Book picks similar to
When the Heart Turns Cold 3 by Charlotte


4-stars
emotionally-arresting
intense
mystery-thriller

Pretty Guilty Women


Gina LaManna - 2019
    Four Confessions. One Murder.Something has gone terribly wrong at the Banks wedding. A man is dead. Four different women rush to offer confessions, each insisting that they committed the crime -- alone.Ginger is holding her family together by a thread, and this wedding weekend is not the fabulous getaway she anticipated.Kate has enough money to buy her way out of anything. Well, almost anything.Emily can't shake her reputation or her memories, and she's planning to drown this whole vacation in a bottle.Lulu's got ex-husbands to spare, and another on the way -- as soon as she figures out what the devil the current husband is up to behind her back.Why would they confess to the same murder? Only they know -- and they're not telling. This page-turning novel explores the depths of friendship and the truths we love to ignore.

Official Girl


Charmanie Saquea - 2013
    Losing her mother at a young age and never knowing who her father was forced her to be raised by her older brother, Ramone. Ramone did the best he could to keep his sister on the straight and narrow but, when he gets locked up, he leaves his sister to fend for herself. Neicey meets Le’Lani and they form an unwavering friendship. However, Neicey’s life changes forever when she is introduced to Mykell, Le’Lani’s older brother. She falls head over heels for Mykell but what she doesn’t know is he comes with some extra baggage! Will Neicey be able to handle Mykell and all of his drama and be his Official Girl, or will they be forced to go their separate ways in the end?

Her Last Goodbye


Rick Mofina - 2022
    Family secrets run deeper. Perfect wife. Doting mom. Jennifer Griffin was loved by everyone, including the women in her suburban-neighborhood book club. Their meetings sometimes went late, but Jenn always came home. Until that night. When Greg Griffin wakes to find his wife is not in bed, his blood runs cold. Her book club friends say Jenn left for home hours ago. But she’s missing. Greg tells detectives their marriage is good, but his alibi is razor-thin. With their young son away at a sleepover, Greg had all night to commit a crime. And there are scrapes on his hands… Investigators discover Jenn has troubling secrets, but she isn't the only one. With the threads of their picture-perfect life unraveling, Greg is forced to confront the lies that hold their marriage together—and a dark past that refuses to stay buried.

Before I Found You


Daisy White - 2018
     A child found alone on the beach, shouting into the waves. A mother who served ten years for a crime she says she didn’t commit. Ruby Baker is back with another seaside mystery. When she and her friends rescue a child from the beach in a storm, police are baffled. Nobody has reported a child missing, and the girl seems so traumatised that she is unable to speak. In Johnny’s hairdressing salon, the notorious Beverly Collins makes an appointment with Ruby, but it soon becomes clear the woman wants more than a haircut. Beverly has just been released from Holloway Prison after serving ten years for child cruelty. The body of her missing daughter was never found, but Beverly insists she is innocent, and she wants Ruby Baker’s Investigation Bureau to prove it. This isn’t going to be an easy investigation. Opinion is divided on Beverly’s innocence. Reporters Kenny and James are keen to uncover a big story, while Ruby’s best friend, Mary, is distracted and struggling to deal with motherhood. As Ruby tries to unravel the past, she discovers that Beverly Collins’ release seems to have triggered a bizarre chain of events. Was she really framed, and if so, where is her daughter Ella now? And who is the mystery girl on the beach? What readers are saying about BEFORE I FOUND YOU “A cracking read.” Olga “A good mystery, set in Brighton, which will keep you guessing until the end.” Barbara “An entertaining and satisfying read which I recommend to others who enjoy crime fiction.” Paromjit Hayers “The story is so good I had a hard time putting the book down.” Hannelore Cheney “Great book. Brilliant storyline and excellent main characters.” Stephanie Collins Discover a gripping new mystery writer today. Great for fans of Agatha Christie or LJ Ross. This is the second book in a mystery series set in 1960s Brighton, a tumultuous time of change and opportunity. RUBY BAKER SERIES Book 1: BEFORE I LEFT Book 2: BEFORE I FOUND YOU

Mr. Wright & Mr. Wrong


Camilla Stevens - 2016
    Can be read as a stand alone with HFN ending! It started with a kiss, a very public kiss…with the wrong man. Brooklyn Jefferson (yes, daughter of that Jefferson) thought it was fate when Michael Wright (yes, son of that Wright), the man of her dreams, handed her a ticket to the Knicks’ game. Then Brooklyn meets his younger brother, Alex. Then Michael meets her older sister, London. Pretty soon both families are involved, and a simple love triangle is beginning to look more like a Rubik’s Cube. Things get even stickier when the Jeffersons and the Wrights find themselves on opposing sides of the upcoming New York Mayoral election. When dual scandals break out that have the potential to ruin both families, will love trump political ambition? WARNING:Do to (lots!) of (fairly explicit!) sexual scenes, and adult language, this book is for readers 18+ only!! DISCLAIMER: Although this is the first part in a 2-part series, it can be read as a stand alone, complete with a HFN ending! Book 2 coming in October! A BWWM, interracial romance.

Dirty Laundry


Cherie Briggins - 2014
    Miami is usually a place people go to have a vacation, but to choice its pure hell. Choice is a young beautiful girl, who tries to make a bad situation a little better for her and her little sister Kyree, but that seems futile with crackheads for parents. Things change when she lays eyes on Supreme. David Givens aka Supreme is from New York, he's fresh outta prison. He moves to Miami to be close to family. With some of his friends following him from New York to Miami, Supreme makes a name for him and his crew selling drugs and running an underground dog fighting business called Da Cage. Supreme is also a lady's man and he vows to never settle down until he meets Choice. Everything is not what it always seems and sometimes family is foe. The word loyal doesn't exist and in some cases the word mother doesn't either.

His Forbidden Love


Mallory Monroe - 2018
    While in Apple Valley, Florida on business, he meets a woman who manages to capture his attention, and could very well capture his heart. Karena “Kari” Grant is the young, African-American owner of a struggling cleaning service, and the single parent of a precocious fourteen-year-old son. Her world turns upside down when her ex, mob fixer Vito Visconni, returns from a long prison stint vowing to get his family back, and when her son falls prey to an unspeakable horror. Kari turns to Alex for help, and Alex discovers, for the first time in his life, what to love unselfishly looks and feels like. In the first book of the Alex Drakos interracial romance series, Alex and Kari must face down demons that threaten their budding romance, and mobsters and enemies that threaten their very lives.

When the Smoke Clears


Lynette Eason - 2012
    She makes a last-minute decision to recuperate at her mother's home and attend her high school reunion. Yet trouble seems to be following her, and within hours of arriving home she's involved with murder, arson--and a handsome detective. But the conflicts ahead are nothing compared to the ghosts of her past. As she struggles to accept and forgive her family's past, she must also decide if the secret she's been guarding for the last ten years must finally come to light. Chock-full of the suspense and romantic tension readers have come to expect from Lynette Eason, When the Smoke Clears is the explosive first book in the Deadly Reunions series.

Stuck On Stupid:4: Game Over


Apryl Cox - 2015
    As the world turns, the drama just keeps on spinning! Continue to travel down this road of love, hate, laughter, and beast-mode with all your favorite characters—Truth and Tori, Maine and Jazzie, Hot Nasty, CeCe, Eric, Doc and Momma Hattie! Find out why they’re saying Game Over!

Bottom Bitch


Racquel Williams - 2012
    Blessed with a body to die for and the gift for gab, it doesn’t take long for her to snatch up one of the area’s hottest drug lords; Alijah Jackson. Soon she secures a place in his life as his “Bottom Bitch”. She realizes that fairy tales are a mere myth when she comes face to face with Shayna Jackson, the other woman in her man’s life. Shayna is intelligent, sexy and wicked which is total opposite from the persona that she gives off to everyone around her. Her good girl persona goes down the drain the moment she comes face to face with her husband’s mistress. Shayna discovers a mound of secrets and vows to let both her husband and his mistress suffer a fate reserved only for those that betray. As Alijah attempts to maintain both a wife and mistress he’s also dealing with making more money than he will ever be able to spend. While Shayna, Sierra and Alijah go to combat with each other Alijah discovers that young goons are trying to kill him and the feds trying to lock him up for life. He must now figure a way to stay alive and free. With no one to turn to, nowhere to hide, Alijah must rely on his gut instinct of survival and his knowledge of the game while still trying to maintain love in his life. The question is, from whom-- His wife or his bottom bitch? Travel a journey filled with lust, greed and larceny as a triangle of sins goes haywire with no one to blame but each other.

Love, Hope


Juliet Ann Conlin - 2021
    An unlikely friendship. A chance to start again.Ever since she first picked up a violin, Hope Sullivan dreamed of going to music college, joining an orchestra and travelling the world with her best friend Janey. But when her parents were killed in a car accident on the way to one of her recitals, she gave it all up to look after her younger sister, Autumn. Ten years later, Janey is living their dream on her own, Autumn is flourishing as a doctor and Hope's life is smaller and less musical than ever.Arnold Quince had the happiest of lives - until he lost his beloved wife Marion. Once the life and soul of the village, he withdrew into his grief and pushed all his friends away. Now, five years on, he is sick, lonely and just counting down the years until he can be with Marion again.When Hope and Arnold are pushed into writing to one another, neither has any idea how much their life is about to change.

The Cover-Up


Dana Griffin - 2012
    The Captain and ten people are killed; the First Officer and fifty-eight injured.With his divorce imminent, Omega Airlines Pilot Instructor Kyle Masters is brought in to assist the NTSB’s accident investigation. He and NTSB Investigator Lori Almond discover someone had played a role in the accident.Determined to absolve the crew and the airline of full responsibility for the disaster, Kyle uses operational knowledge and Lori’s expertise in accident investigations to close in on the responsible party. This puts them, and Kyle’s family in danger.

Flytrap


Simon Kernick - 2016
    His solitary life sailing the Caribbean is the only way he can survive. That is, until, he meets…HerA widow with nothing left to lose, she finds herself on his sleek forty-foot yacht. He’s handsome and charming; exactly what she’s been looking for.But the night doesn’t go exactly as they had planned, and only one of them will get out alive.

Binds That Tie


Kate Moretti - 2014
    Murder binds. Maggie never felt as though she belonged until Chris Stevens showed her what true happiness meant. Ten years into their marriage, miscarriages and infidelities have scarred them both. Despite their perfect-couple image, Maggie can’t look at Chris with anything but resentment. When a charismatic stranger offers the opportunity for a little harmless flirtation, she jumps into the game. But charm soon turns to malice, and a deadly split-second decision forces Maggie and Chris onto a dangerous path fraught with secrets, lies, and guilt. With no one else to turn to—no one she dares trust—Maggie will ultimately learn just how binding marital ties can be.

You Were Always Mine


Nicole Baart - 2018
    But when her phone rings one quiet morning, her world is shattered. As she tries to pick up the pieces and make sense of what went wrong, Jess begins to realize that a tragic death is just the beginning. Soon she is caught in a web of lies and half-truths—and she’s horrified to learn that everything leads back to her seven-year-old adopted son, Gabriel.Years ago, Gabe’s birth mother requested a closed adoption and Jessica was more than happy to comply. But when her house is broken into and she discovers a clue that suggests her estranged husband was in close contact with Gabe’s biological mother, she vows to uncover the truth at any cost. A harrowing story of tenacious love and heartbreaking betrayal, You Were Always Mine is about the wars we wage to keep the ones we love close, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Jodi Picoult.