Book picks similar to
The Good Friend by Jo Baldwin
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Don't Wake Up
Liz Lawler - 2017
Ostracised by her colleagues, her family and her partner, she begins to wonder if she really is losing her mind.And then she meets the next victim.So compulsive you can't stop reading.So chilling you won't stop talking about it.A pitch-black and devastatingly original psychological thriller.
A Good Mother
Sam Hepburn - 2021
Time stands still. Where is he? Deafened by my own heartbeat, I keep looking but I can’t see him. This is all my fault. My punishment for the things I did, and the things I should have done.All I ever wanted was to keep my son safe. I married the perfect husband, built the perfect home. I’ve tried to give Finn the life I never had.Everything was going so well. Until now.It’s just small things at first – a punctured tyre, an open gate that I'm sure I locked. But then I see the photograph of two young girls, and a night I’ve tried to forget.I know I have to stop pretending that nothing is happening. I can’t escape the truth.Someone knows my secret. But what do they want from me?
The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives
Kristin Miller - 2021
Her tech-billionaire husband, Jack, twenty-two years her senior, whisked her to the Bay Area via private jet and purchased a modest mansion on the same day. He demands perfection, and before now, Brooke has had no problem playing the role of a doting housewife. But as she befriends other wives on the street and spends considerable time away from Jack, he worries if he doesn't control Brooke's every move, she will reveal the truth behind their "perfect" marriage.Erin King, famed news anchor and chair of the community board, is no stranger to maintaining an image--though being married to a plastic surgeon helps. But the skyrocketing success of her career has worn her love life thin, and her professional ambitions have pushed Mason away. Quitting her job is a Hail Mary attempt at keeping him interested, to steer him away from finding a young trophy wife. But is it enough, and is Mason truly the man she thought he was?Georgia St. Claire allegedly cashed in on the deaths of her first two husbands, earning her the nickname "Black Widow"--and the stares and whispers of her curious neighbors. Rumored to have murdered both men for their fortunes, she claims to have found true love in her third marriage, yet her mysterious, captivating allure keeps everyone guessing. Then a tragic accident forces the residents of Presidio Terrace to ask: Has Georgia struck again? And what is she really capable of doing to protect her secrets?
Until You're Mine
Samantha Hayes - 2013
You're vulnerable. And you have something that someone else wants. At any cost... Claudia Morgan-Brown finally has it all. Pregnant with a much-wanted first baby of her own, she has a happily established family of two small step-sons and a loving husband with a great career. But she is also committed to her full-time job as a social worker, and her husband travels often. So when Claudia hires Zoe to help her around the house in anticipation of the baby’s arrival, it seems like the answer to her prayers. But despite Zoe's glowing recommendations and instant rapport with the children, there's something about her that Claudia cannot trust. Moreover, there has been a series of violent attacks on pregnant women in the area, and Claudia becomes acutely aware of her vulnerability. With her husband out of town for work and her family far away, who will be there to protect her? And why does she feel unsettled about Zoe? Realizing appearances can be deceiving even in her seemingly perfect world, Claudia digs deeper into Zoe’s blurry past and begins to wonder – how far would someone go to have a child of her own? Riveting from its very first pages, Until You’re Mine is a multilayered masterwork of twisted, psychological suspense. Readers of Before I Go to Sleep and Turn of Mind will be enthralled by this multilayered novel, featuring a twisted plot that ends in a breathtaking and shocking finale.
Tear Me Apart
J.T. Ellison - 2018
During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter.Who knows the answers?The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart… and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.With vivid movement through time, Tear Me Apart examines the impact layer after layer of lies and betrayal has on two families, the secrets they guard, and the desperate fight to hide the darkness within.
Between You and Me
Lisa Hall - 2016
They love each other. But they aren’t happy. Sal cannot leave, no matter what Charlie does – no matter how much it hurts.
The Mistake I Made
Paula Daly - 2015
In her provocative and riveting third novel, Paula Daly focuses her masterful eye for psychological suspense and family drama on an indecent proposal that has fatal repercussions. Single mother Roz has a reached breaking-point. After the dissolution of her marriage, Roz’s business has gone under, debts are racking up, the rent is late (again), and she's struggling to provide for her nine-year-old son, who is starting to misbehave in school. Roz is in trouble. Real trouble. When Roz returns home from work one day and finds an eviction notice, she knows that it’s time for action—she has two weeks to find a solution otherwise they will be kicked out of their home. Increasingly desperate, Roz doesn’t know where to turn. Then the perfect opportunity presents itself. At her sister’s fortieth birthday party, Roz meets Scott Elias—wealthy, powerful, and very married. But the impression Roz leaves on him is indelible. He tracks her down and makes Roz an offer to spend the night with him—for money. He wants no-strings-attached intimacy and can guarantee total discretion. Could it be as simple as it sounds? With that kind of cash, Roz could clear her debts and get her life back on track. But as the situation spirals out of her control, Roz is forced to do things she never thought herself capable of. Can she ever set things right again?
The Disappearing Act
Catherine Steadman - 2021
This is her big chance to make it as an actor in Hollywood, and she is ready to do whatever it takes. At an audition she meets Emily, and what starts as a simple favour takes a dark turn when Emily goes missing and Mia is the last person to see her. Then a woman turns up, claiming to be Emily, but she is nothing like Mia remembers. Why would someone pretend to be Emily? Starting to question her own sanity, she goes on a desperate and dangerous search for answers, knowing something is very, very wrong. In an industry where everything is about creating illusions, how do you know what is real? And how much would you risk to find out?
Murderabilia
Carl Vonderau - 2019
Since then, he's carefully built a life as a family man and a private banker for the wealthy. He tries to forget that his father dismembered and photographed thirteen women. And he tries to forget those exquisitely composed photos of severed hands, heads, and feet that launched the "murderabilia" art market.William has not spoken to his father for thirty-one years. No one at his tony bank knows whose son he is. Not until his wife's colleague is murdered and carved up in the same way his father would have done it.All the evidence points to William. And only one person can understand the copycat killer--the monster William hasn't seen since he was a child.Praise: "Murderabilia [is] a story that will lay a cold finger of dread on the back of your neck. Vonderau is a terrific writer who has written a terrific book."--Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Daughter"Murderabilia is a fascinating crime novel and a look into the human soul and all that makes us the men and women we become. An excellent read!"--Heather Graham, New York Times bestselling author of A Dangerous Game"Murderabilia explores the dark corners of the soul in a riveting story sure to grab your attention and keep you reading till the final page. This is a superb debut from a striking new voice."--William Bernhardt, author of The Last Chance Lawyers"Murderabilia is a dark, tense, sophisticated story about just how deep and far the sins of the father can reach into the innocent lives of his children. Carl Vonderau is a new (and very scary) voice."--Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of The Ocean"Murderabilia offers a rare insider's view into the mysterious world of private banking. International landscapes, deep family secrets, and religious overtones create the perfect backdrop for a brilliant debut. Vonderau's fresh prose and heart-stopping twists promise that he is a writer to watch!"--K.J. Howe, internationally bestselling author of The Freedom Broker and Skyjack
This Is Not Over
Holly Brown - 2017
I’ve put through a refund to your credit card for the full amount, minus $200 to replace the sheets. I couldn’t get the stain out despite professional laundering and bleaching. . .MirandaAll Dawn wanted was to stay in a beautiful beach house with her husband, to live like money’s no object, for just one long weekend. Then Miranda, the home’s owner, has to send an e-mail like this, full of lies and the suggestion that Dawn’s so dirty, she needs to throw out her sheets. Someone needs to teach Miranda a lesson.Beware of your "host"I wouldn’t leave a review on Getaway.com at all, if I didn’t feel it was my civic duty to warn others . . .DawnMiranda cannot believe her eyes. Yes, she may be a doctor’s wife, but she needs the rental money from the beach house desperately. Someone needs to teach this Dawn a lesson.Two very different women with one thing in common: Each one knows she’s right, and each is determined to win this battle of words and wills and (eventually) worse. Neither will yield, not before they’ve dredged up hidden secrets, old hurts, and painful truths that threaten to shatter the foundations of their lives.Because it’s never really just about the sheets, is it?This is not over.This is so not over.
The Girlfriend
Michelle Frances - 2017
A boy. His mother. And the lie she'll wish she'd never told.The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances is a gripping and chilling debut psychological thriller, based on the fall-out following an unforgiveable lie. It looks at the potentially charged relationship between girlfriend, boyfriend and his mother, which most women can identify with, and locates it in an extreme but believable setting.Laura has it all. A successful career, a long marriage to a rich husband, and a twenty-three year-old son, Daniel, who is kind, handsome, and talented. Then Daniel meets Cherry. Cherry is young, beautiful and smart but she hasn't had the same opportunities as Daniel. And she wants Laura's life.Cherry comes to the family wide-eyed and wants to be welcomed with open arms, but Laura suspects she's not all that she seems. When tragedy strikes, an unforgiveable lie is told. It is an act of desperation, but the fall-out will change their lives forever.
The Lie
C.L. Taylor - 2015
She's happier than she's ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.Jane has tried to put her past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won't stop until they've destroyed Jane and everything she loves.
Forget Me Not
A.M. Taylor - 2018
And when Nora disappeared, all the air went with her. Without her best friend, Maddie’s life became impossible.Ten years later, Nora is still missing and Maddie is still searching. People have been questioned. People have even been accused. But no one has managed to find Nora.Then, in the same spot where Nora went missing, the murdered body of Nora’s little sister is found. Convinced this is no coincidence, Maddie resolves to uncover the killer and find Nora – dead or alive.But will she be able to cope, when we learn what really happened to Nora…?
Secrets of a Serial Killer
Rosie Walker - 2020
It’s crawling all over her face and in her eyes, like a swarm of insects, and it’s all because of him.A serial killer has been terrorising Lancaster for decades, longer than should ever have been possible. The police are baffled, eluded at every turn by the killer whose victims span generations. Speculation is rife among the true crime forums; is someone passing on their gruesome trade?Every local mother's worst nightmare has become Helen Summerton's reality; he’s taken her daughter, Zoe. As the clock runs down so do her chances of survival. Can Helen unearth the secrets of the killer before it’s too late?A gripping serial killer thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Perfect for fans of The Whisper Man, What You Did and Don’t Even Breathe.
Little Girl Lost
J.S. Marciano - 2016
The press immediately turn on the family, blaming the parents for the young girl’s disappearance. Time passes and everyone begins to lose hope. But when a girl is found wandering the streets of Portugal alone, she is returned to her family and the case closed. Yet something is not right. And as little Rosemary Cathcart grows up, and her parent’s divorce, that feeling never really leaves her. Years later, after finding her boyfriend has been cheating on her, Rosemary flees to her brother’s home, where she quickly wears out her welcome. When her mother arrives and asks her to move in with her and her new husband, Rosemary decides to go to Jersey and work at her father’s hotel. But when she arrives she learns the hotel is close to bankruptcy and her father on his death bed with cancer. Before he dies, he has secrets to tell that will change her world, and the world of everyone around her, forever. And it would seem that Rosemary Cathcart, once a Little Girl Lost, is still yet to be found…. Full of dark secrets and mysterious twists and turns, Little Girl Lost is a must read thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. J. S. Marciano works in a London-based global organisation as a Credit Controller. Although she once dreamed of becoming a singer/actress, she began writing at an early age, and published her first short stories in the London Mystery Magazine and the London Evening News. Jane lives in North West London with her husband of forty years, and enjoys being a grandmother.