Book picks similar to
The Maidens: Chapter Sampler by Alex Michaelides


thriller
mystery
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thriller-mystery-suspense

A Game of Greed and Deception


John Mathews - 2014
    They travel to a mountain hideaway to celebrate their first year together as a family when things begin to unravel. Her husband goes missing after a treacherous car accident, and the wife and daughter seem trapped and isolated, and stalked from both inside and outside the cabin. What ensues is the story of a woman driven by her soulless greed and self entitlement, and a man who is wronged and apparently out to get revenge. This deadly game of cat and mouse will keep you on the edge of your seat. The macabre scenes include deadly traps and medieval torture devices, hidden doors, secret rooms, and an underground labyrinth of torture chambers. Add in the legend of a hoard of pure gold bars, and it becomes clear that someone has a much bigger plan in mind and will let nothing get in their way. But who? This is the story of a plot so devious that it is set up to fool the State police investigation. But can it fool you? Keep guessing until the final scene as to what is really going on and let your intuition guide you.

The Stranger in the Mirror


Liv Constantine - 2021
    It’s not her fiancé; he’s a wonderful man. It’s because Addison doesn't know who she really is. A few years ago, a kind driver found her bleeding next to a New Jersey highway and rescued her. While her physical wounds healed, Addison’s memory never returned. She doesn’t know her real name. Or how she ended up injured on the side of a road. Or why she can’t shake the notion that she may have done something very, very bad . . .In a posh home in the Boston suburbs, Julian tries to figure out what happened to his loving, caring wife, Cassandra, who disappeared without a trace two years ago. She would never have left him and their seven-year-old daughter Valentina of her own free will—or would she?As these two lives intersect, The Stranger in the Mirror hooks readers with riveting drama, told with Liv Constantine’s hallmark blend of glamour, tense psychological thrills, and jaw-dropping twists.

The Girl Who Went Nowhere


Marc Daniel - 2020
     Could the timing be a coincidence? Criminal profiler Ethan Archer doubts it, but can he trust his own judgment? Didn’t he lose his touch along with everything else that fateful night when his life was shattered to pieces? Archer hasn’t worked a murder case since and has no desire to start again. But when the body count rises and he finds himself in the killer’s crosshairs, he no longer has a choice. In a case where nothing is as it seems, can Archer confront the demons of his past and prevent further bloodshed, or will the killer prove too cunning for him? A riveting mystery full of twists and deceptions that will keep you reading through the night. Read The Girl Who Went Nowhere today and find out why Marc Daniel’s readers keep coming back for more.

Stake


Kevin J. Anderson - 2020
    And Simon Helsing believes he was put on this Earth to do the job. He is on a single-minded crusade to hunt down vampires and kill them in their lairs. But what if vampires aren’t real? The only thing that Detective Todd Carrow believes is that the bodies turning up in Colorado Springs are the work of a lunatic. Are they strange and sadistic gang murders? Or does someone actually believe in the existence of vampires? Lexi Tarada wants to believe. As a teenager, she had an experience she still can’t explain. Now, her website sifts through the bizarre phenomena and the crazy conspiracy theories to find out what is - or might be - real. Who should Lexi believe? The detective on the case of the sadistic murders...or the guy who drives stakes through the hearts of the victims? As Lexi gets drawn deeper into Helsing’s bizarre world, and Carrow follows an increasingly baffling set of clues, fact blends into fiction, and the line blurs between what is imagined and what is real. And that may be exactly what the vampires want.

The Midnight Side


Natasha Mostert - 2000
    Lucid dreaming. A ghost manipulating the London stock exchange. And a truly frightening story of love gone wrong. THE MIDNIGHT SIDE is a chilling tale of a seductive woman who, even from the grave, is able to manipulate events to her satisfaction. A haunting story of obsession and revenge, Natasha Mostert’s novel is an intricate psychological thriller with an ending that will leave you breathless.

Bleeders


Anthony Bruno - 2014
    At the same time serial killer Gene Lassiter has been on an obsessive twenty-year search for the daughter of his first kill. If she finds him, justice can at last be served. If he finds her, one man’s reign of terror can continue unabated.  In a stunning life-or-death final act, the hunter and the hunted go head-to-head, with a shocking ending that bleeds justice dry.

The Jester


Michael J. Sullivan - 2016
    A thief, a candlemaker, an ex-mercenary, and a pig farmer walk into a trap…and what happens to them is no joke. When Riyria is hired to retrieve a jester’s treasure, Royce and Hadrian must match wits with a dwarf who proves to be anything but a fool. Difficult choices will need to be made, and in the end those who laugh last do so because they are the only ones to survive.This is a graphic novel, based on Sullivan's short story The Jester, and featuring the two charming rogues who are the main characters of both of his Riyria series, No prior knowledge of The Riyria Revelations or The Riyria Chronicles is required to enjoy it to its fullest, making this a perfect introduction for new readers or a chance for Riyria veterans to spend a little more time with old friends. The Jester is a story of adventure, bonds of friendship, and a recognition that the choices we make dictates the future we find.

Harborside Hatred


Sarah A. Denzil - 2021
    Now it’s catching up with her.Wherever Oakland goes, the mystery caller finds her, the one who breathes down the line, who calls her at any time of day or night, who somehow always seems to know where she is.Moving all the way from London, Oakland settled on Liars Island, finally feeling safe enough to put down roots. Running Harborside Books, a quaint little shop by the harbor, she’s content with her quiet life. For the first time since she was seventeen years old, no one has harassed her. Until one day, she picks up the phone and hears that rasping breath one more time. But this time, it’s worse, someone is following her. She finds a threatening note in the bookstore. She’s convinced that there are eyes in the shadows, watching her every move.There is a person out there who hates Oakland O'Neill more than anyone in the world, and that person is on Liars Island, waiting for their opportunity to strike…Welcome to Liars Island… a stand-alone series of interconnected, novella-length domestic thrillers set in the picture-perfect community of Liars Island. Here, nothing is quite as it seems.On this island, families, and friendships are more than meets the eye … secrets, deceptions, and jealousies threaten to ruin everything these influential people have built. But it isn’t only the rich that live here … and power comes in all shapes and sizes. Everyone here is a liar … just how far would you go to get what you want?

The Woman Next Door


Cass Green - 2016
    Two dark secrets. The almost perfect murder.Everybody needs good neighbours…Melissa and Hester have lived next door to each other for years. When Melissa’s daughter was younger, Hester was almost like a grandmother to her. But recently they haven’t been so close.Hester has plans to change all that. It’s obvious to her that despite Melissa’s outwardly glamorous and successful life, she needs Hester’s help. But taking help from Hester might not be such a good idea for a woman with as many secrets as Melissa…

89


Stuart Keane - 2016
    When his agent requires him to step in as a last-minute replacement for a fellow writer at a lucrative book convention in Sheffield, Greg reluctantly accepts. With only hours to get there, he boards a red-eye coach for the 89-mile trip. With nine hours ahead of him, solitude and silence his only companions, he settles in for the overnight journey. However, the journey doesn’t go according to plan. After a few miles, a woman boards the bus and, despite the coach being empty, takes the seat next to Greg. The woman is a self-proclaimed fan, a bookworm, someone who has followed his work since the early days. Initially flattered by the attention, Greg soon becomes aware of the woman's alternative agenda, one that slowly twists casual conversation into something a lot more sinister…

I See You


Patricia MacDonald - 2014
    Although she’s found it hard to adjust to life in the city, at least Hannah and her family are safe and slowly beginning to build new lives for themselves. But all that changes when an unexpected tragedy throws the harsh spotlight of publicity onto the Wickes family, putting them in serious danger. Because Hannah and those she loves are hiding a dark secret in their past, a secret that has torn their lives apart. For what do you do when the person you should love the most poses the greatest threat? The Wickes’ sinister family secret is destined to catch up with them – with terrifying consequences.

Someone's Listening


Seraphina Nova Glass - 2020
    Faith Finley. She’s married to the perfect man, Liam Finley, a respected food critic.Until the night everything goes horribly wrong, and Faith’s life is shattered forever.Liam is missing—gone without a trace—and the police are suspicious of everything Faith says. They either think she has something to hide, or that she’s lost her mind.And then the notes begin to arrive. Notes that are ripped from Faith’s own book, the one that helps victims leave their abusers. Notes like “Lock your windows. Consider investing in a steel door.”As the threats escalate, the mystery behind Liam’s disappearance intensifies. And Faith’s very life will depend on finding answers.

The Summer Man


S.D. Perry - 2013
    She’s watched as, each summer, the tight-knit small village braces for the invasion of vacationers seeking refuge from city life. But this year, a new kind of visitor arrives in Port Isley, bringing something most unexpected.Soon after the season begins, a teenage girl’s mutilated body is found in a local park. The police declare it a random act of violence, but Amanda’s not so sure…because how can she explain that she had a premonition of the crime just hours before it happened? Or that the neighbors she’s known forever inexplicably are beginning to change…into lustful, violent shadows of themselves? Amanda knows something’s not right. And she knows it has something to do with the sinister stranger who’s come to town. But can she uncover his dark secret in time to stop him—and in time to save the souls of Port Isley?

The Girl With No Past


Kathryn Croft - 2015
    It is a lonely life, without a social life or friends until – longing for a connection – she meets Julian. For the first time she dares to believe she can live a normal life.Then, on the fourteenth anniversary of that day, she receives a card. Someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed the life Leah has created.But is Leah all she seems? Or does she deserve everything she gets?Everyone has secrets. But some are deadly.

The Wife Between Us


Greer Hendricks - 2018
    You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.Assume nothing. Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.Read between the lies.