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Kill All Your Darlings
David Bell - 2021
His missing student did. And then she appears on his doorstep, alive and well, threatening to expose him.Connor's problems escalate when the police insist details in the novel implicate him in an unsolved murder from two years ago. Soon Connor discovers the crime is part of a disturbing scandal on campus and faces an impossible dilemma--admit he didn't write the book and lose his job or keep up the lie and risk everything. When another murder occurs, Connor must clear his name by unraveling the horrifying secrets buried in his student's manuscript.This is a suspenseful, provocative novel about the sexual harassment that still runs rampant in academia--and the lengths those in power will go to cover it up.When a student disappears and is presumed dead, her professor passes off her manuscript as his own--only to find out it implicates him in an unsolved murder in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of The Request.
Nightshade
John Saul - 2000
It's easy to see why when you read his latest tour de force, Nightshade, a chillingly creepy tale that will have you looking over your shoulder every chance you get. Stunningly crafted, with a plot that has more twists than a bag full of pretzels, Nightshade promises to be Saul's most compelling novel yet. And given his backlist of grimly horrifying but riveting fare, that's no small accomplishment. In a small New England town, Joan Hapgood is content with her life until the events of one fateful afternoon trigger a long string of tragedies that threaten both her future and her sanity. It starts when Joan's mother, Emily, who has been steadily deteriorating under the effects of Alzheimer's disease, accidentally starts a fire while trying to cook. To say Joan's relationship with her mother is strained would be a gross understatement. In Emily's eyes, Joan has always been a poor second to her sister, Cynthia, who was beautiful, devoted, and bright. Despite Cynthia's death many years before, Joan still lives in her big sister's shadow whenever Emily is around. Not only has Joan never been pretty enough, bright enough, or loving enough, but she has a bastard son whose father remains unknown -- all unforgivable sins to Emily.Against the wishes of her husband, Bill, and her son Matt, Joan moves her mother into the Hapgood family home where she and Bill have lived for ten years. Emily's insistence that Cynthia is not only still alive, but present, combined with her viciously acerbic attitude toward Matt and Joan, strains Joan's marriage to the breaking point, forcing Bill to move out. Given that Bill is the only father Matt has ever known, the boy takes the separation hard, becoming understandably angry. When Bill ends up dead during a hunting trip -- possibly shot by Matt himself -- the town begins to wonder just how angry Matt has become.The death of Bill Hapgood is followed by several mysterious disappearances, including that of Joan's mother, Emily. In each case, the bulk of the evidence points to young Matt, and soon the entire town is close to forming a lynch mob. Matt himself isn't sure what the truth is, for he keeps suffering odd fugue states and imagining that he sees, hears, and smells his dead Aunt Cynthia. For Joan, the intense grief brought on by her husband's death must be set aside as she fights to prove her son's innocence. But no one suspects the real truth, which is so bizarre, so horrifyingly twisted, it will haunt those who survive forever.For those who like their plot lines well-crafted and convoluted, Nightshade is sure to please. From the unnerving first pages of the prologue to the final sentence on the last page, Saul tosses in enough red herrings and ambiguities to keep readers guessing. Horror fans won't be disappointed either; while the body count is a bit lighter than in some of Saul's other works, there is plenty of blood and gore to be had, and a ghost or two (or are they?) to liven things up.Beth Amos
Afterlife
Marcus Sakey - 2017
He wakes without a scratch. The building is in ruins. His team is gone. Outside, Chicago is dark. Cars lie abandoned. No planes cross the sky. He’s relieved to spot other people — until he sees they’re carrying machetes.Welcome to the afterlife.Claire McCoy stands over the body of Will Brody. As head of an FBI task force, she hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. A terrorist has claimed eighteen lives and thrown the nation into panic. Against this horror, something reckless and beautiful happened. She fell in love… with Will Brody. But the line between life and death is narrower than any of us suspect — and all that matters to Will and Claire is getting back to each other.From the author of the million-copy bestselling Brilliance Trilogy comes a mind-bending thriller that explores our most haunting and fundamental question: What if death is just the beginning?
The Debt Collector
Jon Mills - 2015
Four years later, Jack is free and he wants out of the game, but his boss won't let him go. Forced to take on one last job to make amends for what landed him in prison, he travels to the small town of Rockland Cove, Maine. There, he not only discovers that the target and money have disappeared; he finds himself falling for a damaged woman, and befriending an unruly son left behind. Under mounting pressure from his boss and local police--as well as the ghosts of his past--he must unravel the mystery and decide where his loyalties lie...before it's too late.
The Memory Child
Steena Holmes - 2014
He's been patiently waiting for twelve years to become a father. But Diane has always been nervous about having children because of her family's dark past. The timing of the pregnancy also isn't ideal - Diane has just been promoted, and Brian is being called away to open a new London office for his company. Fast-forward one year: being a mother has brought Diane a sense of joy that she'd never imagined and she's head over heels for her new baby, Grace. But things are far from perfect: Brian has still not returned from London, and Diane fears leaving the baby for even a moment. As unsettling changes in those around Diane began to emerge, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. A woman's dark past collides head-on with her mysterious present in this surreal and gripping family drama.
The Nesting
C.J. Cooke - 2020
It was their dream house, and he wants to honor her with it.Lexi Ellis takes a job as his nanny and immediately falls in love with his two young daughters, especially Gaia. But something feels off in the isolated house nestled in the forest along the fjord. Lexi sees mysterious muddy footprints inside the home. Aurelia's diary appears in Lexi's room one day. And Gaia keeps telling her about seeing the terrifying Sad Lady…Soon Lexi suspects that Aurelia didn't kill herself and that they are all in danger from something far more sinister lurking around them.
Plague
Victor Methos - 2012
. . A lethal pathogen appears on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Dr. Samantha Bower of the Centers for Disease Control is handed the case and assigned to investigate its containment and origins. A MYSTERIOUS FIGURE WHO ISN'T WHAT HE APPEARS TO BE . . . Dr. Bower finds a microorganism unlike any she has run across in her lifetime. The symptomology points her to the most destructive disease in human history. One man has offered her help. A man with insight into the disease who reveals nothing about himself or his past. THE WORLD ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF . . . Dr. Bower discovers that there are forces at work she can't understand. All applying pressure to use the chaos of an epidemic to their advantage. But there is one thing she is certain of: humanity may soon be an endangered species . . .
Death Benefits
Nelson DeMille - 2012
With bills mounting and the IRS calling, he realizes that he has a major problem on his hands. But who is to blame for his declining fortunes? Certainly not Jack himself. The fault, he determines, lies with his agent, Stan Wycoff - who takes 15% of everything Jack makes for doing absolutely nothing. Jack needs a way out of his dire financial predicament - and fast. And then he remembers that both he and his agent have substantial life insurance policies on one another. If Stan were to die unexpectedly, Jack would cash in...But can a famous crime writer commit the perfect crime?
Spare Room
Dreda Say Mitchell - 2019
The live-in owners are a kind and welcoming couple. Everything is fine until she finds a suicide note hidden in her room. But when the couple insist this man didn’t exist and that Lisa is their first tenant, Lisa begins to doubt herself.Compelled to uncover the secrets of the man who lived in the room before her, Lisa is alarmed when increasingly disturbing incidents start to happen. Someone doesn’t want Lisa to find out the truth.As the four walls of this house and its secrets begin to close in on Lisa, she descends into a hellish hall of mirrors where she’s not sure what’s real and what’s not as she claws her way towards the truth…
This room has already claimed one victim?
Is it about to take another?
Saving Sophie
Sam Carrington - 2016
Is your daughter involved, or is she next?Your daughter is in danger. But can you trust her?When Karen Finch’s seventeen-year-old daughter Sophie arrives home after a night out, drunk and accompanied by police officers, no one is smiling the morning after. But Sophie remembers nothing about how she got into such a state.Twelve hours later, Sophie’s friend Amy has still not returned home. Then the body of a young woman is found.Karen is sure that Sophie knows more than she is letting on. But Karen has her own demons to fight. She struggles to go beyond her own door without a panic attack.As she becomes convinced that Sophie is not only involved but also in danger, Karen must confront her own anxieties to stop whoever killed one young girl moving on to another – Sophie.A taut psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and I Let You Go.
Beneath the Marigolds
Emily C. Whitson - 2021
The extravagant clothes, never-ending interviews, and bizarre dates hint that the retreat is a front for a reality dating show. Could Reese be safe, keeping a low profile until the premier, or did something sinister occur after all?Torn between the need to uncover the truth and her desperate desire to get off the island, Ann partakes in the unusual routines of the "journey to true love" and investigates the other attendees who all have something to hide. In a final attempt to find Reese on the compound, she realizes that she herself may never get off the island alive.
Watch Her Vanish
Ellery A. Kane - 2020
She sees the woman’s feet first, then the legs bent like broken driftwood. Then, the blouse strewn open; the marks on her beautiful neck. Her knees buckle as a hand grabs her elbow to break her fall.Forced home to Fog Harbor, California, to look after her little sister, Criminal Psychologist Olivia Rockwell is struggling to adjust to life in a town so small she can hardly breathe. Until, at church one morning, the sound of a scream leads her to the body of a missing local teacher in the shallows nearby. All the evidence points to Olivia’s most threatening patient, Drake, who is safely locked up behind bars…Convinced of Drake’s innocence—and desperate to believe in the system that’s keeping her own murderer father behind bars—Olivia gets to work on her own suspect list. All her life she’s run towards trouble, but this time she’s treading on the toes of brooding and handsome Detective Will Decker.Then a second woman’s body is discovered, strangled while out on an evening jog. The strip of blue material used to choke her implicates Drake once again, forcing Olivia and Will to admit they are out of their depth and must work together to crack the case.The deeper they dig, the deadlier the trail becomes. It’s clear more innocent women will die if they don’t get one step ahead. But then a note written on a scrap of paper found in the last victim’s car leads them to a terrifying realization: the killer has his sights on Olivia’s little sister as the next victim…An addictive and unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Kendra Elliot and Mary Burton.
Her Daughter's Mother
Daniela Petrova - 2019
Now she's the key suspect in her disappearance. For fans of The Perfect Mother and The Wife Between Us comes a gripping psychological suspense debut about two strangers, one incredible connection, and the steep price of obsession.Lana Stone has never considered herself a stalker--until the night she impulsively follows a familiar face through the streets of New York's Upper West Side. Her target? The "anonymous" egg donor she'd selected through an agency, the one who's making motherhood possible for her. Hungry to learn more about her, Lana plans only to watch her from a distance. But when circumstances bring them face-to-face, an unexpected friendship is born.Katya, a student at Columbia, is the yin to Lana's yang, an impulsive free spirit who lives life at the edge. And for pragmatic Lana, she's a breath of fresh air and a welcome distraction from her painful breakup with her baby's father. Then, just as suddenly as Katya entered Lana's life, she disappears--and Lana might have been the last person to see her before she went missing. Determined to find out what became of the woman to whom she owes so much, Lana digs into Katya's past, even as the police grow suspicious of her motives. But she's unprepared for the secrets she unearths, and their power to change everything she thought she knew about those she loves best...
The Sisters of Kestrel Cay
Kelly Utt - 2020
She left everything behind, including Lottie. Now, seven years later, mysterious happenings on the island lead Margot to the realization that she must return home and face the ghosts of their shared past.Will Margot and Lottie have what it takes to protect each other? Can Lottie forgive Margot for running away?The Sisters of Kestrel Cay is a gorgeously gripping, deep and suspense-filled novel that explores the bonds of sisterhood, the bounds of duty, and the power of forgiveness. It’s the first book in the Hideaway Isle series and the perfect beach read.
Lie to Me
Jess Ryder - 2017
That’s all it takes for Meredith’s entire world to fall apart when she watches the videotape of her four-year-old self with Becca, the mother who abandoned her.Meredith can’t believe what her eyes have seen. Yet what if her memory has locked away the painful reality of her childhood? Can there be any truth in the strange and dangerous story her mother forced her to tell on camera? The search for answers leads Meredith to Darkwater Pool, the scene of the murder of a young woman, Cara, over 30 years ago. What could possibly be the link between her mother and the victim?To find the truth Meredith must search through a past that is not her own. The problem is, she’s not the only one looking…A dark, compulsive psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Louise Jensen.