Book picks similar to
Misty Lake by Margaret Standafer


romance
contemporary-romance
mystery
first-read

Hidden


Laura Griffin - 2020
    She tries to pry information out of the lead detective, Jacob Merritt. But this case is unlike any he's ever seen, and nothing adds up.Bailey has a hunch the victim wasn't who she claimed to be and believes this mugging-turned-murder could have been a targeted hit. When she digs deeper, the trail leads her to a high-tech fortress on the outskirts of Austin where researchers are pushing the boundaries of a cutting-edge technology that could be deadly in the wrong hands.As a ruthless hit man's mission becomes clear, Bailey and Jacob must embark on a desperate search to locate the next target before the clock ticks down on this lethal game of hide and seek.

A Cunning Plan


Astrid Arditi - 2016
    But she’s not the only one. Handsome IRS agent Ethan Cunning is surveying Kate too, but for entirely different reasons. He is attempting to nail Kate’s playboy boss. Ethan and Sloane decide to help each other, which sends Sloane’s wobbly life spinning out of control. She’ll have to face danger, humiliation, and – scariest of all – the dating scene, to lure her daughters’ father home. Losing control was the best thing to happen to Sloane…until it turned lethal.

Hazardous Duty


Christy Barritt - 2006
    Claire dropped out of school and started her own crime scene cleaning business. Now, when a routine cleaning job leads her to a murder weapon the police overlooked, she realizes that the wrong man is in jail. With the help of her new and attractively single neighbor, Riley Thomas, Gabby plays the detective to make sure the right man is put behind bars.

Out of the Mist


Lauren Giordano - 2017
    . .     Beaten and left for dead, Juliet awakens with no memory of how she ended up alone on an isolated road. After another attempt on her life, she's forced to rely on a man who's made it clear he doesn't trust her.   Hunting a ruthless drug deler, injured DEA agent Matt Barnes has seen just about everything in a decade battling the worst humanity has to offer. But he's never seen anything like Julie-- a beautiful blonde who reminds him more of sorority Barbie than a ruthless drug kingpin. But looks can be deceiving. He's got the bullet hole to prove it.    In a case going nowhere, Julie and her memory are all he has. To erase the worst mistake of his career, his team will use her to lure the most dangerous drug lord he's ever battled. But will the woman he's fallen in love with ever forgive him for making her the bait?

Deadly Betrayal


Lee Anne Jones - 2016
    Two broken hearts. The threat may be closer than they think. Country music star January Winters knew the rise to fame would be hard, but she never thought it would be deadly. When a stalker’s attempts go from creepy to lethal, even the fearlessly independent Jan gives into her producer’s demands that they hire a bodyguard. But that was before she realized who would be guarding her body… A knee injury might have ruined his football career, but it didn’t stop Dino Machiavelli from becoming the best bodyguard in Vegas. He can literally pick and choose his assignments—and he never picks guarding diva celebrities. At least not until his boss makes one assignment impossible for him to refuse and he finds himself too close for comfort with the one girl that ripped out his heart fifteen years ago. Just as Dino and Jan start to wonder if it may not be too late to rekindle old feelings, the stalker’s actions escalate. It appears the threat may be closer to Jan than she ever imagined and now she has to wonder, just exactly who in her inner circle can she really trust? NOTE: This book was previous published with the same title under my pen name Lee Anne Jones.

Severed Threads


Kaylin McFarren - 2012
    When called upon by a museum director to assist her former love interest with the recovery of a cursed relic from a sunken Chinese merchant ship, she has no intention of cooperating – until her brother is kidnapped by a drug-dealing gangster. In order to save him and gain control over her life, Rachel must not only overcome her greatest fears, but also relive the circumstances that lead to her father’s death.

Intimate Strangers


Laura Taylor - 2011
    Nevada wilderness. Ignoring posted No Trespassing signs and the property's angry owner, she dismisses his threats and demands that he reveal her missing brother's location.Nicholas Benteen, ex-mercenary and former CIA covert operative, assumes she is yet another adversary intent on exacting lethal revenge for his past deeds. He will fight to the death to protect the sanctuary he has created for himself and those from his past he has vowed to safeguard. Even as Hannah penetrates Nicholas's isolation and melts the ice that encases his weary heart, she is seduced by the sensual, battle scarred veteran and the dark secrets of his past.

The Silence of the Stones


Rebecca Bryn - 2014
    Twists and turns will keep you guessing to the end. Alana is a struggling artist and sculptor, scarred by her parents' relationship and a lost love but determined to grab life by the throat, whatever the cost. Opportunity beckons when she is left a cottage in a West Wales’ village by an aunt she didn’t know existed, but strange runes painted on her door and carved onto ancient stones in a stone circle, hint at a dark undercurrent of tragedy and intrigue and she is caught up in the village’s conspiracy of silence over a thirty-year-old crime. An eccentric old woman, a young female investigative journalist, a two-year-old girl, a good-looking male busker and an ex-lover make unlikely bedfellows but combine to send Alana on a voyage of self-discovery that changes her world forever.

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today


Stacy Juba - 2009
    She blames herself for the violent death of her cousin when they were kids and has let guilt invade every corner of her existence. Now an editorial assistant and obit writer for a Massachusetts newspaper, Kris stumbles across an unsolved murder while compiling "25 Years Ago Today" items from the microfilm. She grows fascinated with the case of a young cocktail waitress who was bludgeoned to death and dumped in the woods. Determined to solve the case and atone for the death of her cousin, Kris immerses herself in the mystery of what happened to Diana Ferguson, a talented artist who expressed herself through haunting paintings of Greek mythology. Not only does Kris face resistance from her family and her managing editor, she also clashes with Diana's suspicious nephew, Eric Soares - until neither she nor Eric can deny the chemistry flaring between them. Kris soon learns that old news never leaves the morgue and that yesterday's headline is tomorrow's danger, for finding out the truth about that night twenty-five years ago may shatter Kris's present, costing her love, her career, and ultimately, her life.

A Harmless Little Game


Meli Raine - 2016
    Of course it would. A Senator’s daughter on camera? Wouldn’t you click “share”? Besides, that’s what three of the four guys in the video did.Share.They shared me.But that fourth guy? The nondescript one in the background in the upper left corner of the screen, just sitting on the couch? The only one who did nothing?Not one single thing.That was my boyfriend, Drew.And that was the last time I saw him.Until today, when my father—now on a path to the White House—hired him as head of security for my new team as I return home after four years of “recovering” in an undisclosed location that involved white lab coats, needles, pills and damage control.You see, the other three guys never went to jail. Never had charges pressed.Never faced consequences.Until today.Game on.* * *A Harmless Little Game is the first in this political thriller/romantic suspense trilogy by USA Today bestselling author Meli Raine.

The Hitman's Mistake


Sally Brandle - 2018
    But can she find him in time?The last person Grant Morley expects to discover on his annual supply run to a Montana mountain hermit is alluring Miranda Whitley, nearly dead from a bullet wound in her side. An accidental witness or the cold-blooded accomplice to would-be assassins?Miranda must convince Grant of her innocence, evade the killers intent on preventing her testimony, and fight her unwanted attraction for the agent…an attraction which seems to be mutual. Fortunately, love thrives in Emma Springs. If you love sizzling chemistry, Montana’s mountain landscape, and fast-paced action, then you’ll love Sally Brandle’s galloping thriller, The Hitman’s Mistake.

Stolen Fury


Elisabeth Naughton - 2008
    And charming. And sexy as all get out. Dr. Lisa Maxwell isn’t the type to go home with a guy she barely knows. But, hey, this is Italy and the red-blooded Rafe Sullivan seems much more enticing than cataloging a bunch of dusty artifacts.After being fully seduced, Lisa wakes to an empty bed and, worse yet, an empty safe. She’s staked her career as an archaeologist on collecting the three Furies, a priceless set of ancient Greek reliefs. Now the one she had is gone. But Lisa won’t just get mad. She’ll get even.She tracks Rafe to Florida, and finds the sparks between them blaze hotter than the Miami sun. He may still have her relic, but he’ll never find all three without her. And they’re not the only ones on the hunt. To beat the other treasure seekers, they’ll have to partner up—because suddenly Lisa and Rafe are in a race just to stay alive.

Deathwatch


Dana Marton - 2013
    Murphy Dolan is in the Army Reserves, returning from his 2nd tour of duty, only to find a stranger hiding in his house. She's scared spitless. He's completely burned-out on violence. Neither of them has any trust left to give. If the best of the FBI couldn't protect her from the country’s most notorious assassin, does a burned-out small town cop have a prayer?

Club Alpha


Marata Eros - 2015
    May contain triggers.Francisco “Paco” Castillo is a bilingual billionaire with unconventional ideas about love, sex and possession. He believes there is no other half to make him whole. Paco dreams of experimenting with a dangerous reality not of his own making. Club Alpha owner, Zaire Sebastian, can make Paco's vision a reality—for a price.Greta Dahlem is an extreme sports executive whose ambition masks a terrible secret. When her mentor Gia Township, sponsors her as a player in Club Alpha, Greta's unsure she can survive the inherent risk of the game Zaire weaves. But in her heart, Greta yearns for a man who will complete her, and erase the brutal tragedy of two years ago.As the fantasy progresses, Greta comes to realize she is the loose string in a plot of murder and deception that begins to unravel. Without knowing who to trust, Greta must decide between two men. When the three are thrown together, the lines of reality and fantasy blur.Is there any way for her to know what is real?Cliff-hanger freeStandalone novelHEAPsychological Dark Romantic Suspense.

Dangerous Lies: Sawyer and Amethyst (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book Two): Clean and wholesome small town romance


Christine Kersey - 2016
    Then a handsome stranger moves in next door. Wanting him to feel welcome in Emerald Falls, she attempts to befriend him. But when he is less than friendly, she becomes more determined to get to know him.Sawyer Cooke is in hiding. Wanting to remain as anonymous as possible, when his gorgeous red-headed neighbor stops by with a plate of cookies and a welcoming smile, it takes all of his will-power to turn her away. When she doesn't give up, he finds he enjoys her company much more than is safe. To keep his secret from being discovered--and to keep his enemies from finding him--he's forced to lie to Amethyst about all aspects of his life.Will a relationship built on lies destroy them both, or keep them safe from those who would do them harm?