Book picks similar to
The Man Behind Closed Doors: The other side of domestic bliss by Maria Frankland
psychological-thriller
thriller
ebook
domestic-thriller
The Darkest Flower
Kristin Wright - 2021
Attempted murder? Inexplicable accident? Either way, a PTA mom struggled for her life in an elementary school cafeteria, poisoned by wolfsbane. Now all eyes are on the accused, the victim, and a woman hired to look deeper.Ambitious defense attorney and single mother Allison Barton is anxious to escape the shadow of the low-down dog of a marquee partner carrying their renowned Virginia law firm. A win for her high-profile new client will give Allison the career she deserves. And PTA president Kira Grant certainly appears innocent—except for the toxic bloom in her backyard and perhaps a bit of a malicious streak. But no one said the innocent had to be likable—or entirely honest. Besides, with an image as carefully cultivated as her garden, Kira would be insane to risk everything on something as outrageous as the attempted murder of one of her closest friends.What about those in Kira’s orbit, a sunny suburb of moms behaving badly? What do they really know about Kira? What does Kira know about them? For Allison, the answers are getting darker every day.
Bright Lies
A.A. Abbott - 2020
Can she break free?Emily’s dreams come true when her mother marries wealthy painter, David. Thanks to him, Emily’s artistic talents shine. Then he starts teaching her things a 14-year-old shouldn’t know. While Emily breaks free, she’s forced to sleep in a rat-infested alley.Bad boy Jack has turned his life around. Working as a DJ with ambitions to open a club, he rescues Emily from the streets when he sees a woman in trouble. He doesn’t know she’s still only 15 - and trapped in a dark web of secrets and lies.David must find Emily and silence her. As he closes in, Jack faces the hardest choice of all. If he saves Emily, he’ll kiss goodbye to his future...What would you sacrifice for love?
The Fire Child
S.K. Tremayne - 2016
He makes disturbing predictions, claiming to be haunted by the spectre of his late mother. As September slips away and December looms, Rachel grows increasingly suspicious of her husband - and begins to fear there might be truth in Jamie's words:"YOU WILL BE DEAD BY CHRISTMAS."
The Brave Line
Kate Stewart - 2017
With a fresh perspective on life, she trades her tragic past in California for the coastal waters of Charleston. Fueled by a new career as a dispatcher, she’s determined not to let her scars weigh her down. She apologizes for nothing, especially her insatiable need for a certain police officer.Rowdy is a newly minted sergeant dedicated to his job, but the life of a Charleston police officer has never been more dangerous. With his need to take order of a city spiraling out of control, the last thing he wants is an entanglement with a mouthy dispatcher. But, there’s just one problem. He can’t get enough of her.As the heat rises between the unlikely pair, so does the tension.Three months of summer was all it took to shake their foundations, rattle their walls, and bring them crashing down.It was lust.It was love.It was real.And it would have been perfect . . . if it wasn't already over.Note to reader:This book has several elements and explores topics that some may consider triggers. For mature audiences only. Explicit sex, violence and language. (less)
Blood and Bone
Tara Brown - 2013
Listen, listen to the sounds of old. Listen, listen as my hopes are drowned. Listen, listen to the sounds that bullets make of blood and bones. Where will you run today? How will you ever get away?” This is NOT a romance. This is a ride. Blood and Bone The hollow sound of a casing hitting the floor. The clicking of heels walking in a misty alley. The ability to tie a cherry stem with her tongue. A haunting song no one else knows. That's all that's left of Jane's memories. What would you do if the life you lived was a lie, and everyone knew but you? Where do you run when there is no one on your side? Jane discovers that deep inside her mind there is a map. What she doesn't know is that there is also a man who will do anything to get it. But what he doesn't know is that Jane hasn't always been honest about the things she remembers. There are paces inside of Jane that even she doesn't like to go. What would you do if the secret you kept was the only thing keeping you alive? But keeping it meant someone else had to die. Don't miss out on the new dark read by Tara Brown!
Kiss a Stranger
R.J. Lewis - 2014
Accepted all his ugly the way he embraced all of mine.But sometimes loving someone isn't enough. Sometimes it breaks you apart and moulds you into somebody else entirely. And sometimes the person you loved the most can be the one to hurt you worst of all.(Kiss a Stranger is a new adult/contemporary romance.There is a whole lot of sex, and a whole lot of swearing. If that is not your cup of tea, then this is not for you.)
The Kingdom
Jess Rothenberg - 2019
where 'Happily Ever After' isn't just a promise, but a rule.
Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species--formerly extinct--roam free.Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful "princesses" engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time... love.But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews, and Ana's memories of Owen, emerges a tale of love, lies, and cruelty--and what it truly means to be human.
Seed
Lisa Heathfield - 2015
Seed will never let you go.Fifteen-year-old Pearl has lived her whole life protected within the small community at Seed, where they worship Nature and idolise their leader, Papa S. When some outsiders arrive, everything changes. Pearl experiences feelings that she never knew existed and begins to realise that there is darkness at the heart of Seed. A darkness from which she must escape, before it's too late.
One Small Thing
Erin Watt - 2018
Her parents try to lock her down, believing they can keep her safe by monitoring her every move. When Beth sneaks out to a party one night and meets the new guy in town, Chase, she’s thrilled to make a secret friend. It seems a small thing, just for her.Only Beth doesn’t know how big her secret really is…Fresh out of juvie and determined to start his life over, Chase has demons to face and much to atone for, including his part in the night Beth’s sister died. Beth, who has more reason than anyone to despise him, is willing to give him a second chance. A forbidden romance is the last thing either of them planned for senior year, but the more time they spend together, the deeper their feelings get.Now Beth has a choice to make—follow the rules, or risk tearing everything apart…again.
No One's Angel
Kelly Walker - 2013
No One's Angel's angel is a New Adult (NA) Contemporary Romance about a girl learning to fight back and a boy learning to let go. Tess used to spend more hours than she'd care to admit playing her favorite computer game, using the nickname Angel. She could pretend her life was different, and she could pretend Arion was just a friend. But a girl needs more to keep her warm at night than pixels, and she traded her virtual heaven for a real-life hell. Now she's on the run from a past she won't talk about, and the only place she has to go is the doorstep of the friend she's never actually met.When Angel disappeared from their nightly games, it nearly destroyed Arion. He threw himself into work and women, but he can't help knowing the one-night stands will never compare to the angel who haunts his dreams. At first, when she shows up soaking wet and scared-shitless on his doorstep, he thinks his prayers have been answered.But the more Arion tries to keep Angel close, the more her fear drives her away. If they are ever going to have a chance for a future, they'll first have to deal with the past that hasn't forgotten her any more than she's forgotten it--and Arion will have to learn how to let her go.
Every Last Lie
Mary Kubica - 2017
The bad man is after us."
Clara Solberg's world shatters when her husband and their four-year-old daughter are in a car crash, killing Nick while Maisie is remarkably unharmed. The crash is ruled an accident…until the coming days, when Maisie starts having night terrors that make Clara question what really happened on that fateful afternoon. Tormented by grief and her obsession that Nick's death was far more than just an accident, Clara is plunged into a desperate hunt for the truth. Who would have wanted Nick dead? And, more important, why? Clara will stop at nothing to find out—and the truth is only the beginning of this twisted tale of secrets and deceit. Told in the alternating perspectives of Clara's investigation and Nick's last months leading up to the crash, master of suspense Mary Kubica weaves her most chilling thriller to date—one that explores the dark recesses of a mind plagued by grief and shows that some secrets might be better left buried.
The Couple at No. 9
Claire Douglas - 2021
Until the bodies were found . . .
BODIES FOUND UNDER PATIOWhen pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into 9 Skelton Place with boyfriend Tom and sets about renovations the last thing she expects is builders uncovering a body - two bodies, in fact.POLICE INVESTIGATEForensics indicate the bodies have been buried at least thirty years. Nothing Saffy need worry herself over. Until the police launch a murder investigation and ask to speak to the cottage's former owner - her grandmother, Rose.OWNER QUESTIONEDRose is in a care home and Alzheimer's means her memory is increasingly confused. She can't help the police but it is clear she remembers something.A KILLER AT LARGE?As Rose's fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched.What happened thirty years ago?Why did no one miss the victims?What part did her grandmother play?And is Saffy now in danger?
Take Me Back
Meghan March - 2017
It should have been perfect, but saying “I do” doesn’t guarantee a happily-ever-after.Two years later, I barely recognize either of us behind the walls we’ve built.It’s time to bring it full circle. Back to a tropical paradise. Back to find out if we can still make this work.I’m not willing to give her up, but to save us, I have to risk everything. Two damaged people. Countless secrets. The fight of our lives.We might be broken, but we’re not done.
I Was Here
Gayle Forman - 2015
. . they weren’t anymore. When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question. I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.
Naked or Dead
A.E. Murphy - 2019
Already she hates it despite its beautiful landscape.Between riding her dirt bike through the sacred lands of the natives, plotting against those she meets, and holding greasy truckers at gunpoint, Lilith makes no time for love or friendship. Forever the walking mystery (read misery) of her new home and school.That is until Nokosi Locklear catches her eye with his arrogance and a hard, toned body that she’s certain she doesn’t want to climb.Shoved up against a locker by him in her first week, she sets him in her wicked sights.Life is only fun when you have somebody else’s pain to focus on. So long as you stay detached. Something Lilith will find is impossible to do when it comes to Nokosi. A guy with looks but no charm. Strength but no power. Love but no morals. With a serial killer roaming the States, taking victims one by one, a past in Nokosi’s eyes that he tries to hide, and a mother that would rather work than keep her daughters happy, Lilith finds plenty of time to spare and plenty of things to keep herself occupied. Note: This is your only trigger warning. Read at your own risk.