Book picks similar to
Deliberate Deceit by Mitchell R. Stevens


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Dark Side: The Haunting


J.M. Barlog - 1999
    Because only a miracle could have brought her through after a terrible car crash.Do you believe in ghosts?Jenny didn't either, until...A tenacious and talented surgeon made Jenny almost as good as new. Almost.Accidents happen--sometimes. But sometimes accidents are planned. Somebody wanted Jenny Garrett dead, and now Detective Rick Walker has to find out who and why. But Jenny can't help with the investigation. Jenny's memory of the accident, and the weeks preceding it, are gone. Yet somehow Rick has to get to the truth before the killer tries again.But the real horror in Jenny's life transcends far beyond the stalking of an earthly killer. Jenny is being terrorized by a Doppelganger--a ghostly image of herself. Dwight Mackenzie believes in ghosts. So much so, that he is willing to help Jenny uncover the truth behind her torment.But the real truth is: there is only one way to escape the vicious torment of a Doppelganger.

Where Have I Gone?


Pauline Quirke - 2012
    Yes, the 'F' word. Tipping the scales at nearly 20 stone, with creaking knees and a dodgy ankle to boot, at the beginning of 2011 Pauline had reached a crisis point. Something had to change, and fast. It was never going to be an easy ride, but with her trademark warmth and sense of humour, Pauline recounts the highs and lows of the rollercoaster year in which she whips herself, and her life, into shape - with a fair few tales from her celebrated forty-year acting career thrown into the bargain. She reveals all: from the strain of working long hours away from home on one of Britain's most popular soaps to renewing her wedding vows and reuniting with her Birds of a Feather co-stars; from battling the bulge and facing the naysayers to rediscovering the joys of airline travel . . . without a seatbelt extension.Honest and revealing, Where Have I Gone? is brimming with brilliantly funny anecdotes and truly moving moments. So put your feet up and join Pauline as she embarks on the most incredible year of her life.

Killer Moves


Varsha Dixit - 2018
    Aisha Khatri has many! Aisha’s life is seemingly mundane on the surface-she writes for television and takes care of her niece Kiara and her retired father. But when Kiara’s life is threatened during a modeling assignment for the famous Kabir Rana, once a suspect for his wife’s murder, the only way Aisha can save Kiara is by accepting the unique ability she has aggressively resisted all her life. But Aisha is not the only one with secrets. There are others who have secrets and will kill to keep them. Aisha is determined to protect Kiara even if it means placing herself in the crosshairs of a depraved killer who butchers beautiful girls and leaves them as grotesque displays. Is Kiara a target of a serial killer or is the killer closer to home-and Aisha’s heart? Who is Kabir Rana? An elusive and moody fashion photographer burdened with a dark past or a murderer who got away? How will Aisha save Kiara from a killer who is several steps ahead of an entire city’s police force? When the dead come calling, will Aisha answer? From the bustling streets of Goa to the beautiful palaces of Sirsa, Killer Moves is a fast-paced, gripping, romantic suspense tale with strong thriller and supernatural elements.

Surf Mama - One Woman's Search for Love, Happiness and the Perfect Wave


Wilma Johnson - 2011
    The plan hits troubled waters as she arrives in France with her marriage on the rocks and three children who speak no French. Her first attempts at surfing are disastrous; resulting in bruises, broken bones and a damaged ego, but when she experiences the euphoric feeling of catching her first wave and sets up the Mamas Surf Club, it's all worth it.

It Only Takes Once


Susan Colleen Browne - 2011
    Juggling the needs of her daddy-hungry son with her first love Ben and her estranged father, she’s fresh out of her klutzy charm to help her sort out the mess she’s created.Lying low at her granny's cottage in the small village of Ballydara, in County Galway, Aislin is faced with decisions about trust, forgiveness, and the true meaning of family. Can a commitment-shy young mother find lasting love?Books by Susan Colleen BrowneThe Village of Ballydara SeriesThe Secret Well, short story ebookA Christmas Visitor, short story ebook and the sequel of The Secret Well It Only Takes Once, A Village of Ballydara Novel, Book 1 (print and ebook)Mother Love, A Village of Ballydara Novel, Book 2 (ebook, coming soon in print)Children’s StoryMorgan Carey and the Curse of the Corpse Bride, a lighthearted Halloween story for middle-grade readers (ebook, coming soon in print!)Memoir Little Farm in the Foothills: A Boomer Couple’s Search for the Slow Life (print and ebook)

My Perfect Summer in Greece


Ian Wilfred - 2019
     Cheryl is excited her sister Julie has asked for her help in organising her wedding but things aren't turning out the way Cheryl had hoped. There's going to be no little village church and no bridesmaids dress; the wedding is taking place on the Greek island of Holkamos. Vangelis has the perfect beach location for a wedding but his little beach cafe has never catered for weddings before. Will he be able to cope with all of Julie's demands? Andréas has moved back to Holkamos to help run the family gift shop after the death of his father. The business has to move with the times but will his mum allow things to change? Johnny is Cheryl's best friend. He doesn't like the way Julie treats her and has a plan to put things right but is it the right thing for Cheryl and what happens when they both arrive on the Greek island. Could it become more than just a weekend wedding for Cheryl and Johnny?

BONES OF THE DEMON KING (Demon King Series Book 1)


S.E. Grayson - 2015
    He's a serial killer that brutally murders women. Eva Lewis is the reporter that named him...but is she also his next victim? The FBI must race against time to catch this Demon King before he claims his queen.

The Murder of Sonia Raikkonen


Salil Desai - 2015
    It looks like a case of brutal rape and murder, but Senior Inspector Saralkar and PSI Motkar find themselves probing further....delving deeper.Standing virtually clueless, except for a single white sandal found on the scene of the crime, the policemen duo start looking for suspects.Things get murkier when Saralkar's old friend and colleague, Inspector Patange, seeks his help to establish the identity of another murder victim - an old man found by a wooded hillside on the outskirts of Pune. Not only do the old man's injuries match the wounds inflicted on the Finnish girl, but he is also found wearing the other white sandal.As Saralkar and Motkar struggle to find the link that connects the two murders, nothing is what it seems....The emerging truth seems far more dangerous and the motive far more bizarre! Who murdered Sonia , and why? The truth will chill you to the bone!

Out of Darkness


Erynn Newman - 2017
    . . if the CIA, international arms dealers, and her best friend don’t stand in the way.Elisabeth Allen gave her heart to Jesus as a little girl and to Drew Marek as a teenager. When their wedding day finally arrives, it’s the happiest day of her life—until a bomb transforms her dream come true into a living nightmare.As Best Man at the wedding, Gabriel Di Salvo promises Drew—his best friend and CIA partner—he’ll look after Elisabeth, but he never dreams it will become necessary so soon. As Elisabeth struggles to put the pieces of her life back together without Drew, Gabe becomes her rock, and as they share their grief and begin to heal, their friendship gradually deepens into something more.Three years later, Gabe and Elisabeth are planning a future together when he receives a shocking call from the one man who can upend his happiness: Drew. Suspecting someone at the CIA is behind his abduction, Drew refuses to come home. Instead, he asks Gabe to bring Elisabeth to him. Now Gabe just has to figure out how to let her go.Drew and Elisabeth race across Europe, dodging international arms dealers and attempting to reclaim what was stolen from them. But years of captivity and torture have left their mark on Drew. He is no longer the same boy Elisabeth fell in love with, but he is still Elisabeth’s husband, and she is determined to build something new and not allow her relationship with Gabe to come between them.When their enemies close in and the threat of a terrorist attack escalates, Gabe may be the only person they can trust. Drew, Elisabeth, and Gabe are thrown into a fight for their lives—one that will test their loyalties to God, country . . . and each other.

The James Ryker Trilogy


Rob Sinclair - 2018
    Now living in a secret location, under the new identify of James Ryker, he wants nothing more than to be left alone, the chance to start a new life away from chaos, violence, destruction and deceit.It’s not long, however, before Ryker’s short-lived idyll is destroyed when he is tracked down by Peter Winter, his ex-boss at the JIA. Winter brings with him news of the murder of a woman in Spain, Kim Walker, whose fingerprints match those of one of Ryker’s former adversaries who’s been missing presumed dead for years - an infamous female assassin known as the Red Cobra.A cyberattack at the JIA led to the Red Cobra’s profile being compromised, and Winter believes JIA agents may now be at risk too, Ryker included. But Ryker knew the elusive Red Cobra better than anyone, and when he sees the grisly pictures of Kim Walker’s corpse, he has news for Winter - she isn't the assassin at all ...So just who is the mystery dead woman? And where is the real Red Cobra? THE BLACK HORNET: What do you do when the love of your life vanishes without a trace? If you’re ex-intelligence agent James Ryker you search for the answers whatever the cost, however much blood and sacrifice it takes...Six months ago Lisa was taken from Ryker, and he’ll stop at nothing to find out who is responsible and why. Following a trail to Mexico, the ex-Joint Intelligence Agency asset soon finds himself in the firing line of enemies he long thought he’d left behind. Set-up for the murder of a former informant, Ryker is thrown into a crumbling jail run by The Black Hornet, the notorious leader of a Mexican drug cartel. But what connects the cartel to the informant’s murder, and to Lisa’s disappearance? And just who is the mystery American claiming he can help Ryker in his hour of need? THE SILVER WOLF: Ryker wants blood, and one way or another he’ll get it...Still tormented by the disappearance of his wife, ex-intelligence agent James Ryker sets out on a personal mission of revenge, prepared to go to any lengths in search of the truth.The trail takes him from the crystal waters of Mexico’s Caribbean coast, back to a place he thought he would never set foot again - his country of birth, England. But there he discovers more than even he bargained for. Stumbling across a terrorist attack targeted against his old employers - the secretive Joint Intelligence Agency -the faint clues to many events in his recent past are all seemingly linked to one mysterious character; The Silver Wolf.But just who is the Silver Wolf, and why is he hell-bent on punishing not just Ryker, but his closest allies at the JIA too?Has Ryker finally met his match?The Silver Wolf is a globe-trotting thriller that sees James Ryker at his hard-nosed best as he fights the ghosts of his past. As skilled as Jason Bourne, as no-nonsense as Jack Reacher, James Ryker delivers in another heart-pounding thriller. The James Ryker books are fast-paced thrillers filled with twists and turns and intrigue that will appeal to readers of big-hitting thrillers by the likes of Lee Child, David Baldacci, Mark Dawson

A Very Keatyn Christmas (The Keatyn Chronicles Book 13)


Jillian Dodd - 2021
    And at fifteen, Aubrey Lane Arrington is optimistically hoping that her first kiss will not only happen over the holidays, but that it will also be with her best friend and crush, Branson Johnson. They’ve been friends since they were kids and next fall, she’ll be joining him at Eastbrooke Academy. He’s hinted at their friendship turning into more, but as the holiday season progresses, she’s still stuck in the friend zone. His cousin Beckham Johnson, on the other hand, doesn’t believe in the friend zone. His cocky personality and charisma make him the ultimate flirt, so she’s never taken him seriously. But when he changes his plans to spend New Year’s Eve with her, Lane will have to make a decision. Will her first kiss be with her longtime crush, or will someone new sweep her off her feet?Find out when the clock strikes midnight!

Saving Sycamore Bay


Cami Checketts - 2017
    A southern belle in need. Can they rescue her home together? Harrison Jackson graduated from Auburn University with his master's in accounting and thought he was leaving the world of college football and adoring fans to crunch numbers and make money. Little did he know his boss has other plans for him--a beautiful southern belle and her family's mansion that are both in need of rescue and more than a little TLC. Grace Addison lost her mother and daddy within a year of each other, she is not going to lose the only home her family has known. Her ex-boyfriend and lawyer are trying to talk her into selling and she has no money to fight anyone, but she has her determination and her pride. When the most handsome and strong-looking man she's ever seen shows up on her doorstep, claiming he's been sent to help her, she thinks he's salvation and an angel combined. When she finds out he's an accountant, she laughs in his face. Someone is determined to take or burn Grace's home no matter how hard she and Harrison fight. Can she trust Harrison to protect her or should she give up her dreams? Books in the Destined for Love: Mansions Collection —Kiss Me in the Rain by Lindzee Armstrong —Roping His Heart by Jaclyn Hardy —The Princess and the Pizza Man by Cassie Mae —Mending Fences by Lorin Grace —Love Me at Sunset by Lucinda Whitney —Saving Her Plantation by Cami Checketts

The Boat


Clara Salaman - 2013
    They were wrong...When a boat appears out of a raging storm, Johnny and his new bride Clem don't think twice about stepping on board to take refuge, especially as it is crewed by a bohemian couple who represent everything they want to be. But all is not what it seems. And when they finally open their eyes to the truth, the boat is in the middle of the vast open sea...This is a hypnotic, emotionally charged novel about two sweet young lovers who lose their innocence in paradise, and is based on the author's real life experience.

The Woman Who Stopped Traffic


Daniel Pembrey - 2013
    It’s the dawn of social media; Facebook is unknown and World of Warcraft is the world's biggest online game. An unhinged Internet magnate is trying to take over it all, using Clamor.us, a social network primed to have its stock market debut. But nefarious adult content is invading the Clamor.us site, pointing to sex trafficking. Enter Natalie Chevalier, glamorous ex-Head of Security at a large Seattle software company ... with a father she never knew, a disastrous track record with men and a scandal that forced her from her old job. Part digital thriller, part dark fairy tale, The Woman Who Stopped Traffic will keep you on the edge of your seat – while revealing deeper truths of our times."A cross between Stieg Larsson and Michael Connelly – no bad mix! The contemporariness, the technical detail, the topical nature of the themes, the interplay between social networking and highly advanced computer/network games are all expertly handled. Pembrey writes very clearly." Henry Sutton, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia and teacher of master’s module ‘The Writing of Crime Thriller Fiction’"I wondered how Pembrey did such a good job describing the business of media start-ups, then I read his bio: 'financial analysis, an MBA, and ten years spent in the business development team of a US West Coast Internet company.' Kudos to Pembrey for taking a typically dry subject and turning it into something exciting." Mark Frauenfelder, former editor, Wired

Imperfect


Claire Fraise - 2015
    Not a good home, but at least there she can find food and shelter for her sisters, Lily and Tory.To the powerful Making Perfect corporation, however, the Slump is a gold mine, a source of unending test subjects. Once a month, squads of company officials invade the ruins to capture orphans for their facilities. What happens to the kids they take is unclear—none of them ever return.Then Summer herself is taken.Forced into a series of grueling experiments, she soon discovers that Making Perfect’s ultimate goal is far darker than anything she imagined. As she fights to get back to the Slump and her now-defenseless sisters, she begins to understand why once you enter Making Perfect, you never get out.