior Cardinal Bishops. Sorting through the bizarre crimes, Russell and his team are plunged into a web of age-old conspiracies involving the Vatican, the Ceile De, spouses of the gods, warrior priestesses and their quest to settle a primeval score. In a race against time, Russell drags his team through Europe in a desperate struggle to prevent total cataclysm. In just four days...

Stillhouse Lake


Rachel Caine - 2017
    But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.