Book picks similar to
A Place Far Away by Vahan Zanoyan


human-trafficking
armenia
fiction
disturbing

Still Life


Christa Parrish - 2015
    One woman who lost her husband. Another who gave up her seat for him.Adah spent her first twenty-five years with her family as part of a fringe religious sect. Her only contact with the outside world was through customers at their farm store. Then she met Julian, a photojournalist who'd come to document their lifestyle. They eloped mere days later and Adah was thrust into a completely new life as a wife, city-dweller, and an individual allowed to make her own decisions. But she has no idea who she is.On her twenty-sixth birthday, Julian plans to fly home from an assignment to give her her first-ever birthday present. He's thrilled when Katherine Cramer gives up her seat so he can make the flight. But the plane crashes and everyone on board is killed, including Julian.Adah is completely at a loss, with no friends and no marketable skills. When Julian's last photographs are published, her life errupts into chaos. She begins travelling--with Julian's camera for a companion--searching for answers to who she is and what she really wants.Meanwhile, Katherine must live with the knowledge of "why "she gave up her seat--to extend her affair one more night. She recognizes her survival as a second chance to save her marriage. But is it too late?When Adah's and Katherine's paths cross, they discover that there's still life ahead for both of them.

Sleeper's Castle


Barbara Erskine - 2016
    One endless nightmare tearing Wales apart – and only they can stop it.Sunday Times bestselling author Barbara Erskine returns to Hay in the year that marks the 30th anniversary of her sensational debut bestseller, Lady of Hay.Hay-On-Wye, 1400 – War is brewing in the Welsh borders, Catrin is on the brink of womanhood and falling in love for the first time. Her father is a soothsayer, playing a dangerous game playing on the mixed loyalties and furious rivalries between welsh princes and English lords. For two hundred years, the Welsh people have lain under the English yoke, dreaming of independence. And finally it looks as though the charismatic Owain Glyndwr may be the man legend tralks of. In the walls of Sleeper’s Castle, Catrin finds herself caught in the middle of a doomed war as she is called upon to foretell Wales’s destiny… And what she sees, is blood and war coming closer…Hay, 2015. Miranda has moved to Sleeper’s Castle to escape and grieve. Slowly she feels herself coming to life in the solitude of the mountains. But every time she closes her eyes her dreams become more vivid. And she makes a connection with a young girl, who’s screaming, who’s reaching out… who only Miranda can help. Is she losing herself to time?

A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing


Tim Weed - 2017
    A high altitude lake is the point of departure for these stories of dark adventure, in which fishing guides, amateur sportsmen, teenage misfits, scientists, mountaineers, and expatriates embark on disquieting journeys of self-discovery in far-flung places.

Who is Sarah Lawson


K.J. Rabane - 2011
    They are total strangers. It's Thursday and it's just the beginning.*Note from author: Who is Sarah Lawson is a psychological thriller encompassing the Private Detective genre. I wrote the book over a period of about two years as the plot twists needed to reworked, until I was satisfied with the result. Customer feedback has since shown me that Richie Stevens and his PA Sandy have become popular figures and I've been working on a future novel( Where is Robin Jaxx -Working Title) in which they will again feature in solving the case.

Where the Truth Lies


Anna Bailey - 2021
     When seventeen-year-old Abigail goes missing, her best friend Emma, compelled by the guilt of leaving her alone at a party in the woods, sets out to discover the truth about what happened. The police initially believe Abi ran away, but Emma doesn’t believe that her friend would leave without her, and when officers find disturbing evidence in the nearby woods, the festering secrets and longstanding resentment of both Abigail’s family and the people of Whistling Ridge, Colorado begin to surface with devastating consequences. Among those secrets: Abi’​s older brother Noah’s passionate, dangerous love for the handsome Rat, a recently arrived Romanian immigrant who has recently made his home in the trailer park in town; her younger brother Jude’s feeling that he knows information he should tell the police, if only he could put it into words; Abi’​s father’s mercurial, unpredictable rages and her mother’s silence. Then there is the rest of Whistling Ridge, where a charismatic preacher advocates for God’s love in language that mirrors violence, under the sway of the powerful businessman who rules the town, insular and wary of outsiders. But Abi had secrets, too, and the closer Emma grows to unraveling the past, the farther she feels from her friend. And in a tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark—the truth of what really happened that night—to change their community forever.

The Keeper of Secrets


Amanda Brooke - 2013
    Can long-buried secrets break you apart … or set you free?On the surface, Elle has the perfect life – husband, child and a beautiful home. But sometimes a perfect facade hides the cracks beneath: Elle’s husband Rick seems determined to clip her wings at every turn, keeping her at home and away from her friends and from the world. When Elle’s father dies and she starts to clear his house, the cracks start to widen – and it’s only a matter of time before everything breaks open.On a quest for buried treasure at the house, her young son, Charlie, finds a box underneath the apple tree, with love letters from the past that could tear her world apart.As past and present collide, Elle must decide what is right – and what course her life should take.

Sudan


Ninie Hammon - 2009
     The largest nation in Africa has become a killing field. Two million tribal people are dead, victims of a brutal civil war or massacred by their own government in systematic, cold-blooded genocide. But that’s not why human rights photojournalist Ron Wolfson is risking his life there. He’s chasing action and danger on a different adventure—investigating reports of human trafficking, rumors of women and children who are auctioned off to the highest bidder and then vanish into the brutal shadow world of modern-day slavery. When Arab Murahaleen guerrillas attack a small Dinka village and kidnap a little girl named Akin to sell on the slave market in the North, her father, Idris, goes after her—looking for one child among the hundreds of thousands who’ve already disappeared—and Ron joins the simple villager in his desperate mission. Ron's brother, a U.S. congressman, wages a battle just as desperate against apathy and indifference to force international political pressure on the government of Sudan, while Ron tracks the phantom story he knows is out there somewhere. Determined to capture on film the horror of human beings in chains, sold like cattle, Ron incurs the wrath of a ruthless slave trader. Now, he and Idris face savage retaliation and a heart-breaking end to their quest. Awaiting dawn and an unthinkable execution broadcast live around the world, the American journalist and the Dinka villager are forced to place their lives and the fate of their mission into the hands of a bloodthirsty mercenary and an orphan boy. Together they forge a reckless plan, their only hope of escape. But it may already be too late. And it may be too late to save the little girl before her innocence is stolen and she vanishes forever into the belly of the beast. READERS' PRAISE (Goodreads and Amazon.com) I encourage you to read this life-changing book. Get angry! Get upset! Be grossed out! Somewhere a Sudanese mother is waiting for someone to reach out a helping hand, for her children's sake. Mel “@MamaBuzz” The worst thing about this book is that it isn't completely fiction. It grabs you by the throat and won't let you put it down until you've read the last page. You will hug your children closer after reading. K-Mor This book is not for the faint of heart - it deals with the atrocities committed in Sudan. Ninie weaves a spell-binding tale. One of the things I love about Ninie's books is that she does not feel the need to spruce everything up and make it pretty. E.L. Jenkins “Love to Read” "Sudan" captured my attention from the first page, and I read through the entire story in two days. This is gripping, emotional storytelling. Bestselling author Eric Wilson, Top 100 Amazon Reviewer Sudan is a must read but be prepared for an unexpected depth of emotion. I couldn't put it down until the building tension required me to take a break. This book is worth your time! tj You thought human trafficking on the African continent was long gone. And you were WRONG! Sudan is an action and adventure novel centered on an age-old evil. But the book isn’t classic HISTORICAL fiction—about slavery in America 200 years ago; rather it’s a suspense filled ride through the bustling slave trade in the African country of Sudan …TODAY! Even though the facts are historical, fic

The Atlantis Deception


Nick Thacker - 2014
     When a strange computer malfunction leaves them locked inside the arcology, a large dome at the center of the ship, they must figure out a way to get out. But the arcology isn't empty. There are alien species, brought back for scientific study, inside as well. And not all of these species are friendly...

Cruelty's Daughter


Anna Willett - 2018
     Mina is struggling to come to terms with her past. Having led a reclusive life, shunning human contact, she decides to take on a local college course to help get her life back on track. However, when a young girl who tries to befriend her is abducted by a serial killer, Mina feels responsible. She refused to wait with the girl for her mother to pick her up. And she shrugged off the youngster’s fears. Now Mina cannot rest until she finds out what happened. But as she probes into the events of that evening, her own nightmares start to return. She has put herself in danger, one that leads to an increasingly tense standoff with a cruel and vicious man who will stop at nothing. Can she find the strength to stand up to her demons, past and present? And will she do so, even if it means risking everything?

Rust & Stardust


T. Greenwood - 2018
     When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth's, she has no way of knowing that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he’s an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute—unless she does as he says. This chilling novel traces the next two harrowing years as Frank mentally and physically assaults Sally while the two of them travel westward from Camden to San Jose, forever altering not only her life, but the lives of her family, friends, and those she meets along the way.

The Scared Stiff


Donald E. Westlake - 2001
    To escape the loan sharks, Barry decides it’s time for one of them to die—or at least to pretend to. As the venue for this insurance fraud, they choose Lola’s home country, Guerrera, where death certificates come cheap and government record-keeping is sketchy at best. There is only one problem: la familia.After Barry’s “death,” Lola returns to the US, leaving her husband in the hands of her family as he begins to assume her brother’s identity. But the South-American hospitality of Lola’s relatives soon wears thin as they realize that their lives might be easier if Barry’s death weren’t just an act. Conning an insurance company is tricky enough, but no matter the country, no one is more dangerous than the in-laws.

Palm Trees in the Snow


Luz Gabás - 2012
    Her father and his brother worked in the colony of Fernando Po, but these letters tell a different story than the tales of life in Africa that made it to the dinner table. Clarence has no idea what really went on during their time at the cocoa plantations—or why no one in her family has ever returned to the island in all the years since. But the letters suggest that a great love story is buried beneath the years of silence.Setting out from her home in Spain’s snowy mountains, Clarence makes the same journey across the sea that her uncle and father traveled before her. There, she unlocks the painful secrets her family has hidden in the rich African soil. But what she discovers may also be the key to awakening her own listless heart.

Alpha Farm - The Beginning


Annie Berdel - 2014
    Following the signs of a faltering economy and a nagging in her Spirit to return to her family farm, Emma begins rebuilding a life independent from The Grid and away from her high stress corporate job.Is it any wonder that when a localized Electromagnetic Pulse is detonated over the New Madrid Fault Line and The Grid is taken down, that Emma immediately goes into action? Well, at least until Senator Varga and her personal Army shows up at Emma’s door. That is one curve ball that Emma was not expecting.Calling her fellow Prepper Chicks into action, follow along as a Modern Day Underground Railroad is formed, a long forgotten way of life is pulled back into action and they all adjust to A World without Rule of Law.

A Hero's Homecoming


Carlene Havel - 2012
    His wife Rita has disappeared. His credit cards are invalid. A stranger is living in his house and he keeps running into people who are convinced he was killed in action months ago. Worst of all, his wealthy father has suffered a stroke.Psychologist Charlotte Phillips claims to be his comatose father’s legal guardian. Rich is determined to learn what has happened, gain control of his father’s money, and unmask Charlotte as the gold-digging schemer he’s certain she is. He is shocked to find his father’s crusty old attorney has been taken in by her along with everyone else.Can Rich straighten out the mess his life has become?

Love Letters


Geraldine Solon - 2011
    The sparks between Chloe and Josh fly, but Richard provides safety, financial security. Should she follow her heart or her head? The answer comes in a surprise twist. While cleaning her attic, she stumbles upon love letters written to her estranged mother forty years ago from a man she loved. When Chloe secretly brings them together again and sees how much time they’ve lost, she is challenged not to make the same mistake her mother made. Will Chloe opt for security or will she risk her heart and marry her true love?