Book picks similar to
Beyond the Narrows by M.R. Durbin


lds-fiction
suspense
mystery
contemporary

The Inner Circle


Brad Meltzer - 2011
    Presidency is about to be revealed."There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living."Beecher White, a young archivist, spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government. He has always been the keeper of other people's stories, never a part of the story himself . . . Until now.When Clementine Kaye, Beecher's first childhood crush, shows up at the National Archives asking for his help tracking down her long-lost father, Beecher tries to impress her by showing her the secret vault where the President of the United States privately reviews classified documents. After they accidentally happen upon a priceless artifact—a two-hundred-year-old dictionary that once belonged to George Washington—hidden underneath a desk chair, Beecher and Clementine find themselves suddenly entangled in a web of deception, conspiracy, and murder.Soon a man is dead and Beecher is on the run as he races to learn the truth behind this mysterious national treasure. His search will lead him to discover a coded and ingenious puzzle that conceals a disturbing secret from the founding of our nation. It is a secret, Beecher soon discovers, that some believe is worth killing for.

The Whispered Dance of Bees


Carol Warburton - 2020
    But the night of her birth was shadowed by an eerie Devils Moon and her christening day marred by a fierce hailstorm—ill omens that led the superstitious peasants to seek Alyce's life. Desperate to save her infant daughter, Alyce's mother flees with her baby, finding shelter and goodwill at the isolated farm of strangers . . . There, Alyce's life is filled with secrets, unanswered questions, and a sense of foreboding. Her worst fears are realized when she narrowly escapes the clutches of a murderer by fleeing into the forest. Fate steps in once more to change the course of her life when Alyce is found and taken in by Elspeth, a wise woman with the uncanny ability to commune with nature. Trained by Elspeth in the art of healing, Alyce remains haunted by the puzzle of her past until she discovers her mother's lost pendant. With the help of this object and the aid of the enchanting William Pascoe, Alyce finally holds the key to who she once was and who she will become.

Riptide


Douglas Preston - 1998
    Clues led to the mysterious Water Pit on Ragged Island, Maine-but a curse left behind by the long-dead Ockham seems to be working. Every expedition has failed; the treasure seekers died in gruesome fashions. Now a new expedition has been mounted, using state-of-the-art computer technology and backed by tens of millions of dollars. It will all be worth it, if the treasure estimated to be worth $2 billion can be found. But modern technology, no matter how expensive, may not be enough to overcome the deadly secrets of the Water Pit.

The Girl Beneath the Sea


Andrew Mayne - 2020
    An auxiliary officer for Lauderdale Shores PD, she’s the go-to diver for evidence recovery. Then Sloan finds a fresh kill floating in a canal—a woman whose murky history collides with Sloan’s. Their troubling ties are making Sloan less a potential witness than a suspect. And her colleagues aren’t the only ones following every move she makes. So is the killer.Stalked by an assassin, pitted against a ruthless cartel searching for a lost fortune, and under watch within her ranks, Sloan has only one ally: the legendary DEA agent who put Sloan’s uncle behind bars. He knows just how deep corruption runs—and the kind of danger Sloan is in. To stay alive, Sloan must stay one step ahead of her enemies—both known and unknown—and a growing conspiracy designed to pull her under.

Chaos


Jeff Downs - 2007
    Drug paraphernalia litters his bedroom. Then the phone rings. What he hears chills him to the core, and sends him into hiding with little more than fear and a 72-hour kit.Framed for unspeakable crimes, Jason turns to the only person who may be able to help -- and ex-girlfriend he has not seen in years. As the police net around the city tightens, and a foreign assassin draws closer, Jason realizes that the only way he can clear his name and survive is to hunt the hunter.

The Columbus Affair


Steve Berry - 2012
    But when one of his stories from the Middle East is exposed as a fraud, his professional reputation crashes and burns. Now he lives in virtual exile—haunted by bad decisions and a shocking truth he can never prove:  that his downfall was a deliberate act of sabotage by an unknown enemy. But before Sagan can end his torment with the squeeze of a trigger, fate intervenes in the form of an enigmatic stranger.  This stranger forces Sagan to act—and his actions attract the attention of the Magellan Billet, a top-secret corps of the United States Justice Department that deals with America’s most sensitive investigations. Sagan suddenly finds himself caught in an international incident, the repercussions of which will shudder not only Washington, D.C., but also Jerusalem. Coaxed into a deadly cat-and-mouse game, unsure who’s friend and who’s foe, Sagan is forced to Vienna, Prague, then finally into the Blue Mountains of Jamaica—where his survival hinges on his rewriting everything we know about Christopher Columbus.

The Chemist


Stephenie Meyer - 2016
    She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon. When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous. Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of. In this tautly plotted novel, Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she's one of the world's bestselling authors.

The Quantum Breach


Denver Acey - 2013
    When kidnappers force him to breach a top-security government facility, Tanner engages in an intense game of intellectual cat-and-mouse with his captors. This thrilling tale will change the way you reveal information online!

The Maze of Bones


Rick Riordan - 2008
    When their beloved aunt--matriarch of the world's most powerful family--dies, orphaned siblings Amy and Dan Cahill compete with less honorable Cahill descendants in a race around the world to find cryptic clues to a mysterious fortune.Book includes game cards which the reader may use to play an online version of the treasure hunt.

Pride and Politics


Brittany Larsen - 2016
    She’s always stayed out of the drama, until an incident involving her fellow Mormons drives her out of her hometown—and out of the Church. What she needs is a change of scene, and sunny California seems like just the place. Enter Benson Hardy. He’s just her type—until she finds out who he is. Not only is Benson a nephew to her father’s political rival, he’s also a devout member of the Church. The last thing Summer wants is to be mixed up in politics—or religion. But Benson challenges her like no one else, asking the tough questions about her inactivity. Though their incompatibility is clear, their connection is undeniable, and soon Summer finds the embers of her faith reigniting. Just as it seems that the pair might be on the road to romance, a series of embarrassing misunderstandings—and the appearance of a handsome charmer determined to sweep Summer off her feet—knock the couple completely off course. As Summer finds herself at a crossroads, she must decide if she’s willing to set her pride aside for a shot at true love.

Heart of the Ocean


Heather B. Moore - 2013
    . . a grieving ghost . . . a handsome stranger . . . What more could Eliza Robinson want?Except for maybe her life.In Heather B. Moore’s enthralling 1840’s historical romance, Heart of the Ocean, Eliza Robinson has turned down the very pretentious Mr. Thomas Beesley’s marriage proposal. As a business partner of Eliza’s father, Thomas quickly discredits the family and brings disgrace to the Robinson name.While her father scrambles to restore his good name in New York City, Eliza flees to the remote Puritan town of Maybrook to stay with her Aunt Maeve. Maybrook is the last existing Puritan town, having survived centuries of outside influence. Although relieved to be away from all- things-male and unforgiving gossip columns, odd things start to happen to Eliza, and she is plagued by a ghostly voice. Her aunt’s explanation? That Eliza is being haunted by a woman who died of a broken heart twenty years ago.After Aunt Maeve is tragically killed, Eliza's life is put in danger as she tries to uncover the mystery of her aunt's death. She encounters Jonathan Porter in Maybrook, whose presence in the town seems suspicious, yet she finds herself drawn to him. When she discovers that Jonathan’s dark secrets may be the link between the dead woman who haunts her and her aunt’s murderer, Eliza realizes that Jonathan is the one man she should never trust.

Between the Lines


Erin Klingler - 2010
    Days later, Salt Lake Tribune reporter Justin Mickelsen receives a letter from a childhood friend—the murder victim—written just prior to his death, leading the two reporters to team up in San Francisco to expose the scandal. In the intensity of the investigation, the pair's attraction quickly grows, along with proof of money laundering, drug trafficking, and grand theft. But as the evidence builds, so do the tempers of certain billionaires and heavy-hitting politicians—soon it seems the dangerous career path chosen by the two ace reporters can only lead to a very dead end. "Between the Lines will melt your heart one minute and make it pound the next with its balance of romance and suspense. Klingler has hit the mark—definitely a must-read!" —Julie Coulter Bellon, author of Dangerous Connections Erin Klingler grew up in northern California and graduated from Ricks College with an associate's degree in preschool education. When she's not shuttling her kids to their activities or working part-time from home as a medical transcriptionist, she loves to indulge in her two favorite pastimes— reading and writing. She never goes anywhere without a book in her purse and her trusty eBook reader that she uses to download her current works and edit them while sitting through kids' soccer practices or red lights. Her passion for writing romantic suspense comes from a penchant for television shows that mix romance with criminal investigation. She loves writing bad guys almost as much as she loves writing romance. In her spare time, she loves to decorate homes, sew, design websites, and run errands in her classic yellow 1979 Volkswagen Beetle convertible, affectionately named "Tweety." Unabridged. Narrated by Jason Tatom. ISBN 978-1-59811-767-7

Whiteout


Ken Follett - 2004
    Stanley Oxenford, director of a pharmaceutical research company, has everything riding on a drug he is developing to fight a lethal virus.A Brewing StormSeveral others are interested in his success too: his children, at home for Christmas with their offspring, have their eyes on the money he will make; Toni Gallo, forced to resign from the police department in disgrace, is betting her career on keeping the drug safe; and a local television reporter, determined to move up, has sniffed the story, even if he has to bend the facts to tell it.A House Under SiegeA sinister gang spots an opportunity to use one of Stanley’s children against him and steal the virus. As everyone takes shelter, it becomes apparent that being inside the house may be more dangerous than the storm outside, especially when a lethal virus might be on the loose . . .

Virals


Kathy Reichs - 2010
    When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.Fortunately, they are now more than friends. They're a pack. They are Virals.

The Art of Rendition


Mark T. Sullivan - 2012
    But that’s only part of the challenge – one that many trained agents could handle effectively. They’ve called upon Monarch because, after the interrogation, he must return the scientist without the Russians, the Iranians, or the scientist himself ever knowing he’s been grabbed.