Book picks similar to
The Cove by Gregg Dunnett
endings-that-surprised-me
families
ibooks-backup
psycho-thrillers
Dark Horses
Susan Mihalic - 2021
Both, for as long as she can remember, have been ruled by her father, who demands strict obedience in all areas of her life. The warped power dynamic of coach and rider extends far beyond the stables, and Roan's relationship with her father has long been inappropriate. She has been able to compartmentalize that dark aspect of her life, ruthlessly focusing on her ambitions as a rider heading for the Olympics, just as her father had done. However, her developing relationship with Will Howard, a boy her own age, broadens the scope of her vision. At the intersection of a commercial page-turner and urgent survivor story, Dark Horses takes the searing themes of abuse and resilience in Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling and applies the compelling exploration of female strength in Room by Emma Donoghue. In much the same way that V.C. Andrews’s Flowers in the Attic transfixed a generation of readers, Susan Mihalic’s debut is set to a steady beat that will keep you turning the pages.
Watch For Me By Moonlight
Kirsty Ferry - 2017
She waited and watched by moonlight, as she had promised …” When her life in London falls apart, Elodie Bright returns to Suffolk and to Hartsford Hall, the home of her childhood friend Alexander Aldrich, now the Earl of Hartsford. There, she throws herself into helping Alex bring a new lease of life to the old house and its grounds. After a freak storm damages the Hall chapel and destroys the tomb of Georgiana Kerridge, one of Alex’s eighteenth-century relatives, Elodie and Alex find a reconnection in the shocking discovery brought to light by the damaged tomb. Through a series of strange flashbacks and uncanny incidents, they begin to piece together Georgiana’s secret past involving a highwayman, a sister’s betrayal and a forbidden love so strong that it echoes through the ages …
Dead Reckoning: How I Came to Meet the Man Who Murdered My Father
Carys Cragg - 2017
Twenty years later, and despite the reservations of her family and friends, she decides to contact his murderer in prison, and the two correspond for a period of two years. She learns of his horrific childhood, and the reasons he lied about the murder; in turn, he learns about the man he killed. She mines his letters for clues about the past before agreeing to meet him in person, when she learns startling new information about the crime.With gripping suspense and raw honesty, Dead Reckoning follows one woman's determination to confront the man who murdered her father, revealing her need for understanding and the murderer's reluctance to tell―an uneasy negotiation between two people from different worlds both undone by tragedy. This is a powerful and emotional memoir about how reconciling with the past doesn't necessarily provide comfort, but it can reveal the truth.
Silent Alarm
Jennifer Banash - 2015
At least it was—until she found herself on the wrong end of a shotgun in the school library. Her suburban high school had become one of those places you hear about on the news—a place where some disaffected youth decided to end it all and take as many of his teachers and classmates with him as he could. Except, in this story, that youth was Alys’s own brother, Luke. He killed fifteen others and himself, but spared her—though she’ll never know why. Alys’s downward spiral begins instantly, and there seems to be no bottom. A heartbreaking and beautifully told story.
Thicker Than Water
Rachel McLean - 2018
Ruth Dyer is forging a role as doctor to their community of refugees and the rock around which the family revolves. But the family is haunted by memories of the journey north and the loss of their mother Sonia. And their community is under attack from the local population. When Jess answers a distress call at sea, she brings strangers to their village and puts Ruth in jeopardy. Jess has to calm the community, mount a rescue mission and keep her brother Ben from tipping into insanity. Will she succeed?
And will she find Ruth before it’s too late? ‘Thicker Than Water’ is a gripping thriller about family, belonging and revenge. Previously published as 'Exile'
We'll Fly Away
Bryan Bliss - 2018
Luke feels like he’s been looking after Toby his entire life. He patches Toby up when Toby’s father, a drunk and a petty criminal, beats on him, he gives him a place to stay, and he diffuses the situation at school when wise-cracking Toby inevitably gets into fights. Someday, Luke and Toby will leave this small town, riding the tails of Luke’s wrestling scholarship, and never look back.But during their senior year, they begin to drift apart. Luke is dealing with his unreliable mother and her new boyfriend. And Toby unwittingly begins to get drawn into his father’s world, and falls for an older woman. All their long-held dreams seem to be unraveling. Tense and emotional, this heartbreaking novel explores family, abuse, sex, love, friendship, and the lengths a person will go to protect the people they love. For fans of NPR’s Serial podcast, Jason Reynolds, and Matt de la Peña.
Dope Boys and the Women that Love 'Em
Tiece - 2013
When an unexpected trip to Miami, Florida goes horribly sour, the best friends find themselves working together in a way that they vowed never to do. Malcolm undeniably loves his girlfriend, Diamond, but a higher authority threatens to end their happily ever after union. With stressors making his life more difficult after proving to be dishonorable, yet again, he must decide if staying in the game is worth his relationship or if he should cut his ties and walk away. Russell spoils his wife with all things luxury, but only in hopes that she’d one day forgive him for his infidelity and open her heart back up to him. After forming an unlikely alliance, he feels that his luck is about to change for the better, but he’s unaware that it’s only a lure to pull him deeper in a world of monstrous intentions that will be much harder to get out of. The loyal becomes distrustful and the weak becomes the prey. No one is safe unless you’re at the top, but even then, someone is lurking to remove you of your position and by any means necessary. Dope Boyz isn’t your ordinary Dope Tale, but it is a hot new romance series that’s sure to leave you staggered in thoughts of what’s next to come…
Dark Crimes
Michael Hambling - 2013
She has been stabbed through the heart. It seems like a simple crime for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning. The case grows more complex as DCI Sophie Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation. There’s an obvious suspect but Detective Allen isn't convinced. Could someone else be lurking in the shadows, someone savagely violent, looking for a warped revenge?
Brianna's Story: Married to an Arab (Women In Chains Book 1)
Aabra - 2013
That was before she met a very handsome and somewhat mysterious man named Khaleel who, like Brianna, is an engineering student at Columbia University. Before graduation, however, Brianna's life is turned upside down when she becomes pregnant with Khaleel's baby and is suddenly whisked away to a tiny village in the heart of Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter. Completely separated from everything she has ever known, Brianna quickly discovers that Khaleel is no longer the man she fell in love with. That man has been replaced by a domineering stranger who wants to control everything, especially Brianna. This revelation is followed by other shocks as Brianna tries to adjust to a world that has suddenly turned into an endless nightmare of abuse, suppression, threats, and isolation. Pregnant and cut off from the outside world, Brianna can focus on only three things now: her own safety, the safety of her unborn child, and, most of all, how to escape from a prison built on hatred.
Losing Juliet
June Taylor - 2016
Now, nearly twenty years later, Juliet wants to be back in Chrissy’s life.But Chrissy doesn’t want Juliet anywhere near her, or her teenage daughter Eloise. After all, Juliet is the only person who knows what happened that night – and her return threatens to destroy the life that Chrissy has so carefully built.Because when the past is reawakened, it can prove difficult to bury. And soon all three of them will realize how dangerous it can get once the truth is out there…
The Girl in the Attic
Jon Athan - 2021
He justifies his actions by claiming he's protecting her from a cruel world while homeschooling her. But when a new neighbor moves into the house next door and their teenage son, Seth, interferes with his plans, Frederick begins to tighten his grip on Sydney—and Sydney starts fighting back. Discipline and homeschooling quickly turn into abuse and lessons of violence.Can Sydney survive her father's wrath? Can Seth rescue her before it's too late?Jon Athan, the illustrious author of
'The Abuse of Ashley Collins'
and
'Grandfather's House',
brings you his 50th novel with this story of family and tragedy, discipline and abuse, and good deeds and bad consequences.WARNING: This novel contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
Transience
Stevan Mena - 2013
But that isn’t stopping him from trying to find a missing girl. Concealing his illness, he stays on to continue the struggle to solve the case. Several other girls who’ve disappeared have all turned up dead, and Jack knows he doesn’t have much time. But the case goes cold, and Jack has all but given up hope until 9 year old Rebecca provides the clues which can catch the killer. Unaware of the secret that she’s carrying, Rebecca is tormented by nightmares and visions she can’t understand. While undergoing therapy, her doctor uncovers the root of her fear, the memory of a horrific murder. But the identity of the victim is the most shocking of all. When Jack learns how the girl’s story was acquired, it challenges everything he believes. Jack dismisses her account until an incident reveals her story to be irrefutable. The events that follow will change Jack forever, and prove to him that there’s a reason and purpose for every life...and death.
The Lost
Claire McGowan - 2013
Swirling with rumour and secrets, the town is gripped by fear of a serial killer. But the truth could be even darker.Not everyone who's lost wants to be found...Surrounded by people and places she tried to forget, Paula digs into the cases as the truth twists further away. What's the link with two other disappearances from 1985? And why does everything lead back to the town's dark past- including the reasons her own mother went missing years before?Nothing is what it seems...As the shocking truth is revealed, Paula learns that sometimes, it's better not to find what you've lost.
Ordinary People
Judith Guest - 1976
Calvin is a determined, successful provider and Beth an organized, efficient wife. They had two sons, Conrad and Buck, but now they have one. In this memorable, moving novel, Judith Guest takes the reader into their lives to share their misunderstandings, pain...and ultimate healing. (back cover)
Her Sister’s Secret
E.V. Seymour - 2019
The police are certain she purposely caused the crash that killed another but what could have happened for sensible Scarlett to lose control at the wheel?Determined to discover the truth, Molly begins to dig deeper into her sister’s life. With every question she uncovers yet more secrets…all connected to her own family’s past. One of them has something to hide.And then Molly meets Rocco, a stranger with dark secrets of his own. Nothing can prepare her for what comes next…Perhaps the answers she is searching for are more dangerous that she ever imagined…