Book picks similar to
Désirée, A Woman of Defiance by Mariella Starr
western-romance
crime
family-issues
kidnap-capture
The Colour of Death
Toni Mount - 2018
They find a safe haven in the isolated Norfolk village where Seb was born. Yet this idyllic rural setting has its own murderous secrets and a terrible crime requires our hero to play the sleuth once more.Even away from London, Seb and Emily are not as safe as they believe - their enemies are closer than they know and danger lurks at every twist and turn. The sixth Sebastian Foxley medieval murder mystery from bestselling author Toni Mount brings the medieval era to life once again.
Avery’s Knot
Mary Cable - 1981
Avery was tried for the murder of a twenty-nine-year-old mill worker, Sarah Marie Cornell. It was the first time a clergyman had ever been tried for murder in the United States and the first time an American murder trial became headline news. From this factual base, Mary Cable weaves a chilling novel of gothic desires and conflicting classes. She creates a rich atmosphere to show New England as it was then - simple, puritanical, superstitious, and unsentimental - on the brink of emerging from the eighteenth century into an industrial and far-more-complicated age. This dramatic, compelling story is as much about a time and place as it is about a notorious murder trial. A work of poetic intensity, Avery’s Knot is finally a classic, tragic tale of a woman caught between passion and puritanism.
The Fall
Evie Hunter - 2021
Now, with her life in tatters, she is determined to bring those who framed her to justice.Out for revenge…Journalist Nate Black is intrigued by Lauren’s story. Is she the innocent victim she claims to be or is there more to her past? Eager to learn more he offers to help Lauren clear her name and bring the real villains to justice.And running out of time.But with millions of pounds still missing, Lauren remains the prime suspect…and the main target in an increasingly deadly game. And as Lauren’s plan with Nate reaches its shocking climax, no one knows who will ultimately take the fall…A nail-biting revenge thriller, perfect for fans of Gemma Rogers, Heather Atkinson and Caro Savage.'A brilliant read that hooked me from the outset. The Fall is a tale of sweet revenge that I couldn’t tear myself away from!' Bestselling author Gemma Rogers.
Miami Masters Collection
B.J. Wane - 2019
Feisty, independent women in need of help. Seven troubled young men from varied backgrounds bonded together at a summer camp for juvenile delinquents – a bond that held them together into adulthood and grew stronger through their shared interest in the lifestyle. In this six-book collection, each confirmed bachelor will meet that one woman who will complete him, save her from the trouble plaguing her and, using all his experience and trips on their specially designed, co-owned yacht, help her succumb to her HEA with pleasure. Publisher’s Note: This compilation contains all six books of the Miami Masters series. These steamy contemporary romances include elements of power exchange.
Cowboy: His Ranch. His Rules. His Secrets. (Taking Charge: Blazing Romance Suspens #1)
Maggie Carpenter
Carly Kincaid's face is flaming red. The smart and sassy cowgirl is being scolded by her sexy new boss. Though she's in danger of losing her job, there's a clause in her contract that offers a different option, one she hopes he'll consider. Just the thought of the old-fashioned discipline is making her butterflies flutter and her toes curl. Carrying secrets critical the success of his ranch, Keith Parker must avoid romance and enforce his rules. Carly has put the ranch at risk. He should fire her but he's torn. In spite of his resolve he's crazy about the blue-eyed beauty. A killer storm hits. As Carly falls victim to a near fatal accident their feelings bubble to the surface, but as their passion ignites, eerie events surface, and an enemy from Keith's past lurks in the shadows. If you enjoy contemporary western romance, page-turning suspense and steamy sex, you'll love this bestselling book. Get swept away in the drama, secrets and surprises at Dream Horse Ranch. Don't wait. Click the link today. Visit your favorite characters from this book, and meet new sexy horse handlers in HUNKS AND HORSES, a brand new, blazing hot western romance series. BOOK 1: TO KISS A COWBOY BOOK 2: TO CATCH A COWBOY BOOK 3: TO CON A COWBOY BOOK 4: TO TRUST A COWBOY NOTE: Though HEA/Standalone, the entertainment experience will be enhanced if read in order. These books contain mild power exchange and consensual discipline. Brought to you by Maggie Carpenter. USA Today Bestselling Author.
He Made Me (a Booker & Cash Story Book 2)
Oliver Tidy - 2017
Someone is demanding a lot of money from her husband and she wants to know why.What do the dying words of one man - he made me - actually mean?As the mystery unfolds people will come undone and reputations will be ruined before the answer becomes clear.At the end of the day Mrs Swaine might end up wishing she’d let sleeping dogs lie…
Also available in the Booker & Cash series:
Bad Sons
Three Great Novels: Perfect Husband / Other Daughter / Third Victim
Lisa Gardner - 2003
Even locked up in a maximum security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the cunning killer has escaped--and the most dangerous game of all begins.... After a lifetime of fear, Tess will do something she's never done before. She's going to learn to protect her daughter and fight back, with the help of a burned-out ex-marine. As the largest manhunt four states have ever seen mobilizes to catch Beckett, the clock winds down to the terrifying reunion between husband and wife. And Tess knows that this time, her only choices are to kill--or be killed. Lisa Gardner sold her first novel when she was 20 years old. In 1993 she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in international relations. She lives in Rhode Island, where she is at work on her next novel of suspense.
The Firm / The Chamber
John Grisham - 1995
He's young. He's bright. He's ambitious. Mitch could have the pick of the big firms in New York and Chicago, but he's chosen the Memphis tax firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke. They're selective. They pay outrageous salaries. They have a turnover rate of zero. And Mitch is about to find out why.Several events fuel Mitch's growing suspicions: two of the partners die in a suspicious diving accident off Grand Cayman; the senior partners seem unduly proud of the fact that no one has ever resigned; and security measures at the office are, even for a company with billionaire clients, more than a little extreme. Then Mitch makes an explosive discovery: The firm is owned and operated by the most powerful organized crime family in Chicago. Even as Mitch discovers the truth, he finds himself caught between the FBI, who wants an informant inside the firm, and the firm itself, which will make him a very rich man—or a very dead one.The ChamberAdam Hill is in his first year at a top Chicago law firm. He volunteers for the toughest assignment any lawyer could ask for. His prospective client doesn't want Adam or his law firm. He is an unrepentent and outspoken racist with a violent past. He is on Death Row for the murder of two Jewish children in a horrific bombing in 1967.Why would he take on Adam, a complete novice, to defend him? And why would Adam want his case so desperately? The answer lies in the past, in a twenty-year-old secret buried in the madness of another time...
The Pirate's Captive
Maisy Archer - 2016
Her plan to thwart the lawless rogue quickly goes awry, however, when she is carried off from her home and held as a captive aboard his ship. Evelyn soon discovers that while the handsome buccaneer has no intention of doing her any harm, he will not tolerate disobedience, and when she attempts an escape she ends up over his knee for a painful, embarrassing spanking in front of his entire crew. Though the stern punishment infuriates Evelyn, she cannot help wondering what it would be like to be mastered much more thoroughly, and before long she is blushing crimson and quivering with desire as he teaches her exactly what it means for a beautiful lady to surrender her body to a dominant man. Despite her growing attraction to her captor, however, his plans for her remain a mystery. She is to be delivered to a man in Boston, but she knows neither who he is nor what he wants with her. All she can be sure of is that with each passing day she feels less like a prisoner and more like a priceless treasure. But will old enemies or the dangers of the high seas tear her from her lover’s arms? Publisher’s Note: The Pirate’s Captive includes sexual scenes and spankings. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.
Fallout: A Sam Jameson Conspiracy Thriller (Sam Jameson Conspiracy Thriller Series Book 6)
Lars Emmerich - 2015
Move over, Lee Child." "Lars Emmerich is right up there with Patterson, Baldacci, Forsyth, and DeMille." "Some of the best action and spy thriller fiction you will ever read." Special Agent Sam Jameson's friend and colleague was just murdered in Budapest. It falls to Sam to clean up the mess. Unsavory, but routine. Until she discovers she's being followed. And before she can make heads or tails of the situation, she's fighting for her life, alone and outgunned in a strange city. As Sam claws her way through a ruthless and brutal cabal, she discovers that she's up against one of the most dangerous conspiracies in history. Fallout is a transcontinental thrill ride full of twists, turns, and pulse-pounding suspense.
The Panipuri Crimes
S.B. Akshobhya - 2021
His plan is to put the humble cane-panipuri vendor, found in every other street in a metropolitan city, on a digital platform.As they gear up to launch an app to sell panipuri, the cloud of risk looms large. All five entrepreneurs who earlier ventured into the business had died in road accidents. But all that is overlooked and forgotten in the excitement of the team reaching the verge of a VC funding.Is the death of all five entrepreneurs a coincidence? Can Sagar and his team overcome the odds? Why are the ordinary vendors dying one after another like a pack of cards?The Panipuri Crimes is a thrilling story weaving together the world of entrepreneurship and struggle, love and other demons, and the murky world of crime.
Ashes Ashes
Murphy Morrison - 2020
The streets of Chicago keep him busy and provide a respite from his family's chaos. But everything changes when his rescue squad is called to a house where female victims are found chained to a wall and burned alive. The terror becomes personal as the women are identified, leaving Charlie to reel over one haunting question: What have I done? Detective Jeff Foley is a private man with a past he's worked hard to keep in the dark. When a new assignment at the Chicago Police Department coincides with his estranged brother coming back into his life, his past suddenly becomes his present. Only this time, he's not just a kid on the street. He now has a life worth fighting for and a wife and daughter he'll do anything to protect. Talia Griffin is loyal to a fault. She puts her patients first and would do anything for her dad, the only family she has left. When he's pulled into an investigation that intersects with one of her patients at the hospital, she can't help but get involved. And when she does, she learns the hard way that no one is safe-that once you're in, there's no getting out. Ashes Ashes tells the story of family, love, secrets, and betrayal. We see firsthand how the person we think we know can be the most unfamiliar of all, how webs of evil can extend beyond just one point in time, and how our enemies can be closer, and far greater, than we ever imagined.
No Trivial Pursuit (Harley Ellis Book 1)
John Ellsworth - 2020
Not When It's Your Own Daughter Missing. A front-page murder is assigned to LAPD Detective Harley Ellis and her partner. Hollywood studio head Ira Spielman has been murdered. His widow says he had no enemies. Except one, says Harley, and she must discover who that is and why. She knows he sometimes interviewed actresses alone in his Hollywood office. Harley wonders: did he make a wrong move? It's not much, but it's a starting point. She would know: her own daughter had a screen test with Spielman before he was killed. Robbery-Homicide Division begins an investigation that obtains the name of Harley's daughter. Is she a suspect? No, but she's a person of interest. Charges get filed. The LAPD investigation is put beneath the microscope. Will Harley's investigation of a totally different suspect be vindicated? The amazing conclusion to this thoughtful investigation culminates in a final chapter few will see coming. Second Edition With Editorial Changes If you enjoyed Thaddeus Murfee you're going to love this tough, brilliant detective, Harley Ellis. John Ellsworth is a Goodreads writer with over 56,000 ratings and a USA Today Bestseller and a Kindle All-Star and an Amazon featured author. Fans of Tracy Crosswhite and Kinsey Millhone will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.
Relentless
Mike McCrary - 2018
Then it turned into a nightmare.Davis Briggs is a kind-hearted family man who dreams of building a better life for his wife and two beautiful daughters. With his family’s future at stake, Davis travels to LA to promote a new business. While he tries to unwind at the hotel bar, a slick, charming stranger asks Davis one simple question: “Are you ready to have the time of your life?”Davis wakes up the next morning with no memory of what happened the night before. Now, caught in the stranger’s web, Davis is trapped in a race against time. If he succeeds, he stands to gain everything. If he fails, Davis will lose it all. It will take all Davis has to break free…even if it means doing the unthinkable.McCrary’s taut, fast-paced RELENTLESS is a gripping thrill ride that explores the darkness hiding in the cracks of society and the lengths people will go to when everything is on the line.
Down Among the Jocks (Hardman Book 5)
Ralph Dennis - 1974
They're back in the fifth adventure in the beloved and acclaimed series that influenced generations of crime writers. Retired pro football star Ed Cross did most of his scoring between bed posts with other player's women, including Hump's ex-girlfriend. That was bad enough. But, just to rub it in, Cross sends Hump an x-rated birthday skin flick of him celebrating in bed with two women. Hump goes looking for blood... and finds it. Cross is murdered and Hump becomes the prime suspect. Hardman works to clear Hump and discovers there's plenty of murderous hate for Cross out there...from the top of the sports world to the pits of Atlanta's illegal gambling scene... and revealing it could get them both killed. This new edition includes an Afterword from Ben Jones, the Dukes of Hazzard actor and former U.S. Congressman from Georgia. PRAISE FOR THE HARDMAN NOVELS "Like Chandler and Hammett before him, Dennis was trying to do something different with what was thought of as throwaway literature.” Joe R. Lansdale, New York Times bestselling author of the Hap & Leonard series “The Hardman books are by far the best of the men’s action-adventure series.” Mother Jones Magazine “Among the best series books around.” Philadelphia Daily News