Book picks similar to
Fifteen Years of Lies by Ann Minnett


free-reads
thriller
contemporary-suspense
fiction-thriller

The Hunt for Shambhala


Rob Jones - 2017
     When an old journal from a British explorer comes to light one hundred years after his death, it triggers a sequence of events that could lead to the annihilation of billions of people. John “Mitch” Decker is a former US Marine Corps officer and pilot who just wants a quiet life running his cargo business, but his world is turned upside down in a few seconds when Professor Selena Moore walks into his life. She is on the run and her life is in danger and they must learn to work together fast if they are to discover the ancient Tibetan Kingdom of Shambhala and stop a deadly and ruthless enemy before he can deploy a truly terrifying weapon. Similar in tone to the Joe Hawke Series, the Avalon Adventure Series follows Decker and the rest of the Avalon crew as they fly around the world in their own aircraft and explore the most mysterious archaeological and historical locations on Earth.

The Wideness of the Sea


Katie Curtis - 2017
    When she returns home to mid-coast Maine for his funeral, she faces all that she left behind when she left seven years earlier. The pain of her own mother’s death, the fractured relationships with her father, and her first love. The life she had built for herself in New York - the art world, her boyfriend, her roommate who is also her best friend - allowed her to forget the grief and hurt she had left behind in Maine. But when her uncle leaves her a surprising inheritance, if forces her to face them, and the parts of her self she’s buried. As she searches for answers about herself, and where she belongs, she discovers how people and places shape us, and how understanding, forgiveness and grace have the power to transform us and the people we love.

Malaika


Van Heerling - 2010
    Not sure if it was the scent of coffee lackadaisically meandering across the Serengeti that brought us to our serendipitous moment (do big cats drink coffee?), or if it was that she had told me she'd be here soon. I generally don't have conversations with animals- other than the human kind. I suppose if the dialogue occurs while dreaming you aren't crazy, right? As far as how I came about to live just inside Kenya at the Tanzanian border overlooking the Serengeti, well, that is another lifetime dappled with hurt and a lost love elsewhere in the world- I won't bore you with the details. I wanted to get as far away from that pain as I could. The 'geti is about as distant as I could travel. Funny, no matter how far one travels the past is just a moment, just a thought away. I will not taint this story with that past. This is a story of a more recent past, of a friendship- the most important friendship I've ever had. I live east of a village. I am the only white man for probably twenty miles or more. I suppose there could be a few around or many in town but I haven't seen any. This life can be hard to adapt to, especially when one is accustomed to the rote American life of excess for its own sake. Pressure. That is part of the reason why I left. No, this is a lie. It's not why I left, but I promised I wouldn't scar this story with my American past. There may be a trace of it betrayed here and there but I will do my best to check such impulses. Where was I, oh yes- life is slower here; not in a dimwitted way, but in a take-a-deep-breath-and-live kind of way. Speaking of breaths, I promised that I wouldn't start smoking again. But that was in my old life. I made a lot of promises then, this is now. I don't smoke processed cigarettes- Western market contraband. No, my good friend Abasi is a tobacco farmer. Did I say he is a good friend; he's a great friend, genuine, forthright and not afraid to smack the hell out of you when you need it, or deserve it. More often than not I am the latter. Who would have known I'd have to travel half way around the world to find a friend that wasn't a sycophant. One of his virtues is that he doesn't know the meaning of the word. I teach Absko, his son, English in exchange for fresh tobacco, among other things. Truth told I'd do it for free. He knows this. Sometimes I work the fields with him. Wielding a machete and tying bundles is unbearably taxing at times but I try not to let it show on my face- though everyone knows, I'm not fooling anyone. One could say I'm paying for my deep-seated American complacency I suppose. I must make one point very clear: I am not "anti-American-way." Far from it. This is, like I said, just a different way of life. It is nothing here to slaughter your own food or dig your own latrine, or hear of children starving to death, despite Doctors Without Borders. Unsheltered is what I'm saying. Far from texting and Ipods. I will one day go back. Maybe.

Switch


Grant McKenzie - 2008
    He returns home one night to find his house blown up and two body bags being removed from it. He assumes the bodies are those of his wife and daughter, until he receives a call from a man saying they are alive, but will only be spared if Sam follows instructions and completes the increasingly violent tasks set out for him.When he meets Zack Parker, also a victim of the kidnapper, they realize their pasts are connected, and the two of them must race against time to discover the identity of their sadistic tormentor—staying one step ahead of the police—to save their families.Set in Portland, Oregon, featuring the spooky and labyrinthine tunnels underneath the city, this is a fantastically commercial, brilliantly paced read from a debut author.

Cappuccino


M.L. Hamilton - 2016
    She had friends, a loving family, and a bright future. Until she received a call from a lawyer in Sequoia, California, informing her she is the sole heir to her biological mother’s estate. Zion never met Vivian Bradley, but her death sends Zion on a path of discovery that changes her future forever. And she discovers that you can never escape your past, even a past you didn’t want to know.

The Mystery at Chadwick House


Kate Parker - 2019
    All of that can be explained. An attraction to an enigma can't.Adam Chadwick is the biggest puzzle of all. He's a stranger in town, and he won't tell Emma about his past. Is he behind the attacks at the old Victorian mansion? Or is something more sinister happening?

Lowcountry Punch


Boo Walker - 2014
    Reddick leaves Miami for Charleston, SC, hoping a return to his roots will heal a wounded heart and the guilt of killing a friend. The sleepy and sultry city of Charleston is filled with echoes of the Old South: genteel playboys, society debutantes, and quiet cobblestone streets. But as Reddick will soon discover, there’s danger lurking under her charming veneer. When a movie star’s death shines a national spotlight on Charleston’s underground cocaine trade, he must go undercover to find the main supplier and shut him down. As a hurricane bears down on the port city and the DEA gets ready to spring its trap, Reddick must contend with more than he ever could have imagined.

 Brash and bold, TA Reddick is a hero you won’t soon forget. Lowcountry Punch is an action-packed novel that will have you on your knees begging for more.

Cold Betrayal


A.J. McCarthy - 2018
    She drove the length of the east coast in a quest to find Danny Wilcox, intending to convince him to return to Florida with her. The drug lord, the most wanted criminal in the Province of Quebec, has other plans.Tori is nothing if not loyal. She unflaggingly defends Danny and refuses to believe he’d harm her, despite several attempts on her life. Others befriend her, even as they covertly advance their own agendas. Tori’s devotion is tested at every turn, not knowing who she can trust, or the consequences of her ultimate decision.

Save Me


Lisa Scottoline - 2011
    Lisa Scottoline is writing about real issues that resonate with real women, and the results are emotional, heartbreaking and honest.Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in her daughter Melly's school in order to keep an eye on Amanda, a mean girl who's been bullying her daughter. Her fears come true when the bullying begins, sending Melly to the bathroom in tears. Just as Rose is about to follow after her daughter, a massive explosion goes off in the kitchen, sending the room into chaos. Rose finds herself faced with the horrifying decision of whether or not to run to the bathroom to rescue her daughter or usher Amanda to safety. She believes she has accomplished both, only to discover that Amanda, for an unknown reason, ran back into the school once out of Rose's sight. In an instance, Rose goes from hero to villain as the small community blames Amanda's injuries on her. In the days that follow, Rose's life starts to fall to pieces, Amanda's mother decides to sue, her marriage is put to the test, and worse, when her daughter returns to school, the bullying only intensifies. Rose must take matters into her own hands and get down to the truth of what really happened that fateful day in order to save herself, her marriage and her family. In the way that Look Again had readers questioning everything they thought they knew about family, Save Me will have readers wondering just how far they would go to save the ones they love. Lisa Scottoline is writing about real issues that resonate with real women, and the results are emotional, heartbreaking and honest.

Hero Complex: A Thomas Cole Book


Scott Jones - 2015
    But when a woman from his past, a woman he once loved, asks him to use his Special Operations training and skills to help her, he reluctantly sets aside his quiet life. What begins as a favor leads Tom to stolen drugs, dead bodies, meth dealers and White Supremacist, sending him down a path of death and danger with no turning back.

The Barry Island Murders


Andrew Peters - 2013
    Will Williams' budding detective skills be equal to the task of catching any of the murderers? Will his current gin intake permit him to remember any of the details?Transcribed from the original interviews, the only changes made have been to names, places, dates and facts. Oh, and cutting out all the heavy swearing.

Armchair Safari


Jonathan Paul Isaacs - 2013
    . .Armchair Safari is more than a computer game to Oklahoman college student Megan Evans. It’s her livelihood. Her in-game exploits pay for her tuition, rent, and food. She usually plays solo, but when a group approaches her about a chance to find treasure beyond imagining, it’s an offer she can’t refuse.Armchair Safari is Derek Callahan’s livelihood, too, but he’s not a gamer. A former Marine turned businessman, he’s starting a new job as Netertainment’s Chief Financial Officer and just needs to make the numbers work. But when millions of dollars mysteriously disappear from the company coffers, it's a race against time to solve a problem that puts the entire company at risk.Little do Derek and Megan realize how their paths will cross in a battle between hackers, the FBI, and organized crime that is not confined to the virtual world and will leave very real casualties . . ."An action-packed adventure with a full cast of characters." - San Francisco Book Review

Aligned: Volume 1


Ella Miles - 2015
    I don’t care if Landon Davis has sold millions of records. I don’t care that his damn crooked grin makes my panties wet. I can’t want him. I should be mourning, but I can’t. I just need him gone. Then I can align the chaos floating in my head. —— She has a f*cking boyfriend. I’ve seen the picture of them together. But Alex Blakely still wants me. And who am I not to oblige when her body is begging for me? I need one night to own her body. I should be focused on getting my career out of the gutter. I’ll take one night first. Then I’ll be gone. Aligned: Volume 1 is the first novella in a four part contemporary romance series. Volume 2 is a novella coming in December 2015. Volumes 3 & 4 will be full length novels coming spring 2016.

The Neighbors in Apartment 3D


C.G. Twiles - 2020
    After she tells her teenage son a despicable lie, her husband asks for a trial separation. She must go six months without a single fib. That’s harder than it sounds for a compulsive liar.Cintra moves in with an old college pal, and befriends the sociable couple next door, who have a young boy staying with them while his mother is “in Europe.” Then she spots a note on their door: “I’m being held” written in a childish scrawl, with a drawing of a boy with a gun to his head. Add in the eerie sounds she hears through their shared wall, and Cintra suspects they’ve kidnapped the boy.To unravel the truth of what’s happening in apartment 3D, Cintra must return to her lying ways.What she discovers proves the most dangerous people can be the ones living right next door.Fans of The Couple Next Door and Behind Closed Doors won’t see this stunning twist coming.

Stealing Jenny


Ellen Gable - 2011
    A neighbor, however, is secretly hatching a sinister plot which will find Jenny and her unborn baby fighting for their lives.