Book picks similar to
Don't Say a Word by Rita Herron


romantic-suspense
romance
suspense
mystery

Sharp Edges


Jayne Ann Krentz - 1998
    As the director of the Leafbrook Glass Museum, she's been asked to travel to Frog Cove Island -- an artistic haven near Seattle -- to catalog an important collection of art glass. But thanks to unsavory rumors surrounding the collector's death, the museum insists that Eugenia take along Cyrus Chandler Colfax -- a rough-hewn private investigator whose taste in glass runs to ice-cold bottles filled with beers.When Colfax declares they must pose as a couple, Eugenia protests in a manner as loud as his Hawaiian shirts. She fears that her secret mission will be discovered...while he hopes that she will be a mask for his own hidden agenda. But soon their very lives depend on making an utterely convincing couple. Because among the chic galleries of Frog Cove Island lurks a killer, and their only chance for survival is the boldest, most artful collaboration they can dare to imagine.

Twice Kissed


Lisa Jackson - 1998
    With the police indifferent and a cryptic suicide note setting up a dreadful possibility, she plunges into a seething world of scandal, intrigue, and illicit desire...and uncovers secret after shocking secret about the sister she thought she knew.But of all the men who loved and hated Marquise Walker, it is her wickedly handsome ex-husband Thane Walker who puts Maggie at greatest risk. Once, she desired him with all the wild, uncontrollable hunger of youth; now he is the man she dares not trust -- a man who could be a murderer. Yet soon Thane draws Maggie back into his dangerous, passionate embrace, where she is vulnerable again -- and where one final, shattering truth could destroy her chance for happiness forever.

When Night Falls


Cait London - 2002
    Mitchell Warren has retrned to Madrid, Oklahoma--a town he'd once left, vowing never to return to. But, never say never. In his youth, he was known as wild and sexy...now, he's still very sexy. Uma Thornton has never left Madrid, though her syndicated newspaper column, "The Smooth Moves List" has been turned into a popular self-help book. She never expected to see Mitchell again, so when he returns all the old feelings she'd once held for him come flooding back.But not all is quiet in Madrid. For one thing, a series of mysterious events seem to occur around Mitchell--is he to blame for the trouble that seems to have come to town with him? And when Uma and Mitchell's childhood friend is mysteriously killed, they both realize that the circle of danger that seems to surround them is becoming tighter.

The Widow


Carla Neggers - 2006
    Was it a random act of violence, or could someone have wanted Christopher dead? That's the question that has haunted Abigail, now a homicide detective, for the past seven years. Determined to find her husband's killer, she returns to the foggy Maine island after receiving an anonymous tip. Is it just another false lead, or can she finally prove that Chris was murdered? Owen Garrison, the search-and-rescue worker who located Chris too late to save him, still carries guilt from that fateful night. As he helps Abigail unravel the mystery, they learn that the layers of deceit and lies are even thicker than they could have imagined. Now it's up to Abigail and Owen to keep pushing for the truthand stop a killer from striking again. "

The Crush


Sandra Brown - 2002
    Notorious hit man Ricky Lozada is on trial and Dr. Rennie Newton is on his jury. She soon delivers a verdict of not guilty - and gains a new admirer. But days after Lozada's release, one of Rennie's professional rivals is brutally murdered. Although Lozada's dark shadow looms over the case, Rennie becomes the prime suspect... while Lozada stalks her, growing more obsessed with having her. She forms an uneasy alliance with Wick Threadgill, a rogue detective with his own personal vendetta against Lozada. Wick has nothing to lose by confronting a killer who, like the prize scorpions he treasures, strikes so quickly Rennie may never see it coming.

The Conspiracy


Kat Martin - 2019
    Pursuing his dream of sailing the Caribbean, Michael hasn’t responded to texts or emails in days. When even the Coast Guard can’t find him, Harper is forced to take desperate measures. Which means going to Chase Garrett, once her brother’s best friend, now the only man she can trust…or so she hopes.As the successful owner of Maximum Security, Chase has learned to trust his gut. He knows Harper’s father is mixed up in a deadly business, and suspects there’s more to Michael’s disappearance than meets the eye. Getting involved again with the Winstons goes against everything he stands for, yet old loyalties die hard. As the case draws him closer to Harper and deeper into the Winstons’ snarled crime family, he is forced to put everything on the line to keep Harper safe…and both of them alive.

The Watcher


Jo Robertson - 2011
    Working with a single-minded tenacity, she sets out to prove it.Deputy Sheriff Ben Slater hides his personal pain behind the job, but Kate's arrival in his county knocks his world on its axis. He wants to believe her wild theory, but the idea of a serial killer with the kind of pathology she proposes is too bizarre.Together they work to find a killer whose roots began in a small town in Bigler County, but whose violence spread across the nation. A Janus-like killer, more monster than man, he fixates on Kate. The killer wants nothing more than to kill the "purple-eyed girl again."

No One to Trust


Iris Johansen - 2002
    And he has the means to get whatever he wants. And what Rico Chavez wants most is Elena Kyler--and he wants her dead. Trained as an assassin, Elena didn’t need anyone to survive. But now she finds herself on the run from one dangerous man and turning for help to another.Sean Galen was a man without illusions. He knew it was only desperation that caused Elena to accept his help--a mother’s desperation to save her young son from a psychopath father who would raise their son in his own chilling image. And yet he was determined to get this woman who had never been able to trust anyone or anything in her whole life to accept him as her ally. But both Galen and Elena know that Chavez’s power and wealth mean there is no place they can be safe and no one they can trust--not even each other. Already Chavez’s assassins and connections to those in the highest positions of power have turned this into a war with no rules. With two shocking acts of brutal violence, Chavez shows he will stop at nothing and that nothing will stop him. Soon a trail of horrifying murders will follow Galen and Elena across country to a last stand and a shattering showdown. For Chavez is a master of control and he wants more than just to take Elena’s life. He wants her alive long enough to see him destroy every reason she has for living. He wants her to turn against everything and everyone she ever believed in. He wants her to commit the ultimate act of betrayal. And by the time he is through, he wants her to beg him to take the only thing she’ll have left to give: her life.

Obsession


Karen Robards - 2007
     The house is all wrong. Her clothes are all wrong. When Katharine Lawrence recovers consciousness on the kitchen floor, staggers to her feet and looks at herself in the mirror, the beautiful face staring back at her is familiar-but wrong. Despite all the evidence-her pictures are all over the apartment, the clothes in the closets are the right size, and it's her hair caught in the brush atop the dresser-everything feels wrong. Maybe the trauma of the attempt on her life has given her some kind of amnesia. She's twenty-nine, the special assistant to the head of the National Security Agency, and she's lucky to be alive. She also knows she can trust no one. Before she can act on her instincts and run for her life, CIA Agent Nick Huston arrives on the scene. The CIA is conducting a special investigation of Katharine's boss, and the mystified woman in her "unreal" house is the key to the operation. But the real Katharine Lawrence has been whisked away for debriefing, and this expendable lookalike, Jenna Hill, is being used until the CIA gets the information it needs. But no one counted on Jenna Hill's outrage at being used. And no one-least of all Nick-could have anticipated the heat that flares between them as the game plays on.

The Edge of Night


Jill Sorenson - 2011
    When one of her co-workers is found raped and murdered, April does what she knows she shouldn’t—she defies the neighborhood code by giving the police a hardcore gang member’s name. Clean-cut cop Noah Young wants a shot at breaking this case more than anything in the world—that is, until he meets the unforgettable April Ortiz. When April gives Noah the tip, a spark ignites. As the fire between them threatens to blaze out of control, the two are dragged down further into the dark mysteries of the graffiti-lined streets, taunted by a crazed killer who could strike again at any time. From the Paperback edition.

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.

Up Close and Dangerous


Linda Howard - 2007
    A year later, while flying from Seattle to Denver in a small plane, Bailey nearly dies herself when the engine sputters --- and then fails.Cam Justice, her sexy Texan pilot, manages to crash-land the aircraft. Stranded in the wilderness, and struggling to douse her feelings for the ruggedly handsome man by her side, Bailey begins to wonder whether this was a mere accident. Who tampered with their plane? Who's trying to reunite Bailey and her husband in the afterlife? Cut off from the world, and with little hope of rescue, Bailey must trust her life --- and heart --- to Cam, as they battle the harsh elements to find a way out of the unforgiving wilds and back to civilization ... where a killer may be waiting to finish the job.

Beg for Mercy


Jami Alden - 2011
    . . And once he has you, all you can do is. . . Beg For Mercy Megan Flynn thought she was falling in love. Cole Williams wasn't just handsome and passionate, he was one of the good guys. Or so she thought, until he arrested her brother-the only family she has left-for a murder she knows he couldn't have possibly committed. Now, with her heart broken and her brother's life hanging in the balance, Megan will risk everything to prove his innocence. Even if that means throwing herself into the path of a sadistic killer with a hauntingly familiar MO. Seattle Detective Cole Williams had given up on making Megan see reason where her brother is concerned. But when she insinuates herself into the most shockingly brutal case Cole has ever worked, he can't stand idly by. Plunged into a secret world where the city's elite indulge their darkest desires, Cole will do whatever it takes to bring down a madman who has made Megan his most coveted prey.

Shattered Secrets


Karen Harper - 2014
    Abducted and held captive as a young girl, she is unable to remember anything about the crime that destroyed her childhood and tore her family apart. Now a grown woman with a bright future, she is certain she has put the past behind her. But when she inherits the family home, Tess must confront the demons that still haunt her and the town of Cold Creek. Gabe McCord has always blamed himself for what happened to Tess. He had been a teenager when she was snatched from the group of children he was responsible for watching. Now Gabe has taken on the role of sheriff and hopes to shed new light on the cold case, especially given his growing feelings for Tess. Tess isn't ready to recall what happened to her, and she has no intention of digging up any details that might remind her of the truth. But when another child in the town goes missing, she's certain it's related to her return to Cold Creek. Together,Tess and Gabe will have to work to unlock their painful memories in order to save another child and heal their damaged souls, for good…

Partners


Nora Roberts - 1985
    But once the two rival reporters headed down to steamy New Orleans to investigate a murder, Matt Bates was determined to make his lovely adversary his willing partner in passion.