Book picks similar to
The Playground by Shannon Heuston


fiction
ebook
digital
when-hell-freezes-over

Nightwalk


D. Nathan Hilliard - 2015
    It’s a quiet, urban example of the American dream. Here businessmen are neighbors with radio DJs, young doctors buy their first houses, and author Mark Garrett has been settling in with his lovely new wife and stepdaughter. But tonight Mark’s new neighborhood is going to come with something he never bargained on. The pits of hell have yawned wide and poured their contents into the midnight streets and homes of Coventry Woods. Everything has gone insane. Shots and screams ring out in the night, while death stalks the darkness in forms this earth has never before seen. Even worse, the only hope of escape is by foot. Now Mark, along with his stepdaughter and his back-fence neighbor, must flee the neighborhood while attempting to help anybody they meet. And it won’t be easy. They will be walking a gauntlet of unearthly predators, as they strive toward a goal they aren’t even sure still exists…the outside world.

Sparrow Migrations


Cari Noga - 2013
    Then, life after the Miracle on the Hudson landing puts three families on another crash course…with their own fragile humanity.Airplane passenger Deborah DeWitt-Goldman knows her survival means one last chance to start the family she so badly desires—no matter the cost to her marriage. Preacher’s wife Brett Stevens witnesses the event from a ferry, burdened by a secret that could destroy her family. And while twelve-year-old Robby Palmer’s desperate parents struggle to reach through the fog of his autism, the boy discovers a deep connection to the birds responsible for the crash.Now, all of them must navigate the crosscurrents of the consequences of their decisions…and when their paths collide a second time, another miracle just might happen.Award-winning author Cari Noga’s Sparrow Migrations is an inspiring, heartfelt look at the crucible of crisis and the power of human connection.

Catastrophe: A Highland Murder Most Fowl


Lucinda Hare - 2015
    What's not to like about this book? It grabs the reader's attention from the start and holds on to it throughout the story. I also love the information about Wild Cat conservation which appears before the story starts: hopefully this will encourage readers of all ages to take an interest in the conservation of this beautiful animal. Whilst this book is going to appear on LoveReading for kids, it would be equally at home in the adult section. I normally clear my downloads after reviewing a book, but I will be keeping this one to reread and I can't wait to read about Catastrophe's next adventure.Sharon Hall (LoveReading4Kids review)What a delightful book! I liked the descriptions of the world as seen through Catastrophe’s eyes, as he described life in the wild for him, and then getting to know Mary and George. After a while this built to a murder mystery that had you rooting for the good guys. Overall an unexpectedly lovely book and I look forward to reading more about the family’s adventures.

Dog Tag


Ben Rehder - 2017
    The way they go about it is a howl.

Only Time Will Tell


James Kipling - 2014
    Will she make the right choice? An unknown woman is murdered and detectives Pierce Carson, Chelsea Madden and a new recruit, Dean Weston, are assigned to the case. Their search for the killer leads to several dead ends and a suspected drug connection, as even more people are killed. In the process of helping to solve the first murder and those that follow, Chelsea realizes that she is walking a very thin line between personal revenge and professional responsibility. She too has suffered at the hands of a murderer, who brutally snuffed out the life of her parents, giving her a reason to join the police force. To complicate matters, she finds herself attracted to Dean. She knows little about the newcomer to Homicide, only that he’d been a successful undercover agent. Normally a loner, she finds him surprisingly easy to talk to, as she unburdens herself of her past, kept secret for years. As the case becomes more complicated and passions are stirred, questions arise about a mole in the force, and Dean is on the list of possible suspects. Chelsea is torn between trust and doubt, fear and love; her desire for vengeance and belief in the system of which she is now a part. The strands of the plot become intertwined, with unexpected twists and turns, and Chelsea finds herself caught in a life and death struggle in a most unexpected way. Only time will tell if she survives to right the wrong or decides to let it go and find a new direction for her life. Detective Chelsea Madden is the cool, calm, and collected hero of Only Time Will Tell. Putting her life on the line, she doesn’t pull any punches, searching only for the truth, and for the person who takes lives on her watch. Intelligent, resourceful, and uncompromising, Chelsea will take readers on a memorable, white-knuckled journey in this suspenseful, gripping serial killer thriller. <

One Slip


Gregg Bell - 2019
    Bakke Amazon VINE VOICE reviewer When Connie Silverstein agreed to babysit her friend’s four-year-old son, she never dreamed it would end in disaster. Now the usually dependable medical student finds herself responsible for the boy’s near drowning and subsequent brain damage.Connie is desperate to help the boy recover, but the grieving mother no longer trusts her. Consumed by guilt, Connie attempts to deaden her pain with alcohol. But there’s not enough vodka in the world to right the wrong she’s done. Family and friends attempt to intervene in her downward spiral, assuring her that tragic accidents can happen to anyone.But only Connie knows the terrible secret that what happened was no accident. What readers are saying about One Slip: ‘Like a riptide, this book pulls you in—and under.’—Cynthiareads‘hooked from the start’—Staci‘Fantastic! Grabs you right from the get-go and never lets go.’—Lisa‘…had me in knots…pushing throughout the night to find out what happened next…it felt heartbreakingly real’—Craves the Angst Book Review Blog‘…over the edge with wonderment at how someone could capture my attention any better’—Deb H‘…grabs you and takes you on a journey.’—Julie Blaskie‘This story tore me apart.’—Denice‘This story pulls you in, then under…at times you yourself may feel like you’re having trouble breathing.’—Julia Deaton‘…an emotionally charged roller coaster of a read’—Shannon Fetters‘…emotionally charged’—Amazon Customer‘My emotions were all over the place’—lamilo 1562‘I loved that it pulled at my heartstrings yet still had the edge of suspense that kept me guessing the whole time.’—April Shuffler‘If you get emotionally attached to characters, have a box of tissues on hand when you read this one. The ending is totally unexpected…but good!’—PTB‘The ending is perfect!’—escritora

The Haunting of Thomas House


Carrie Bates - 2017
    Those who have lived there only last a month or two as pure evil still permeates about. Virginia and Tom move their family to what they believe is the quiet country house, but it is far from peaceful. Strange events at the house leave them terrified, events which nearly cost them their lives. With its horrific past, Thomas House isn't a welcoming home and resents the people who walk through its doors. Doors open and close on their own, apparitions suddenly appear to threaten, and strange sounds resonate at night. Something dark and sinister lives in the house and wants them out. NOW. When Virginia and her son are almost killed by the evil apparitions, her son takes matters into his own hands.

The Complete Poetry


Edgar Allan Poe - 1831
    But Poe is also the author of some of the most haunting poetry ever written--poems of love, death and loneliness that have lost none of their power to enthrall in this unique Signet Classic edition.

Nineteen Hundred Days


Florence Osmund - 2018
    Medallion Honoree. When twelve-year-old Ben’s parents don’t come home from work one day, he doesn’t know what to think—they’ve shown lack of responsibility before, but nothing like this. His six-year-old sister Lucy is more scared than he is and clings to him for support. Unwittingly fearful of the police and Child Protective Services, the children don’t want to end up in foster homes and will do anything to avoid being separated. Their journey—fraught with obstacles and people who may not have their best interests at heart—plays a significant role in building Ben’s character and eventually determining his fate.

The Blue Executions


George P. Norris - 2014
    An incident in a Queens housing project hurls highly decorated detective Tommy Galvin not only onto the front pages of the newspapers but also into the crosshairs of the sociopath. The hunter becomes the hunted! Galvin’s actions on a warm spring evening ignite a powder keg of racial tension and civil unrest, capturing national attention which must be dealt with and brought under control by the NYPD. When the two men finally come face to face, Galvin’s life has changed forever, in a way he could have never imagined. The Blue Executions will take you from the eyes of the killer to the investigation charged with taking him down; from the inner workings of a major New York City newspaper that the killer has entrusted, to the behind the scenes politics of the NYPD at the highest levels. All of the while, Galvin’s life is on the line.

You Belong Here


Laurie Steed - 2018
    Soon they're the parents of three young children.Initially, the kids keep them together until love turns to lies and the family implodes. As they become adults, each child faces love and loss in the shadow of their family legacy.You Belong Here is a book about trust and connection. About what keeps us going in spite of ourselves. About a place where we belong.

Agent of Influence


Russell Hamilton - 2009
    Born in Cairo, Egypt, he is orphaned before moving to the United States with his adopted father, where he lives the American Dream. He goes to Yale and is elected to be the Congressman from Nevada in his early 20s. In 1994, he leads a movement to amend the constitution to allow foreign-born citizens to be elected to the Presidency of the United States. Ten years later, he reaches the zenith of his power as the new President-Elect. But Hardin has a dark side to his personality, and the FBI's vetting process for candidates is running into a wall. As the election heats up, CIA agent Anna Starks is sent to Cairo to try to dig into candidate Hardin's childhood. As the transition of power begins, defeated President Allan Gray, concerned with what the information on Hardin's childhood means, authorizes a secret mission to Las Vegas. To aid with this secret mission, Anna enlists the help of new CIA recruit Alex Bryce. Agent of Influence takes the two CIA agents through Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Cairo, Louisville, and Washington, D.C. as they race against time to piece together the President-Elect's sinister past before it is too late. What they find could alter the landscape of the United States forever.

Friends and Strangers


J. Courtney Sullivan - 2020
    Alone in the house with her infant son all day (and awake with him much of the night), she feels uneasy, adrift. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms' Facebook group, her "influencer" sister's Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore. Enter Sam, a senior at the local women's college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit. Sam is struggling to decide between the path she's always planned on and a romantic entanglement that threatens her ambition. She's worried about student loan debt and what the future holds. In short order, they grow close. But when Sam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Elisabeth's father-in-law, the true differences between the women's lives become starkly revealed and a betrayal has devastating consequences.A masterful exploration of motherhood, power dynamics, and privilege in its many forms, Friends and Strangers reveals how a single year can shape the course of a life.

Flying Fossils (Women of Fossil Ridge Book 1)


Lynne Gentry - 2018
    For twenty-five years, they've gone their separate ways and lived separate lives. But when Sara's fall breaks her hip and leaves her unable to care for herself, her daughter is forced to return to Texas. Charlotte’s short-term care-giving plan is dashed when she realizes her difficult mother needs long-term care. While Sara struggles to regain her independence, Charlotte grapples with the impossible task of juggling a high-pressure job, a rebellious teenage daughter, and a slightly demented mother. The Women of Fossil Ridge Series is a heartwarming addition to the small town, generational series of favorite authors like Ann B. Ross, Jan Karon, and Beth Hoffman. Gentry’s small-town sagas are a masterful peek into what it takes to resuscitate a mother-daughter relationship. Series sparkles with humor, heart, and southern charm. ~Amazon Reviewer Gentry is one to watch. ~RT Reviews Books in the Women of Fossil Ridge series: #1 Flying Fossils #2 Finally Free #3 First Frost If you loved FLYING FOSSILS, you'll enjoy Gentry's Mt. Hope Southern Adventures series. Out of the dust of West Texas comes another set of heartwarming books that will have you laughing until you cry. Books in Mt. Hope Southern Adventures series: #1 Walking Shoes #2 Shoes to Fill #3 Dancing Shoes #4 Baby Shoes

Madeline Missing (Jack Dillon Dublin Tales #7)


Mike Faricy - 2019
    Now she's missing . . . By the time US Marshal Jack Dillon and An Garda Síochána DI Paddy Suel get assigned to the case American student Madeline Keller has already been missing for four days. Her former boyfriend already has an attorney and an alibi. The school and her girlfriends have absolutely no idea. AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT!