Book picks similar to
Now You Know by Nora Valters
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The Mad Girl
Andrew Colvin - 2021
Her father's abuse dominates Cee Stark's childhood memories, her young mind scarred by the betrayal and trauma. Fearing that life will never improve, she prays for help. After Cee's father and beloved brother are dead from an accident which she feels responsible for, the twelve-year-old turns to her parish priest for forgiveness and comfort. Over the next few years, she falls under the influence of his tortured mind and distorted teachings. Cee's struggle for emotional independence and the priest's desire for control begins a battle of wills. Several bad decisions are made resulting in three acts of violence in Albuquerque in the winter of 2012. Seventeen-year-old Cee is connected to the three victims, and the police follow the threads leading to her. However, the truth is more tangled.The Mad Girl asks the question: Can a teen ever escape her mistakes, now that they have become deadly?
Her Ocean Grave
Dana Perry - 2021
She can’t see the girl’s face, which is covered by her long, brown hair. But she knows her. She met her just yesterday…When Samantha Claymore doesn’t return home after an afternoon bicycle ride on Martha’s Vineyard, Detective Abby Pearce acts immediately. She knows from experience how quickly a lost girl can become a tragedy. Back on the island for the first time since she ran away as a teenager, Abby hopes solving Samantha’s case will make up for her past mistakes… But, as the media swarm and Samantha’s grieving mother joins the search, the police find no trace of the beloved sixteen-year-old—even when a reward is offered for her return.Trawling through old case files, Abby discovers that Samantha is not the only girl to have gone missing in the small community of Martha’s Vineyard. She’s convinced more could follow, but her team insists there’s no link to be found. Until Samantha’s best friend is found dead at the bottom of a cliff the next day…After searching Samantha’s bedroom and trawling through the files on her computer, Abby digs into the death of Samantha’s father five years ago at sea, following the trail to one of the island’s most powerful families. The same people who failed to protect Abby the night she was forced to leave as a young girl. Is there anyone left on this quiet island who Abby can trust? Can she find Samantha before more innocent lives are taken?An absolutely unputdownable and nail-biting crime thriller that will have you racing through the pages. Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Gregg Olsen.
The Imposter
Marin Montgomery - 2021
As a successful attorney, she’s worked hard to get to the top of her game—but when her personal and professional lives implode, Sibley looks for a way to turn the page.Unable to shake the tragic circumstances that caused her to flee her rural Midwestern hometown, Sibley wants nothing more than to reunite with her estranged mother, Deborah, and bury their past tensions.But as she reenters the life she left behind, she realizes her mother isn’t the same person she remembers, and she’s not the same daughter either.As both women struggle to piece together a tangled web of deceit and lies, and the shocking circumstances that caused Sibley to leave in the first place, it becomes clear there are secrets rooted deeper than either mother or daughter could ever have imagined.Can you really deceive your past and those around you?
The Wedding
Ruth Heald - 2021
Just four words were printed in the card, in such small lettering they were almost an afterthought. He doesn’t love you.I’ve been dreaming about this day – marrying Adam, my childhood sweetheart, who I’ve loved for eighteen years.I didn’t realize the perfect day would turn into the perfect nightmare.I was so excited to send out the wedding invitations, carefully writing everyone’s names on thick cream paper in beautiful cursive script.I had no idea I was inviting someone to destroy our marriage.I couldn’t wait to say ‘I do’ surrounded by loved ones clinking champagne glasses.I couldn’t imagine that one of them would try to hurt me.It was meant to be the first day of the rest of our lives.I never thought it would be the end of my life as I knew it.We were meant to share our vows, to toast our future. But when the truth comes out, shocking the onlooking guests and ripping my heart out, is a happy ever after possible?
Sleepless
Louise Mumford - 2020
So much so that at first she’s willing to overlook the oddities of the trial – the lack of any phone signal; the way she can’t leave her bedroom without permission; the fact that all her personal possessions are locked away, even her shoes.But it soon becomes clear that the trial doesn’t just want to help Thea sleep. It wants to control her sleep…
The Evil in You
Jutta Maria Herrmann - 2021
The killer. She’s been wrong before, but she knows she’s right this time. And she’s going to make him pay for what he did—at any cost.Fifteen years earlier: five teenagers, camping by a remote forest lake to celebrate the end of school, are terrorised. All but one are brutally murdered. All but Michaela. She is left alive, left to try and make sense of the trauma, to piece together the fragmented memories she has of that day.She’s seen the killer’s face since. She sees him everywhere she looks. But now she’s certain she’s found him. That cold velvet voice is unmistakeable…Unable to resist her obsession with bringing her friends’ murderer to justice, Michaela decides to take the law into her own hands, triggering events more terrible than that nightmarish summer’s day fifteen years earlier. But will she finally understand what really happened?
The Rising Tide
Sam Lloyd - 2021
Nothing so merciful. This news is a slovenly traveller, dragging its feet, gradually revealing its horrors. And it announces itself first with violence - the urgent hammering of fists on the front door. Life can change in a heartbeat.Lucy has everything she could wish for: a beautiful home high on the clifftops above the Devon coast, a devoted husband and two beloved children.Then one morning, time stops. Their family yacht is recovered, abandoned far out at sea. Lucy's husband is nowhere to be found and as the seconds tick by, she begins to wonder - what if he was the one who took the boat? And if so, where is he now?As a once-in-a-generation storm frustrates the rescue operation, Lucy pieces together what happened onboard. And then she makes a fresh discovery. One that plunges her into a nightmare more shocking than any she could ever have imagined . . .
I'll Never Tell
Casey Kelleher - 2021
Now, just when I thought no one from my old life would ever find me, the note slides under my door: I haven’t forgotten. I haven’t forgiven. FOUND YOU.When we were young, Sarah and I spent all our time in a place we called the Doll House. It was just an old, abandoned cottage in the woods behind our house but it was heaven to us. Until one of our games went wrong. And someone ended up dead.It was an accident, or at least Sarah told me it was. But when I tried to tell the police that I wasn’t involved, they didn’t believe me. When the Doll House Girls were splashed across the newspapers, it was my face they showed under the headlines. I’m the one who stood trial.Now, twenty years on, I’ve made a new life with a new identity. I have a wonderful husband, Carl, and Jacob, our adorable son. Despite everything in my past, I’m happy.Then the first note arrives. FOUND YOU. Soon other threats start coming, and the person behind them is clear they’d be willing to hurt my family – to hurt Jacob – to get to me. I know who they are. And I know what they’re capable of. The other doll… The girl who got away with murder.A totally addictive page-turner packed with heart-stopping twists, if you love Lisa Jewell, Rachel Abbott and The Silent Patient you’ll love I’ll Never Tell.
The Other Couple
Sarah J. Naughton - 2018
Gripping. Colourful. Great setting. Absorbing characters.' - Jane Corry, bestselling author of MY HUSBAND'S WIFE and BLOOD SISTERS
It was meant to be the perfect honeymoon.
A five-star resort in paradise.White sands, a private villa and world-class cuisine.A chance for newlyweds Asha and Ollie Graveney to recover from a recent tragedy, and enjoy the holiday of their dreams.Except someone has other plans...
And paradise has turned into a nightmare.
If you like Clare Mackintosh, BA Paris, Jenny Blackhurst, Rachel Abbott, Laura Marshall, Elle Croft, Cara Hunter or Lisa Jewell then you will be utterly gripped by this dark, twisty tale ************* "From the moment Asha and Ollie set off on honeymoon the cracks begin to show, as Naughton skilfully weaves three timelines into a chilling drama... As the tension rose, I turned the pages faster and faster - until the denouement hit me like a juggernaut." - Alison Belsham, author of THE TATTOO THIEF'Brilliantly chilling and claustraphobic, the thought of being trapped in paradise yet knowing something wasn't right was such a frightening concept. I didn't guess at any point what was going to happen... I loved it!' - Karen Hamilton, author of THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND"I am sleep deprived having stayed awake desperate to find out what happened to Asha & Ollie in Vietnam. I wasn't disappointed, this is a very well setup ending, everyone is under suspicion with lots of clever red herrings." - Amazon reviewer, 5 stars
Praise for Sarah J. Naughton's Tattletale:
'A perfect example of how a psychological thriller should be written - intricately plotted and full of shocking surprises.' Lisa Hall, author of BETWEEN YOU AND ME'a fast paced, brilliant page-turner...I predict a hit' Liz Nugent'...deliciously clever - I still haven't stopped thinking about the magnificent, twisted construction of it' Emma Kavanagh, author of THE MISSING HOURS'It's one of the best debuts I've read. It deserves to be MASSIVE.' Julia Crouch'Lies, mystery and murder wrought by childhood trauma in this compulsive, twisty thriller.' Helen Smith, author of BEYOND BELIEF'Like any great mystery, Tattletale would, at every twist, lead me to think I'd put the pieces together - only to turn the puzzle upside down.' Grazia'A twisty thriller that will leave you gasping your way through it as the story twists and turns.' Goodreads'This is a psychological thriller with a twist, and a very twisted heart. This story is what happens when two people from very broken beginnings are brought together. This story is what happens when fear eclipses the need for justice and fairness, when the strong and arrogant prey upon the weak. This book is one which deserves every bit of praise it is undoubtedly going to get.' Goodreads
Don't Forget To Breathe
Cathrina Constantine - 2015
Unaware that the killer still lingers, she rushes to her mother’s side, only to be grabbed from behind. And everything fades to black.Leo has been battling personal demons after a year of retrograde amnesia. She’s been having vivid dreams of that day. And her dreams are getting worse—she’s starting to remember. Two more bodies are discovered and they are oddly linked to her mom’s unsolved homicide.Leo befriends her new neighbor. He’s eager to visit Star Hallow’s notorious haunted mansion. It’s located on a deserted cul-de-sac where she once lived and where her mom was murdered. But it’s the Lucien Estate, the mansion next door to her old home, where they happen upon misty ghosts, ghosts that just might help to unravel the homicides.Will Leo’s memories send her reeling into a relapse, or will she be able to overcome her demons to find her mother’s killer – only to become the next victim?
The Playdate
Victoria Jenkins - 2021
Child’s play. Preparing the house was more difficult. It was only now she realised how many photographs there were: the picture-perfect unit. Wife, husband, child. All of it a lie.I made a new friend at playgroup today. She’s different from the other mothers. She feels like someone I can trust. Someone I can confide in.But there are some things I can’t tell her. Things I can’t tell anyone.Because I have a secret that no one else knows. One that still haunts my dreams, wakes me up in cold sweat at night.Even another mother would never understand. Unless, of course, she’s hiding something too…From the bestselling author of The Argument, this utterly addictive psychological thriller will have you hooked from the first page to the final, mind-blowing twist. Fans of Friend Request, The Silent Patient and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down!
In a Deep Dark Wood
Tina Pritchard - 2021
She tells the police exactly what she saw, but their investigation doesn’t seem to make much headway.Fran tries to settle back into a normal life, but is tormented by guilt – was there something she could have done to save the boy? Fran can’t let it go and finds herself drawn to Tyler’s grieving mother, Mel, both finding some strange connection through this shared trauma.Then someone launches a terrifying campaign of intimidation against Fran and her husband, Laurie. Could it be the killers? Are they letting her know she had better be careful what she says? Who she sees? And why is Mel acting so strangely? Does she know more about her son’s death than she is saying?Fran can’t help herself – she needs to know the truth. But when she begins to dig, she uncovers the terrible secret of the deep, dark wood – a secret that will change her life forever.
The Perfect Getaway
Kiersten Modglin - 2020
When four couples receive invitations to try out a luxury island resort, they are excited for a week of relaxation and reconnecting.For some, it’s the honeymoon they never had the chance to take.For others, it’s a last-ditch attempt to save their crumbling marriage. But when one of the group members ends up dead on the night of a terrible storm, what was once a paradise soon becomes a prison. Trapped on the island with no cell phone service and no means of escape, the couples fear the worst. What exactly happened to their friend? And could they be next? Determined to learn the truth, the couples search for answers, but only discover more secrets. Friendships, loyalties, and marriages are put to the ultimate test as they grapple to decide who to trust and who could be a threat.Will they make it off the island? Or will the perfect getaway turn into their last?
It Was Always You
Sarah K. Stephens - 2019
Considering the childhood trauma she encountered, Morgan wants to be grateful for the relationship. But a fight with Justin leaves her feeling shaken.Before the couple go on a romantic weekend trip, Morgan attends an appointment with her neurologist, Dr. Koftura, who has monitored her since an accident she had when she was seven years old. Morgan has a history of sabotaging her romantic relationships and the Doctor is concerned that she is following the same patterns with Justin.On the day of their trip Justin’s behavior becomes erratic and he runs the car off the road into a tree, killing himself and hurting Morgan.When she awakens in the hospital to find that Justin is dead, Morgan has little time to grapple with this loss before detectives arrive to question her about the crash.As it becomes clear that the detectives believe Morgan is responsible for Justin’s death, Morgan must unlock the secrets of her past in order to prove her innocence.
But can she really trust her own mind?
The Third Nanny
Michele Pariza Wacek - 2021
Including the nanny.Janey hadn’t heard from her sister Kelly since she ran away from home eight years ago.Until the day the letter arrived.A disturbing letter.But before Janey could make contact, Kelly disappeared again. And the only clue they had to work with was in Redemption, Wisconsin, where Kelly had worked as a nanny.So, Janey decided to follow in her sister’s footsteps … by taking over her job.The family has secrets, and the more Janey digs, the more twisted the story becomes.And the more Janey realizes she might be the next to disappear.Welcome to Redemption, Wisconsin, a town with a troubling past, where nothing is as it seems.“The Third Nanny” is a standalone, psychological thriller, set in the world of the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series.