Book picks similar to
Mad as a Hatter by Alexandra Hayman
retellings
horror
fantasy
alice
The Winter Over
Matthew Iden - 2017
For thirty-something mechanical engineer Cass Jennings, Antarctica offers an opportunity to finally escape the guilt of her troubled past and to rebuild her life.But the death of a colleague triggers a series of mysterious incidents that push Cass and the rest of the forty-four-person crew to the limits of their sanity and endurance. Confined and cut off from the outside world, will they work together or turn against one another? As the tension escalates, Cass must find the strength to survive not only a punishing landscape but also an unrelenting menace determined to destroy the station—and everyone in it.
The Safe Man: A Ghost Story
Michael Connelly - 2012
That is, his specialty is opening safes. Every job is a little mystery, and he has yet to encounter a lock he can't break or a box he can't crack. But the day Holloway gets called in to open a rare, antique safe in a famous author's library, his skills open a door that should have remained closed.In this haunting and singular story, previously published anonymously, Michael Connelly proves once again that he is "superb at building suspense.... the reader can never be sure what sudden turns the plot may take" (Wall Street Journal).
Abandon
Blake Crouch - 2009
Recently, a similar party had also attempted to explore the town and was never heard from again. Now the area is believed to be haunted. This crew is about to discover, twenty miles from civilization with a blizzard bearing down, that they are not alone, and the past is very much alive.Revised edition: This edition of Abandon includes editorial revisions.
Run, Run, Run
Mark Capell - 2011
But even that can't protect him and his wife, Sally. Somebody knows their new identity - somebody who shouldn't.Frank Tong is an artist who finds inspiration for his paintings from the violence of his criminal life. When his brother is put away for murder he wants revenge. And Frank has a mole in the Witness Protection Scheme.Dan and the pregnant Sally have no choice. They have to flee. They go on the run from both sides of the law.They must learn to lie, steal, shoot and fight to survive. They can't use their credit cards, cash machines, mobile phones - anything that will give away their location. They must constantly look over their shoulder. It's living life like a criminal - a difficult task for two law abiding people.What will it take to return to a normal life? How far are they prepared to go? What will they sacrifice for their freedom?'Run, Run, Run' is a crime thriller that will have your heart racing and your mind buzzing....Sometimes the best way to get justice is to run away from it...(2014 REVISED EDITION)
The Accusation
Wendy James - 2019
A body of damning evidence. A world of betrayal.Eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning is found shivering and barely conscious on a country road, clad only in ill-fitting pyjamas. Her story of kidnap and escape quickly enthrals the nation: a middle-aged woman with a crazy old mother has held Ellie in a basement, chained her to a bed and given her drinks from an old baby's sippy cup. But who was this woman and what did she want with Ellie? And what other secrets might she hide?When the accusation is levelled at local teacher Suzannah Wells, no one seems more bewildered than Suzannah herself ... to start with. The preposterous charge becomes manifestly more real as she loses her job and her friends. And the evidence is strong: a dementia-affected mother, a house with a basement, a sippy cup that belonged to her long-dead daughter. And Ellie Canning's DNA everywhere. As stories about Susannah's past emerge, even those closest to her begin to doubt she's innocent.And Ellie? The media can't get enough of her. She's a girl-power icon, a social-media star. But is she telling the truth?
The River Widow
Ann Howard Creel - 2018
Essentially trapped, Adah must plan an escape.But when she develops feelings for the one person essential to her plan’s success, she faces a painful choice: Will she choose to risk everything saving Daisy or take the new life offered by a loving man?
The Harbinger Collection: Hard-Boiled Mysteries Not for the Faint of Heart
Carolyn McCray - 2013
The Harbinger CollectionA Patterson-style set of thrillers with a dash of Hannibal...This collection includes:Anantomy: The prequel short storyPlain Jane - The full length first novel of the seriesDark Lullaby - the bridge short story between Plain Jane and WallflowerMy Soul to Keep - the Harbinger short story featuring NicoleGet ready for the March launch of the greatly anticipated sequel to Plain Jane, Wallflower (available now for pre-order)The Harbinger series combines the swift action of Patterson with the macabre of Harris.Just remember to keep the lights on when reading this one!
Sweet Madness
Trisha Leaver - 2015
To make matters worse, she's taken employment with the city’s most peculiar and gossip-laden family—the Bordens. But Bridget can’t afford to be picky—the pay surpasses any other job Bridget could ever secure and she desperately needs the money to buy her little sister, Cara, passage to the states. It doesn’t hurt that the job location is also close to her beau, Liam. As she enters the disturbing inner workings of the Borden household, Bridget clings to these advantages. However, what seemed like a straightforward situation soon turns into one that is untenable. Of course Bridget has heard the gossip around town about the Bordens, but what she encounters is far more unsettling. The erratic, paranoid behavior of Mr. Borden, the fearful silence of his wife, and worse still…the nightly whisperings Bridget hears that seem to come from the walls themselves.The unexpected bright spot of the position is that Lizzie Borden is so friendly. At first, Bridget is surprised at how Lizzie seems to look out for her, how she takes a strong interest in Bridget’s life. Over time, a friendship grows between them. But when Mr. Borden’s behavior goes from paranoid to cruel, and the eerie occurrences in the house seem to be building momentum, Bridget makes the tough decision that she must leave the house—even if it means leaving behind Lizzie, her closest friend, alone with the madness. Something she swore she would not do.But when Bridget makes a horrifying discovery in the home, all that she thought she knew about the Bordens is called into question…including if Lizzie is dangerous. And the choice she must make about Lizzie’s character could mean Bridget’s life or death.SWEET MADNESS is a retelling of the infamous Borden murders from the point of view of Lizzie’s Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan.
What You Did
Claire McGowan - 2019
A devastating accusation. Who should she trust, her husband or her best friend?It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again.When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying—but which? And why?When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.
The Winslow Incident
Elizabeth Voss - 2011
A mysterious sickness. And a sleepy small town awakens to the unimaginable.“A strikingly original idea”—Douglas Preston, New York Times Bestselling Author Welcome to Winslow, Washington, where all anyone expects is another ordinary summer: Tourists taking the ghost town tour, locals cooling off in Ruby Creek, the carnival in Prospect Park. Nothing unusual. That's because residents here have always done well at keeping order, keeping secrets and keeping the past buried.Until now. When a mysterious plague of madness strikes in July 2010, Hazel Winslow is stunned as the people she has known all her life become sudden strangers. Her brainsick father, the Sheriff, disappears into the woods in pursuit of a creature threatening their town. Hazel's boyfriend Sean Adair takes a haunted journey with his own delusions and guilt. Ghosts storm her grandmother's neglected mansion. And Hazel—terrified of falling ill and losing her mind too—watches the entire town unravel around her.Inspired by true events. Set in a small town hidden in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The Winslow Incident is a modern Gothic tale informed by historical accounts of entire villages gone mad. What really triggered the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials? Why did the residents of Pont-Saint-Esprit suddenly lose their minds? And how does it feel to be the last sane person in town?A Daphne du Maurier Award Nominee for Excellence in Mystery/SuspenseOn Library Journal’s list of First Novels | Fall Fundamentals—"First novels that promise good reading.”
The Sisters
Claire Douglas - 2015
One died. When one sister dies, the other must go to desperate lengths to survive. Haunted by her twin sister's death, Abi is making a fresh start in Bath. But when she meets twins Bea and Ben, she is quickly drawn into their privileged and unsettling circle. When one sister lies, she must protect her secret at all costs. As Abi tries to keep up with the demands of her fickle friends, strange things start to happen - precious letters go missing and threatening messages are left in her room. Is this the work of the beautiful and capricious Bea? Or is Abi willing to go to any lengths to get attention? When the truth outs, will either sister survive?
The Uninvited
Liz Jensen - 2012
An isolated incident, say the experts. The experts are wrong. Across the world, children are killing their families. Is violence contagious? As chilling murders by children grip the country, anthropologist Hesketh Lock has his own mystery to solve: a bizarre scandal in the Taiwan timber industry.Hesketh has never been good at relationships: Asperger's Syndrome has seen to that. But he does have a talent for spotting behavioral patterns and an outsider's fascination with group dynamics. Nothing obvious connects Hesketh's Asian case with the atrocities back home. Or with the increasingly odd behavior of his beloved stepson, Freddy. But when Hesketh's Taiwan contact dies shockingly and more acts of sabotage and child violence sweep the globe, he is forced to acknowledge possibilities that defy the rational principles on which he has staked his life, his career, and, most devastatingly of all, his role as a father.Part psychological thriller, part dystopian nightmare, The Uninvited is a powerful and viscerally unsettling portrait of apocalypse in embryo.
Blind Evil
Eric Praschan - 2014
As John unravels the mystery and trails the killer across Missouri, he finds himself caught in the web of David's twisted psychological schemes. The terror increases when Emily Dolon, the woman both John and David have loved since childhood, becomes the target of David's macabre mind games.Trapped between his duty of solving the case and his devotion to his best friend, John struggles to find the truth, knowing he must execute justice, even if it costs him lifelong loyalties or his own life. Blind Evil is a taut psychological thriller that explores the dark place where sanity and madness collide.
Murder at Malenfer
Iain McChesney - 2013
But Arthur has not forgotten Dermot. Dead but not departed, Arthur has unfinished business and needs the help of the living.Upon his arrival at Malenfer Manor, Dermot finds himself embroiled in a mystery of murder, succession, and ambition. Dermot falls in love with the youngest Malenfer, the beautiful fey Simonne, but in his way are Simonne’s mismatched fiancé, her own connections to the spirit world, Dermot’s overwhelming guilt over the circumstances of Arthur’s death … and the curse.***Note: This book was previously published under the title "The Curse of Malenfer Manor".***
The Night Bird
Brian Freeman - 2017
When a series of bizarre deaths rock San Francisco—as seemingly random women suffer violent psychotic breaks—Frost looks for a connection that leads him to psychiatrist Francesca Stein. Frankie’s controversial therapy helps people erase their most terrifying memories…and all the victims were her patients.As Frost and Frankie carry out their own investigations, the case becomes increasingly personal—and dangerous. Long-submerged secrets surface as someone called the Night Bird taunts the pair with cryptic messages pertaining to the deaths. Soon Frankie is forced to confront strange gaps in her own memory, and Frost faces a killer who knows the detective’s worst fears.As the body count rises and the Night Bird circles ever closer, a dedicated cop and a brilliant doctor race to solve the puzzle before a cunning killer claims another victim.