Book picks similar to
Don't Look Back by M.J. Fredrick


contemporary-romance
suspense
mystery
romantic-suspense

Jackson Rule


Dinah McCall - 1996
    Now he was starting over-or trying to. Once he laid hungry eyes on his new employer, though, his resolve to lead a simple, solitary life deserted him, replaced by yearnings for fierce, forbidden passion. WHAT COULD HE GIVE HER BUT TROUBLEPreacher's daughter Rebecca Hill was raised to give folks the benefit of the doubt--though maybe this time she'd taken charity a bit too far. True, Jackson Rule had paid his debt to society, and was a hard, honest worker. What threatened to undo her was the sheer burning desire she felt in his presence, and the sinking feeling that her heart would be his captive forever.

Claiming the Enemy: Dustin


Jamie Begley - 2018
    They used to play and get in trouble together, shared a playpen, and their mothers used to be best friends. But that was before their fathers made them enemies and changed the course of their lives. Now the Porters stayed on their side of the mountain while the Hayes stayed on theirs. Believing it was easier to coexist as frenemies with Jessie Hayes rather than changing the Porter stubborn ways, Dustin was content with booty calls, raising his son, and growing weed as a side business … until he heard her screams. Now he was going to show a murderer just how much they had underestimated this Porter brother. And he was going to have to break his father’s last rule: Leave no enemy standing … to claim the enemy that held his heart.

The Eyewitness


Nancy C. Weeks - 2017
    He is off limits. A sexual dance between her and Alec fractures Emersyn’s close relationship with her father just moments before a sniper’s bullet rips Joe D’Azzo from her life.The forensic report ties the fatal bullet to an ongoing spree of sniper killings across the state. Her father's murder wasn’t a random act of violence, and Emersyn can't stay clear of his case. Alec could help her find the true motive, but while he makes her heart race, history taught her a hard lesson. She can’t trust him. She can't trust anyone.Thrown together, they uncover a decades-old disappearance of a college student, and Joe D'Azzo was a person of interest. The investigation takes a deadly twist. Can they learn to trust each other with their hearts to save their lives?

Lost Boy


Ker Dukey - 2020
    When new bodies start to pop up with the infamous Hollywell Slayer’s signature written all over them, Lizzy’s life turns upside down.Death now stalking her at every turn, Lizzy isn’t prepared for a ruggedly handsome mystery man, Clark entering her life, making her question everything she thought she knew. The intensity between them is palpable, but there’s something that isn’t adding up, and one thing Lizzy knows all too well, monsters don’t lie in wait. They hunt you out.Life is a game of survival.But who is the hunter and who is the prey?This is a psychological romantic suspense standalone title.

Morgan's Hunter


Cate Beauman - 2012
    socialite and wildlife biologist, leads a charmed life until everything changes with a phone call. Her research team has been found dead—slaughtered—in backcountry Montana.As the case grows cold, Morgan is determined to unravel the mystery behind her friends’ gruesome deaths. Despite the dangers of a murderer still free, nothing will stand in her way, not even the bodyguard her father hires, L.A.’s top Close Protection Agent, Hunter Phillips.Sparks fly from the start when no-nonsense Hunter clashes with Morgan’s strong-willed independence. Their endless search for answers proves hopeless—until Hunter discovers the truth. On the run and at the mercy of a madman, Morgan and Hunter must outsmart a killer to save their own lives.

Forget Me Not


Willow Winters - 2017
     I was only a small girl. Scared and frightened, I was taken from my home and held against my will. His father hurt me, but he protected me and kept me safe as best he could. Until I left him. I ran the first chance I got and even though I knew he wasn’t behind me, I didn’t stop. The branches lashed out at me, punishing me for leaving him in the hands of a monster. I’ve never felt such guilt in my life. Although I survived, the boy was never found. I prayed for him to be safe. I dreamed he’d be alright and come back to me. Even as a young girl I knew I loved him, but I betrayed him. Twenty years later, all my wishes came true. But the boy came back a man. With a grip strong enough to keep me close and a look in his eyes that warned me to never dare leave him again. I was his to keep after all. Twenty years after leaving one hell, I entered another. Our tale was only just getting started. It’s dark and twisted. But that doesn’t make it any less of what it is. A love story. Our love story.

Undertow


Cherry Adair - 2010
    Teal must help him dredge up a shipwrecked vessel containing an abundance of gold, silver, and emeralds—and she'll claim part of the prize.HE'S BLOWN OFF COURSE.Zane needs a mechanic—not a lover—and Teal, who can also dive, is perfect for the job. So it suits him just fine that Teal is completely immune to his charms…or so he tells himself. But with a deadly enemy in their midst—one who's silently edging closer—Zane and Teal sink into troubled waters. Trapped in the middle of a perilous sea, they have no one to turn to but each other as they face down a danger that runs unfathomably deep—and a passion that runs even deeper…

Material Witness


Lisa Mondello - 2012
    Researching the cool, blue-eyed and dashingly handsome man at the end of the bar stirred her senses more than she wanted to admit. But was this man of leather armor all he appeared to be?Playing White Knight to an innocent wasn't how Detective Jake Santos planned to spend his time under cover. But there was no way "CJ" was what she claimed to be and that nagging tightness in Jake's chest told him he'd better take her home to safety and leave it at that. Then the barroom exploded with gunfire, leaving a trail of dead that includes a notorious Providence crime boss and an undercover FBI agent. When Cassie's name is leaked to the media as the only witness to the grisly murders, Cassie insists she only trusts Jake to protect her.The FBI wants their star witness happy and will do anything to make sure Cassie testifies. But it is clear to Jake that the shooter isn't the only person who wants Cassie dead. Not knowing who to trust, he vows to protect Cassie at all cost despite the fact that guarding the beautiful novelist is a serious distraction. MATERIAL WITNESS is the follow-up Romantic Suspense Novel by Lisa Mondello's Yuletide Protector and is book 1 of her new Heroes of Providence series.

Dead Again


Tracy Cooper-Posey - 2010
    The man she loved is dead—has been for ten long years. Jack Laubreaux saved her life after their plane crashed in the rugged Rockies, then died of his own injuries. But she still misses him, so when a drifter who reminds her of Jack shows up in Serenity Falls, she’s drawn to him.Martin Stride just wants a job and a warm place to sleep for the cold Rocky Mountain winter. That’s about all life has to offer him these days. He would have stayed out of this small Montana town if he’d known a pretty woman would take a fancy to him. That never ends well for him.His pursuers let him live, as long as he settled for not having a life. But this time, he can’t seem to make himself walk away. Which means he’ll have to protect Sophie and her family, with no one to depend on but a corrupt local sheriff who wants her too.Small town law enforcement isn’t equipped to handle a deadly Chicago crime lord whose power extends into state government and beyond. Can Martin assemble them into a team? Because this time, he’s not running. This time he’ll use all resources to stir up the power elite until he reaches the rot at their dark core.

Hell on Wheels


Julie Ann Walker - 2012
    But he’s done something so heinous he’s convinced she’ll never forgive him if she discovers the truth, so he keeps his feelings and his secrets to himself. Then she blows into town with a mother lode of bad guys on her tail and Nate can’t deny she’s in serious trouble. Unfortunately, he’s the only one who can help her.She’s the good girl he’s kept at arm’s length...Ali knows Nate as the most solemn, aloof man on the planet. Sadly, he’s also the sexiest. For years she’s avoided him, unable to stomach his dark scowls and brooding silences… especially when she secretly yearns for his touch. Now she must rely on him to save her from the malevolent shadows ghosting her every move. When the bullets explode, so does their passion. But can love really conquer all? Or are some things just too terrible to forgive?

The Crossroads Cafe


Deborah Smith - 2006
    There she finds unexpected love and a new life with a man who lost his family in 9-11.

Concrete Evidence


Rachel Grant - 2013
    Now she wants revenge…Accused of stealing artifacts from a five hundred year-old shipwreck, underwater archaeologist Erica Kesling is determined to clear her name. She’s concealed her past and taken a job certain to give her access to the buyer of the missing antiquities. She's finally closing in on her goal, when she's distracted by a sexy, charismatic intern who makes her want something other than revenge.But Lee Scott is no intern. He's looking for the lead conspirator in an international artifact smuggling scheme, and Erica is his prime suspect. He’ll do whatever it takes to win her trust and get her to reveal her secrets, even seduce her.As Erica and Lee struggle to conceal their real agendas, the one thing they can’t hide is the attraction that burns hot between them. When Erica’s quest puts her life in jeopardy, Lee must choose between old loyalties and a woman he never expected to fall for.

Edge of Control


Trish Loye - 2015
    Security is a covert international organization that handles jobs most governments won’t. The operators are the elite of the elite, soldiers and spies, chosen for their skills and secrecy, and their ability to go beyond the edge. E.D.G.E wants to recruit Navy SEAL Jake ‘College’ Harrison but he’s skeptical of the good he can do as an E.D.G.E. operator. His trial assignment is a simple recon mission with the target being the Russian mob. The only interesting aspect of the job is the sexy IT tech, but Jake doesn’t want or need any trouble in his life and Dani has trouble written all over her. No one knows who Danielle Everett really is, beyond the fact that she works as a simple tech at E.D.G.E. Security company. The new hire who gets the operator job she covets, frustrates her as much as he attracts her, because he digs beneath her carefully constructed identity and she has to fight the urge to run. But when Dani’s best friend goes missing, she uses the hacking and thieving skills she’d learned as a child to find her, but in the process alerts her enemies that she’s still alive. Can she trust Jake to help her escape and save her friend, or will she push him to the edge of his control?

Brick


Jen Davis - 2019
    During the day it’s mud and grime on the construction site. At night…it’s the blood I spill. A drug lord’s enforcer does what needs to be done. It’s my obedience, my loyalty to the boss that keeps my family alive. I know I’m teetering on the edge. I’m losing my humanity, I can feel it. It’s changing me, and it’s only a matter of time before the darkness takes over.Then I meet her. Liv. The only person who sees past my busted knuckles and brutal exterior. She sees…me. But being with me will get her killed. The only way I can keep her safe is by staying away. Until her own actions catapult her into the center of my world—a world which will swallow her whole. Now I’m forced to be the ruthless bastard I’ve been for so long. Only this time it’s not to destroy…but to defend.

Carnal Innocence


Nora Roberts - 1991
    But when a brutal killer starts claiming the lives of the town's most attractive women, lifelong neighbors are forced to wonder if the culprit is a stranger lurking in the bayou...or someone right next door.World-famous concert violinist Caroline Waverly knows nothing of the murders when she arrives in Innocence. Burned out from a childhood lost to endless rehearsals and an all-too-public breakup with the conductor who was her lover, Caroline is looking for a little peace and some time to think. She hopes that a stay at her late grandmother's house the one with a covered porch just made for soft summer nights will provide the tranquillity she needs. But Innocence has something else to offer Caroline: a man named Tucker Longstreet.Blessed with the Longstreet good looks, lazy charm, and family fortune, Tucker is a tall, cool drink of water and he knows it. He likes to keep his romances short and shallow. But one look at Caroline, and Tucker realizes that she is unlike any other woman he's met. Tightly coiled and coolly reserved, Caroline is determined to fight him off. She might be able to do a better job if she hadn't felt an unexpected thrill at his ardent advances...and if she hadn't been so scared after finding a third murder victim in the murky waters behind her home.For Caroline Waverly,a beautiful summer interlude could turn into much more or could stir a killer's crazed dreams. Because there's just one small problem with her new romance: Tucker is the leading suspect in the killings.