Book picks similar to
Bella by Steve Piacente


thriller
mystery
mystery-thriller
suspense

Thought I Knew You


Kate Moretti - 2012
    Her best friend Drew helps her look for answers, but all she finds are troubling questions.With every clue, she discovers that Greg may not be the man she thought she married.While battling her growing feelings for Drew and raising her two young children, Claire must learn to live with the knowledge that the truth behind Greg’s disappearance may never be revealed.

The Other Side of Everything


Lauren Doyle Owens - 2018
    When his neighbor is murdered, he emerges from his solitude to reconnect with his fellow octogenarians. These connections become a literal lifeline as a second, and then a third, elderly woman is murdered, and “the originals” as they call themselves, realize that they are being targeted. Amy Unger is an artist and cancer survivor whose emotional recovery has not been as successful as her physical one. After the woman next door is murdered, she begins to paint imagined scenes from the murder in an effort to cope with her own loss. But when her paintings prove to be too realistic, her neighbors grow suspicious, and she soon finds herself in the crosshairs of the police. And then there’s Maddie Lowe, a teenage waitress whose mother recently abandoned the family. As Maddie struggles to keep her family together and maintain the appearance of normal teenage life, she finds herself drawn to the man the police say is the killer. As they navigate their increasingly dangerous and tumultuous worlds, Bernard, Amy, and Maddie begin to uncover the connections between them, and the past and present, in a novel that ultimately proves the power of tragedy to spark renewal.

The President Is Missing


Bill Clinton - 2018
    Enemies are planning an attack of unprecedented scale on America. Uncertainty and fear grip Washington. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the cabinet. The President himself becomes a suspect, and then goes missing...Set in real time, over the course of three days, The President Is Missing is one of the most dramatic thrillers in decades. And it could all really happen. The President Is Missing is Bill Clinton and James Patterson's totally authentic and spellbinding thriller.

I Wish I Could Remember You


L.J. Epps - 2016
     Emily wants romance in her life—the kind of romance that leads to a perfect marriage. She dreams of having a husband who loves her and treats her with respect, someone she can spend the rest of her life with. She meets—and marries—Steven Montgomery, hoping he will make all of those things come true. Everything is wonderful, at first; until things start to slowly change. Steven begins to mentally, verbally, and physically abuse Emily. Through it all, Emily tries to be the best wife she can be. Finally, after so much devastation, Emily leaves Steven, files for divorce, and moves on with her life. Her sister, Monica, introduces her to a wonderful man named Robert. Emily falls in love with him. He is kind, gentle and sweet—all things now missing from her marriage. She is happy, in love again, and well on her way to divorcing Steven. But, Steven doesn’t want the divorce; and, since he is a savvy lawyer, he tries everything to prevent it. Although Emily still has residual feelings for Steven, she knows that it could never work between them. She wants to move on with the new love of her life, Robert. After a horrific accident, Emily can no longer remember Robert and all the things he has meant to her, and she can no longer remember all the horrific things Steven has done to her. Emily has two men professing their love for her. She is confused; she doesn’t know where she belongs or who she should be with. And, she has a hard time deciding who to choose. Emily is being pulled in several different directions by her loved ones. They all mean well, but only Emily knows how she truly feels. She has to decide, on her own, what to do. All Emily wants is to start over, but that isn’t so easy, since everything in her world is broken, and she isn’t sure how to fix it. All Emily wants is to be happy, healthy, and whole again, but that may not be in the cards for her, either. “A fascinating story about who we are and how our memories ultimately guide us in the choices we make.” —Kristina Gemmell, Beta Reader

Rapid Falls


Amber Cowie - 2018
    The tragedy has become a local legend, but Cara has moved past her grief to have a successful career and a happy family. Pity about Anna. Recently released from incarceration, she’s struggling with addiction, guilt, and shame—a shattered life. Cara’s forgiveness seems to be the only thing that helps her pick up the pieces.But as Anna pulls herself together, her memories of that night on the bridge start to come into focus. And few of them match her sister’s.As past secrets unfold and nothing is what it seems anymore, Anna desperately searches for the truth. But what if Cara doesn’t want her to find it?

You Don't Want To Know


Lisa Jackson - 2012
    In the two years since, she's been in and out of Seattle mental institutions, existing in a fog of grief. Noah's body was never found, and everyone assumed he drowned after falling off a dock. Until recently, Ava thought so too. . .Is More DangerousSince she moved back home, Ava has experienced unsettling visions. She hears Noah crying in the nursery, glimpses him walking near the water. Her family, her psychologist, and her estranged husband are concerned for her well-being. Or are they worried about what she might discover?Than The TruthDid Noah really die, or is Ava losing her sanity? The deeper into her memories she goes, the more fearful she becomes. Ava thought her son's disappearance was the worst thing that could happen to her. But before this nightmare ends, she'll discover how terrifying the truth can be. . .

The Inn at Ocean's Edge


Colleen Coble - 2015
    She showed up a year later at the same hotel, with a note pinned to her dress but no explanation. Nobody knows where Claire spent that year—and until now, Claire didn’t even know she had ever been missing.But when Claire returns to the Hotel Tourmaline for a business meeting with her CEO father, disturbing memories begin to surface . . . despite her parents’ best efforts to keep them forgotten.Luke Rocco lost his mother under equally mysterious circumstances—at the same time Claire disappeared. After a chance encounter reveals the unlikely link between them, Claire and Luke set out together to uncover the truth about what happened that fateful year.With flashbacks swimming just beneath her consciousness and a murderer threatening her safety, Claire’s very life depends on unscrambling her past . . . even if her family refuses to acknowledge it. Someone—maybe everyone—is hiding something from Claire Dellamare, and it will cost her everything to drag the truth out into the light.

The Woman Outside My Door


Rachel Ryan - 2021
    It’s perfectly normal, and they all grow out of it in the end. But when her seven-year-old son, Cody, tells her about New Granny, the new friend he’s met in the park, Georgina is instantly suspicious. Something—call it maternal instinct—tells her he isn’t making it up.But maybe Georgina is losing her mind. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all. And with her own mother’s recent death leaving her bereft and trying to cope with life as a busy working mom, it’s no wonder she’s feeling paranoid that Cody has invented a “New Granny” to replace his beloved grandmother.Her husband, Bren, becomes the voice of reason, assuring Georgina that it’s just a game, the product of their son’s overactive imagination. But what if Cody’s imaginary friend is not so imaginary after all?

The Lions of Lucerne


Brad Thor - 2002
    But Scot Harvath, surviving agent and ex-Navy SEAL, doesn't believe the Fatah is responsible. A shadowy coalition comprises some of the highest-ranking officials in government and business – men who operate above the law, realize the threat Scot poses to their hidden agenda, and will do anything to stop him. Framed for murder and on the run, Scot takes to the towering mountains of Switzerland with beautiful Claudia Mueller of the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office. They brave subzero temperatures and sheer heights of treacherous Mount Pilatus, and the den of notorious professional killers.

The Last Resort


Marissa Stapley - 2019
    Run by celebrity power couple Drs. Miles and Grace Markell, the "last resort" offers a chance for partners to repair their relationships in a luxurious setting on the gorgeous Mayan Riviera. Johanna and Ben have a marriage that looks perfect on the surface, but in reality, they don’t know each other at all. Shell and Colin fight constantly: after all, Colin is a workaholic, and Shell always comes second to his job as an executive at a powerful mining company. But what has really torn them apart is too devastating to talk about. When both couples begin Harmony's intensive therapy program, it becomes clear that Harmony is not all it seems—and neither are Miles and Grace themselves. What are they hiding, and what price will these couples pay for finding out? As a deadly tropical storm descends on the coast, trapping the hosts and the guests on the resort, secrets are revealed, loyalties are tested and not one single person—or their marriage—will remain unchanged by what follows.

Who We Were Before


Leah Mercer - 2016
    Of course it wasn’t. But if she’d just grasped harder, run faster, lunged quicker, she might have saved him. And Edward doesn’t really blame her, though his bitter words at the time still haunt her, and he can no more take them back than she can halt the car that killed their son.Two years on, every day is a tragedy. Edward knows they should take healing steps together, but he’s tired of being shut out. For Zoe, it just seems easier to let grief lead the way.A weekend in Paris might be their last hope for reconciliation, but mischance sees them separated before they’ve even left Gare du Nord. Lost and alone, Edward and Zoe must try to find their way back to each other—and find their way back to the people they were before. But is that even possible?

The Devil You Know


Trish Doller - 2015
    Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it's just the risk she's been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions. A road trip fling turns terrifying in this contemporary story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone


Kat Rosenfield - 2012
    But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life. Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.

Darkness


Karen Robards - 2016
    That's the sound that changes everything for Dr. Gina Sullivan, a renowned ornithologist on a group research grant trip on the remote island of Attu, Alaska. When an everyday outing turns sinister at the onset of one of Attu's infamous storms, Gina expects thunder and lightning - but what she doesn't see coming is the small jet plane that drops out of the sky and into the water mere feet from her boat. Even more unprecedented: there's a sole survivor from the crash, and he needs Gina's help. But it turns out that rescuing the stranger and getting them both out of the oncoming storm is just the beginning. Because the more Gina learns about James "Cal" Callahan, he of brooding eyes and muscled frame, the more she fears - for herself, and for him.Cal has made a career of trading on government secrets and emerging unscathed - until a routine pickup goes horribly wrong and lands him in ice-cold water. Literally. He knows the plane crash was no accident and that there could very well be an enemy force currently combing the Alaskan island, ensuring there were no survivors. Now if only the arrestingly beautiful bird-watcher with the clear-blue gaze would stop watching him, well, like a hawk. Cal convinces Gina to return to base camp and help him covertly get off the island. But when Gina makes it safely back to camp and finds her entire team murdered, all bets are off, and as darkness envelops the island, she must decide: trust a man she barely knows, or go it alone and risk running straight into the arms of a killer?New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and "master of romantic suspense" (Booklist) Karen Robards does it again with this atmospheric, tightly wound thriller that will keep you spellbound until the very last page.

Whatever You Love


Louise Doughty - 2010
    I am calm as I make this promise: I am going to find out what you love, then whatever it is, I am going to track it down and I am going to take it away from you.After the death of Laura's nine-year-old daughter, Betty, is ruled an accident in a hit-and-run, Laura decides to take revenge into her own hands, determined to track down the man responsible. All the while, her inner turmoil is reopening the old wounds of her passionate love affair with Betty's father, David, and his abandonment of the family for another woman.Haunted by her past and driven to a breaking point by her thirst for retribution, Laura discovers the unforeseen lengths she is willing to go to for love and vengeance.