Book picks similar to
Playthings by Daniel I. Russell


gothic
horror
mystery-suspense
psychological

The Bones of Morden Gray


David Brian - 2020
    A depraved undertaker whose predilections go beyond a desire to resurrect the dead. A murdered girl bonded to the fiend who stole her life. And a desperate son on the verge of discovering a terrible secret about his missing mother…When the dead rise.When perennial slacker Timothy Harker is forced into accepting a job as a junior undertaker, he soon becomes convinced that the building in which he works is haunted. He sets up six friends for a late night visit, planning a series of pranks aimed at terrifying his companions.It’s time to run.It doesn’t take long for them to prove the building is haunted, but there is far more to fear than the unfortunate souls trapped within the borders of Gray, Skies and Toliver.In a house of pain, horror and death, seven friends fight for survival, banding together in order to uncover long-buried secrets, and to reveal the dreadful truth about the bones of Morden Gray.

The Coldness of Objects


Panayotis Cacoyannis - 2021
    When a postman knocks on his door, the news he delivers will cause 70-year-old Anthony Pablo Rubens to reflect on all the sadnesses and joys of the past, while he begins to prepare for the surprises of the future.The past still revolves around the moment in the summer of 1984 when young Anthony first realized he had fallen in love.The present is a Kafkaesque nightmare worse than Orwell's 1984, "a hideous world where people don't need to be watched by Big Brother." It's a world that Anthony has mostly shut his eyes to, but which suddenly he is forced to confront.And the future now encompasses the mystery, and excitement, and dread of a day as an exhibit at the National People's Museum.A dystopian political satire, The Coldness of Objects is also a story of loss, and of different kinds of love.

Your Husband, Our Man: The Wrong Kind of Love


Tracee Boyd - 2015
    When Ocean took her vows for better or worse, she never anticipated that the worse would come in a form of another woman who thought she deserved the #1 spot in her husband's life. Since when did you have to compete for you own husband?That may sound like a silly question but for Ocean, it's all too real.On the other hand, Ari feels as if she's met the man of her dreams but there's only one problem, he's married. From what he tell her, his marriage is on paper only but how long can that last and what happens when two women are in love with the same man and refuse to give in?This story is told through the eyes of the mistress who feels she's more than earned her position, the wife who has secrets of her own and the husband who thinks he has everything under control. Everyone in this triangle is carrying a secret but whose secret is dark enough to shatter their lives in a million pieces?The wrong kind of love will have you doing and accepting things you'd never thought you would. Welcome to the craziest love triangle you'll every encounter and remember, never form an opinion until you understand all sides...

The Allure Of A Thug


Natisha Raynor - 2019
    She’s young and the world is still turning, so eventually, she has to move on. If Satan had a son, it would be Quadim. Even though he saved her in a sense, he was far from a knight in shining armor. Being dependent on him and having love for his brother that she helped to care for, made her stay in a dead end situation for far too long. When she wants to leave, Quadim doesn’t get the memo, and he vows that if he can’t have her nobody will. 
 Kyreem aka Panama is home from a prison bid and trying to do the right thing, but he just can’t get with being broke. Reconnecting with two old friends puts him in the right situations to come up and rekindle love, but it also places him directly in the middle of some beef.

My Mother's Wedding


Frankie McGowan - 2013
    She was forever at war with her father Harry. And she became estranged from him after she refused to give up her lover, a man her father loathed. But after he dies, Alice has to reassess their stormy relationship. And when her quiet, retiring, sixty-year old mother looks set to remarry less than a year after their father's death, the rest of the family are in uproar. Who is this stranger who has stolen their mother's heart and quite possibly her wealth, her siblings demand to know? Alice, however, believes that there is more to her gentle mother's new love than meets the eye. And she realises that it's not her mother's future that needs to be examined - but her past. From the metro bustle of London to the vibrant lure of Chicago, Alice searches for a truth that has been hidden through the years. And yet if she finds it, can she, or indeed the entire Melrose family, deal with the consequences? 'My Mother's Wedding' is a moving story of family, love and secrets that will grip readers from the first page to the last. 'An incredible story that kept me hooked.' - Holly Kinsella, best-selling author of 'Uptown Girl'. Frankie McGowan is a journalist and former magazine editor. Her novels include 'A Kept Woman' and 'A Better Life.' Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Angels (Nevada James #3) (Nevada James Mysteries)


Matthew Storm - 2016
    Back then he promised he'd resume their deadly game of cat and mouse soon. But since then...he's done nothing. Out of leads and with nothing to go on, Nevada has nothing to do but wait. But in the meantime, she learns one of her old criminal informants has been tryingto get in touch with her. Krystal Harris, a former gang member, has information about a series of murders that she wants to pass on in exchange for enough money to leave town. But Krystal is murdered before Nevada has the chance to discover what information her informant wanted to give her. Now Nevada has a new crime to solve, and a score to settle. Four people are dead, and Nevada is determined to find out why.

Sasquatch


K.T. Tomb - 2014
    Stevens to find a legendary creature that he believes lurks in the Piney Woods. What she doesn't count on is leading a motley team of field investigators: Sam, the pompous anthropologist; Julie, the know-it-all biologist and survivalist; Ben, whose tattoos hide more than they reveal; and Hal, a seasoned adventurer. In the unforgiving boggy Texas woodlands, their days-long foray to seek Bigfoot leads Lux and her team to a remarkable discovery. Or a hoax. When one of the team disobeys her orders, the tables are turned and the predator becomes the prey. Now, it will take all of her instincts, training, and courage to help her team survive the danger and emerge from the woods. Five adventurers go into the deep woods seeking proof, but will they live to tell the world what they discover? SASQUATCH is K.T. Tomb’s first novel featuring Lux Branson in the Sasquatch series, and is her twenty-fourth book. “Epic and awesome!” —J.T. Cross, bestselling author of Beneath the Deep “K.T. Tomb is a wonderful new voice in adventure fiction.” —Aiden James, bestselling author of Plague of Coins

Sold ~ Party Toy (The Billionaires Club Interracial BDSM Book 1)


Q. Zayne - 2017
    I had a three-day notice to pay rent or quit. The ad was the answer to my problem. Someone needed a party hostess for 24 hours on a private island. With my catering experience and model looks, I could get the gig. But when I set eyes on the man about to fly me to the island, I realized I might have made a mistake. The tall, older, arrogant stranger didn’t just undress me with his eyes, he used me right there on the pavement. Deviant desires seemed to radiate from him. He pulled a black leather dog collar out of his pocket. “Wait. You have to sign this before we do anything. Read it.” He handed me a contract. The wind swept a bottle down the runway and blew my skirt up. It was hard to read with his dark eyes looking right through my underwear and into my secret places. “This is a mistake. I didn’t know the ad meant —.” “You thought you were going to serve canapes on a tray?” He chuckled. “No, Brittani. You’re the main course.” His eyes worked me over again. “And you’re perfect.” He handed me a pen that probably cost more than my laptop. “Just sign at the bottom of the page. Full disclosure, full consent. That’s the way I do business.” “Can I leave?” “Of course you can leave. If you leave now. But you don’t get paid if you leave. Once we get to the island, you’re ours for 24-hours.” He tapped the contract with his long finger. “When your service is over, I transfer $10,000 to your account and send you home.” “$10,000?” I choked on it. That was more than generous. I scanned the contract again. It had long, dense paragraphs of disclaimers and waivers but not much in the way of details. “I’ll be — okay — when it’s over?” “You’ll be okay.” He smiled. I liked his smile. I needed the money. I signed. He put the collar around my neck and buckled it. If you like dark short erotica, kinky alpha billionaires — and no-entrances-barred hard-and-unprotected group interracial action with a white woman at the center, you'll love Q. Zayne's creamy story about Brittani’s scary-hot visit to The Billionaire’s Club. Click Buy and get the adventure! All characters are 18+ and readers should be, too, due to language and sexual content. If you're over 21, enjoy the dash of interracial BMWW romance sparked amid all the juicy action. :)

The Buzzing (A Narrowdale Novella)


Michael Omer - 2015
    But this is Narrowdale, and nothing’s ever quite normal. When two of the kids she is looking after disappear, things quickly spiral out of control. Now Roxanne's crawling around in old maintenance tunnels, catching glimpses of creepy happenings in the building's many apartments. In one of them lives a man with a dark, terrible secret, and Roxanne's path is on a collision course with his. And all around the man, there is a strange sound of buzzing…

The Old Coaching Inn: A Cornish Mystery


Daphne Neville - 2020
    

Shoplift


Claire Sheehy - 2020
     Hunting a murderer in the seething mass of people shopping in the North West's biggest shopping centre, Lizzie finds herself trapped in a glass lift with four other people when it suddenly stops between floors.A young girl looking ready to give birth at any moment begins to panic, an old man tries to take charge whilst the other captives in the lift, an engaged couple whose relationship worries Lizzie, are desperate to get out.The lights go out, the shopping centre is evacuated. Lizzie has to rely on her wits to keep everyone calm and get the lift down to safety without alerting the murderer that she's onto them.

Alone On the Beach


Cathryn Grant - 2015
     Corrine Dunning loves living by the ocean, and her life is getting even better now that she’s falling in love with Andy Johnson. When Corrine meets a blind old woman who insists the concrete ship in Monterey Bay is haunted, she doesn’t believe it. Although Mary Carmichael is blind now, she’s seen a lot of love affairs bloom and die near Seacliff Beach. She was a child when the concrete SS Palo Alto was pulled up to the pier at Seacliff — she’s always known it was haunted, and she knows the ghost will weave itself into Corrine’s life, taking over her thoughts. While Corrine and Mary begin a tentative friendship, Corrine’s relationship with Andy takes an unsettling turn. Is it possible Corrine’s mistrust began when she saw the ghostly woman on the ship? Now, Corrine must battle a spirit that’s made a home inside her mind.

Betrayal Bend


Andrea M. Long - 2021
    A gorgeous couple with sunshine smiles and a perfect marriage.But behind Shay’s smile lies unrest. She loves the husband she met in high school, but sometimes she feels trapped. Trapped by the island, trapped by her marriage and providing stability to her younger sister, and trapped by the whole ‘good’ ethos that underpins their company.The tourists provide a distraction. They come, stay a short while, and leave again, and that leaves Shay with opportunities. Ones where she can not be such a good girl.But on Liar’s Island you can trust no one... so Shay’s betrayal might not stay secret for long.

Throw the Bouquet


M. Scott Swanson - 2019
    She picked him.A devoted friend would end his devious plan by stopping the doomed wedding and save her friend from becoming a possible murder victim. I want to be the daring friend who rescues Susan from her lunatic lover. It's just I have no evidence, only an illusive dream.Plus, I'm not keen on becoming a social outcast.I'm not being dramatic. It will cripple Susan emotionally if I tell her the truth. Not to mention her rich father has dropped a fortune on this event.Why can't Susan see her depraved fianc�'s true nature? I don't need my psychic 'Gifts, ' to understand he's a ruthless bully cloaked in genteel charisma.And what's with his volatile "Cousin." Her steamy gazes in his direction are, well awkward. It's as if she's working a behind the scenes plan.The only thing more trying than being in so many weddings is my paranormal abilities reappearing with unbridled strength--awful timing.My decision has life-altering consequences. The first option will haunt me forever if my visions are true. The second choice turns me into a pariah amongst my friends.Being psychic is such a drag.Throw the Bouquet is the 1st installment in the April May Snow Psychic Adventure Shorts and it is a SHORT STORY intro to an extensive series. The stories are stand-alone, but the current, complete list is below.Do you enjoy Janet Evanovich, Colleen Helme, Erin Huss, JB Lynn, Jana DeLeon, Angie Fox, Elizabeth Hunter, or Amanda M. Lee? Throw the Bouquet will keep you turning pages to the end! Do you want more April May Snow?Try the complete prequel series listed below. #1 Throw the Bouquet (Short intro story) #2 Throw the Cap (Novella) #3 Throw the Dice (Novella) #4 Throw the Elbow (Short Novel) #5 Throw the Fastball (Short Novel) #6 Throw the Gauntlet (Short Novel) #7 Throw the Hissy (Short Novel)April May Snow continues in the "Foolish" series of full length Psychic Mystery novels #1 Foolish Aspirations

The Luxury Orphanage


Grant Finnegan - 2020
    Ravenstone House, built in the early 1800s, was once a majestic home. Then it was used as an orphanage for decades. When it closed its doors in 1956, the building lay derelict for more than thirty years.In its neighbourhood, the house is well known for being haunted. But only when it is converted into luxury flats do the dark secrets from its past come to light. The unexpected events that follow will upend the lives of the residents as the tortured souls trapped beneath Ravenstone reveal themselves to demand justice.Get us to where we belong.It's not our fault.We did nothing wrong.