Book picks similar to
Itsy Bitsy Spider by Kimberly Shursen
first-reads
amazon
suspense
no-thank-you
Not What She Seems
Victorine E. Lieske - 2010
What he doesn't know is that interfering in her life will put his own life in danger.When billionaire Steven Ashton couldn't stand his high society social life anymore, he left the stress of New York on a vacation for his soul. The need to meet real down to earth people led him to a small Nebraska town. He didn't want to lie about who he was, but he couldn't exactly tell them the truth.Emily could have easily fallen in love with Steven, under different circumstances, but her past was catching up with her and she needed a new life. If the authorities found out about her, she could lose the one thing that meant everything, her four year old son.Not What She Seems is approximately 67,000 words long.This book is a "sweet" romantic suspense, appropriate for all ages.Like clean romance? Check out cleanromancebooks.com!
White Out
Danielle Girard - 2020
Scattered Bible verses and the image of a man lying in a pool of blood haunt her memory.The same night of the accident, a young woman is murdered and tossed in a dumpster. Kylie Milliard, Hagen’s only detective, doesn’t immediately recognize the victim, but Kylie soon discovers that Lily and the dead woman share a dark past…if only Lily could remember what it was.Lily and Kylie both want answers. But Kylie has to play by the book. Lily has to play it safe. And the more Lily learns about her identity, the more she fears the truth.
The Safe Place
Anna Downes - 2020
Until he meets Emily.Emily is perfect.Scott offers Emily a summer job as a housekeeper on his remote, beautiful French estate. Enchanted by his lovely wife Nina, and his eccentric young daughter, Aurelia, Emily falls headlong into this oasis of wine-soaked days by the pool. But soon Emily realizes that Scott and Nina are hiding dangerous secrets, and if she doesn't play along, the consequences could be deadly.Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downs's debut is the perfect summer suspense, with the modern gothic feel of Ruth Ware and the morally complex family dynamics of Lisa Jewell.Welcome to paradise...will you ever be able to leave?
Every Last Secret
A.R. Torre - 2020
Watch your husband, watch your friends, and watch your back.Cat Winthorpe has worked hard to get what she has: a gorgeous home; social standing; and William, her successful, handsome husband. Then a friendly new couple moves into the estate next door. While cautious, a good neighbor like Cat greets them with open arms and warm hospitality.Neena Ryder isn’t a fellow lady of leisure. A life coach with off-the-rack dresses, personal issues, and a husband who hasn’t delivered, she’s anxious to move up in the world. This beautiful new town is a step in the right direction. It’s also making Neena aware of what she doesn’t have. Namely, William. When Neena’s infatuation escalates into obsession, it’s just a matter of eliminating a few obstacles to get the life she wants. The life next door.As Neena’s secret fixation grows, so does her friendship with Cat. But beneath their cordial interactions is a wealth of temptations, secrets, and toxic jealousy. For both women, the desire for a perfect life can turn perfectly dangerous.
Watching Edie
Camilla Way - 2016
And she had dreams back then—but it didn’t take long for her to learn that things don’t always turn out the way you want them to.Now, at thirty-three, Edie is working as a waitress, pregnant and alone. And when she becomes overwhelmed by the needs of her new baby and sinks into a bleak despair, she thinks that there’s no one to turn to…But someone’s been watching Edie, waiting for the chance to prove once again what a perfect friend she can be. It’s no coincidence that Heather shows up on Edie’s doorstep, just when Edie needs her the most. So much has passed between them—so much envy, longing, and betrayal. And Edie’s about to learn a new lesson: those who have hurt us deeply—or who we have hurt—never let us go, not entirely…
Under My Skin
Lisa Unger - 2018
In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiraled into an oblivion of grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused wearing a tight red dress she didn't recognize. What happened to Poppy during those lost days? And more importantly, what happened to Jack?The case was never solved, and Poppy has finally begun to move on. But those lost days have never stopped haunting her. Poppy starts having nightmares and blackouts--there are periods of time she can't remember, and she's unable to tell the difference between what is real and what she's imagining. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy is plunged into a game of cat and mouse, determined to unravel the mystery around her husband's death. But can she handle the truth about what really happened?
The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted
Andrew E. Kaufman - 2011
STEPPING INTO HER WORST NIGHTMARE... Because when she returned, she found an open bedroom window and her three-year-old son, Nathan, gone. The boy would never be seen again. A NIGHTMARE THAT ONLY BECAME WORSE.A tip leads detectives to the killer, a repeat sex offender, and inside his apartment, a gruesome discovery. A slam-dunk trial sends him off to death row, then several years later, to the electric chair. CASE CLOSED. JUSTICE SERVED...OR WAS IT?Now, more than thirty years later, Patrick Bannister unwittingly stumbles across evidence among his dead mother's belongings—it paints her as the killer and her brother, a wealthy and powerful senator, as the one pulling the strings. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO NATHAN KINGSLEY?There's a hole in the case a mile wide, and Patrick is determined to close it. But what he doesn't know is that the closer he moves toward the truth, the more he's putting his life on the line, that he’s become the hunted. Someone's hiding a dark secret and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.The clock is ticking, the walls are closing, and the stakes are getting higher as he races to find a killer—one who's hot on his trail. One who's out for his blood.
The Silence of the Stones
Rebecca Bryn - 2014
Twists and turns will keep you guessing to the end. Alana is a struggling artist and sculptor, scarred by her parents' relationship and a lost love but determined to grab life by the throat, whatever the cost. Opportunity beckons when she is left a cottage in a West Wales’ village by an aunt she didn’t know existed, but strange runes painted on her door and carved onto ancient stones in a stone circle, hint at a dark undercurrent of tragedy and intrigue and she is caught up in the village’s conspiracy of silence over a thirty-year-old crime. An eccentric old woman, a young female investigative journalist, a two-year-old girl, a good-looking male busker and an ex-lover make unlikely bedfellows but combine to send Alana on a voyage of self-discovery that changes her world forever.
The Anonymous Source
A.C. Fuller - 2015
BREAK THE STORY. STAY ALIVE.ONE YEAR AFTER the 9/11 attacks, Alex Vane--a brilliant, fitness-obsessed reporter for The New York Standard--wants nothing more than to break into the flashy world of TV news. But when he uncovers the scoop of a lifetime, his tightly controlled world is rocked: his editor buries his story, a source turns up dead, and Alex finds himself at the center of a violent media conspiracy.AS HE RECEIVES TIPS from a mysterious source, Alex enlists the help of a captivating professor, Camila Gray. Aided by an Internet genius, a billionaire's sexy widow, and a washed-up sports reporter, Alex and Camila discover a $500-million secret that could derail the largest media merger in history.IT'S A SECRET THAT unearths dark memories from Alex's past. It's a secret that leads back to the morning of 9/11. And it's a secret that could get them both killed.IN HIS DEBUT MEDIA THRILLER, A.C. Fuller brings you a young journalist chasing the biggest story of his career--from the courtrooms of New York City to the beaches of Hawaii, from a crowded newsroom to a lavish boardroom at the top of a media empire.
The Other Widow
Susan H. Crawford - 2016
This time it could be theirs . . .It isn’t safe. That’s what Joe tells her when he ends their affair—moments before their car skids off an icy road in a blinding snowstorm and hits a tree. Desperate to keep her life intact—her job, her husband, and her precious daughter, Lily—Dorrie will do everything she can to protect herself, even if it means walking away from the wreckage. Dorrie has always been a good actress, pretending to be someone else: the dutiful daughter, the satisfied wife, the woman who can handle anything. Now she’s going to put on the most challenging performance of her life. But details about the accident leave her feeling uneasy and afraid. Why didn’t Joe’s airbag work? Why was his car door open before the EMTs arrived? And now suddenly someone is calling her from her dead lover’s burner phone. . . .Joe’s death has left his wife in free fall as well. Karen knew Joe was cheating—she found some suspicious e-mails. Trying to cope with grief is devastating enough without the constant fear that has overtaken her—this feeling she can’t shake that someone is watching her. And with Joe gone and the kids grown, she’s vulnerable . . . and on her own.Insurance investigator Maggie Devlin is suspicious of the latest claim that’s landed on her desk—a man dying on an icy road shortly after buying a lucrative life insurance policy. Maggie doesn’t believe in coincidences. The former cop knows that things—and people—are never what they seem to be.As the fates of these three women become more tightly entwined, layers of lies and deception begin to peel away, pushing them dangerously to the edge . . . closer to each other . . . to a terrifying truth . . . to a shocking end.
Drowning With Others
Linda Keir - 2019
Did one of them kill to get it?Prep school sweethearts Ian and Andi Copeland are envied by everyone they know. They have successful businesses, a beautiful house in St. Louis, and their eldest daughter, Cassidy, is following in their footsteps by attending prestigious Glenlake Academy. Then, a submerged car is dredged from the bottom of a swimming hole near the campus. So are the remains of a former writer-in-residence who vanished twenty years ago—during Ian and Andi’s senior year.When Cassidy’s journalism class begins investigating the death, Ian and Andi’s high school secrets rise to the surface. Each has a troubled link to the man whose arrival and sudden disappearance once set the school on edge. And each had a reason to want him gone. As Cassidy unwittingly edges closer to the truth, unspoken words, locked away for decades, will force Ian and Andi to question what they really know—about themselves, about the past, and about a marriage built on a murderous lie.
Taken! Box Set - Books 7-12
Donald Wells - 2013
But when their friend's fiancee, Lena, goes missing, they become involved with not only the Russian mob, but also discover a plot to kill dozens of innocents. Jessica consoles their friend, George, as her husband once more defies the odds and helps Lena free herself from the bonds of her past while wrecking havoc on the streets of Atlanta. TAKEN! 8 Even as her husband battles personal demons, Jessica White must come to the aid of her sister, Gabby, who is undergoing a crisis of her own. While her husband is chomping at the bit to exact vengeance on the man who hurt Gabby, Jessica struggles to make him understand that not every battle is a physical one. However, once Gabby is on the road to recovery, her aggressor must be dealt with, and dealt with he is, in a most brutal and surprising manner. TAKEN! 9 Someone wants Jessica White dead and they'll stop at nothing to make that happen. After her husband thwarts the first attempt on her life, they discover who's behind the plot to kill her and realize that their enemy is an old one. With time running out, their adversary escalates the stakes and sends a team of men to kill her. But the doctor is not alone in this fight, she has a husband, a very capable and ruthless husband who will do whatever it takes to see his wife safe, and her enemies, dead. TAKEN! 10 Jessica White and her husband are in New York City, while taking part in a task force formed to catch a serial killer. When the case leads them to the doors of The Caliber Detective Agency, Jake Caliber, the legendary private detective, has surprising news for Jessica's husband, and gives them a clue that may lead to the whereabouts of his mysterious father. TAKEN! 11 Dr. White and her husband are in the northern California town of Bel Rey, tracking down a tip that may lead him to his father. However personal business becomes deadly business when the doctor's husband happens upon a group of drug smugglers and incurs their wrath. Now, the odds are five against one, and while the men chasing him are heavily armed, all he has to rely on are his wits. It's predators versus prey, and the loser gets death. TAKEN! 12 Agents Burke and Ramos finally reveal their true intentions, but when Jessica and her husband refuse to play ball, Burke and Ramos decide that they know too much and must be taken out. Easier said than done, however, Burke has a secret weapon, a man who may well be every bit as deadly as the doctor's husband.
Trespassing
Brandi Reeds - 2018
Her latest round of fertility treatments not only failed but left her on edge and unbalanced. And her three-year-old daughter, Elizabella, has a new imaginary friend, who seems much more devilish than playful. So when Veronica’s husband fails to return home from a business trip, what’s left of her stability begins to crumble.Given her family’s history of mental illness, and Elizabella’s insistence that her daddy is dead, Veronica starts questioning herself. Every move she makes is now suspect. Worse still, Veronica is positive that someone wants her and her daughter dead, too—unless it’s all in her mind…Somewhere beneath her paranoia is the answer to her husband’s vanishing. To find it, she’s led to a house in the Florida Keys. But once there, she isn’t sure she wants to know the truth.
Prime Target
Ellis Vidler - 2014
Madeleine Schier heeds her husband's panicked call and runs home, only to witness his brutal murder by a crime boss and become a target herself. Under police security, she vows to testify. But when the police protecting her are killed, the last of her NYC life disintegrates, leaving her no place to hide. She flees, relying on her wits and imagination to survive on a dangerous journey to become someone else. Who can she trust? The helpful widower who advises her on farming? The damaged recluse who's always near? The neighbor who brings cherry pie? With the murderer still searching, one wrong move could be her last.
Good as Dead
Susan Walter - 2021
Holly saw it all. In one violent moment, a hit-and-run accident turns Holly’s life upside down. Then a fixer for the high-powered guilty party approaches Holly with an offer she is in no position to refuse. Holly and her daughter, Savannah, will want for nothing, beginning with a luxury dream house—all for the price of their silence. But when their sudden appearance in privileged Calabasas, California, piques the curiosity of neighbors, the price becomes greater than they imagined. Because Holly and Savannah aren’t the only ones in the neighborhood with something to hide.Told from alternating points of view, Good as Dead draws together an unlikely group of people bound to one another by a crime, a cover-up, and compounding deceptions. As carefully constructed lives begin to crumble, how far will everyone be willing to go to bury the truth and protect the people they love?