Book picks similar to
Provocateur by Charles D. Martin
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thriller
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Kick the Dust
Rhonda Forrest - 2019
When I open them, I think it might really be there in front of me.’ After three tours of duty in Afghanistan, Liam Andrews is home safe in Queensland. His weekly life drawing class, full of colourful local artists, helps him manage his post-traumatic stress disorder. But he’s struggling to open up about a past that still haunts him. Belourine ‘Billy’ is an Afghan refugee who lost everything before arriving in Australia as a child. She finds joy in her daily swims in the lake. After years of upheaval, she’s still searching for a place to call home. But her past makes it hard to trust people. When Liam and Billy meet, they form an instant connection. But will they ever overcome the past? And will it be together? ‘Rhonda is one talented Aussie author….’ Chapterichi.com ‘When I read Rhonda’s work, I think "authentic". There is no pretence. No fakeness. Just raw, honest and beautifully crafted characters and dialogue.” The MadHatter Book Reviewer
Sick to Death
Greg Levin - 2016
When Gage Adder finds out he has inoperable pancreatic cancer, things really start to look up for him. He leaves his soul-crushing job, joins a nice terminal illness support group, and takes up an exciting new hobby: Beating the hell out of bad guys. Gage’s support group friends Jenna and Ellison don’t approve of his vigilante activities. Jenna says fighting never solves anything. Poison, on the other hand… When the three decide to team up and hit the streets, suddenly no rapist, pedophile or other odious criminal in the city is safe.They are the sickest of superheroes. Their superpower is nothing left to lose. But what happens when one of them takes this power too far and puts at risk the lives of hundreds of innocent people? Where does one draw the line when dying to kill?
Broken: A Suspense Thriller
Brooke Linford - 2017
And again. Wherever she goes, even at home – he’s there. She tries to ignore him. But he doesn't like to be ignored. Amanda doesn’t know who to turn to. She’s just met Lucas, a man her friends believe is perfect. While she can't deny her attraction to him, demons from her past and present continue to haunt her. And she's not the only one with secrets. What follows is a desperate escape from the city, where she's forced to confront her past, deal with her growing feelings for Lucas, and fight for a future she's just beginning to believe in. Is she strong enough to survive?
Captive-in-Chief
Murray McDonald - 2016
With approval ratings unlike any in decades, his re-election campaign wasn’t an “if” but a “by how much of a landslide” he would win his second term. However, none of those citizens were aware that he was no longer in control. As tragedy befalls his closest advisers, he finds himself with nowhere to turn when an unknown power begins to exert control over him. With his daughter’s life on the line, he looks to the only man who can save her – and save America from the unfolding chaos. He is the one man he can trust to help him uphold his oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. That one man, an unlikely choice, comes with his own problems, and a dog…
The Forgotten Hours
Katrin Schumann - 2019
Katie’s life fell apart almost a decade earlier, during an idyllic summer at her family’s cabin on Eagle Lake when her best friend accused her father of sexual assault. Throughout his trial and imprisonment, Katie insisted on his innocence, dodging reporters and clinging to memories of the man she adores.Now he’s getting out. Yet when Katie returns to the shuttered lakeside cabin, details of that fateful night resurface: the chill of the lake, the heat of first love, the terrible sting of jealousy. And as old memories collide with new realities, they call into question everything she thinks she knows about family, friends, and, ultimately, herself. Now, Katie’s choices will be put to the test with life-altering consequences.
Billionaire Boss, Undercover Affair
Kyra Radcliff - 2020
As the successful owner of one of the richest old money industrialist conglomerates in the world, he is under pressure of a different kind when his daughter Alicia becomes involved with internet entrepreneur Miles Middleton.With an ego as big as his bank balance, Miles has a reputation for a string of affairs and Charles doesn’t want his daughter anywhere near him. And so he enlists Susan, as a Trojan Horse, burying her deep within Miles’ business interests in the hope that she can sabotage his relationship with Alicia.It isn’t long before the plan seems to be working and Miles is missing lunches, dinners and other dates with Alicia in favour of making money and sealing deals. But it’s when he takes Susan away on a business trip and tries to seduce her that she sees him for what he really is. But now that she is close to her goal, Susan suddenly has a crisis of confidence? Is she really still working for Charles or is she now pursuing her own agenda with Miles?As he continues to get under her skin with his continuous attempts at seduction, Susan finds that she is more conflicted than ever. And the closer she gets to completing the assignment, the greater the chances are that Miles will discover her secret.
Open House
Katie Sise - 2020
A town still held in the grip of an unsolved mystery. A breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by the bestselling author of We Were Mothers.A decade ago in upstate New York, art student Emma McCullough walked into the woods and was never seen again. It’s a mystery that still haunts her bucolic university town and her broken family, especially her sister Haley, whose need for closure has become an obsession. But now, finally, the first piece of evidence in the vanishing has been found: Emma’s bracelet, lodged in a frozen piece of earth at the bottom of a gorge. For Emma’s three best college friends, for a beloved former teacher, and for Haley, the chilling trinket is more than a clue in a resurrected cold case. It’s a trigger.Then a woman is attacked during an open house, and the connections between the two crimes, ten winters apart, begin to surface. So do the secrets that run as deep and dark as the currents in this quiet river town.
One Slip
Gregg Bell - 2019
Bakke Amazon VINE VOICE reviewer
When Connie Silverstein agreed to babysit her friend’s four-year-old son, she never dreamed it would end in disaster. Now the usually dependable medical student finds herself responsible for the boy’s near drowning and subsequent brain damage.Connie is desperate to help the boy recover, but the grieving mother no longer trusts her. Consumed by guilt, Connie attempts to deaden her pain with alcohol. But there’s not enough vodka in the world to right the wrong she’s done. Family and friends attempt to intervene in her downward spiral, assuring her that tragic accidents can happen to anyone.But only Connie knows the terrible secret that what happened was no accident. What readers are saying about One Slip: ‘Like a riptide, this book pulls you in—and under.’—Cynthiareads‘hooked from the start’—Staci‘Fantastic! Grabs you right from the get-go and never lets go.’—Lisa‘…had me in knots…pushing throughout the night to find out what happened next…it felt heartbreakingly real’—Craves the Angst Book Review Blog‘…over the edge with wonderment at how someone could capture my attention any better’—Deb H‘…grabs you and takes you on a journey.’—Julie Blaskie‘This story tore me apart.’—Denice‘This story pulls you in, then under…at times you yourself may feel like you’re having trouble breathing.’—Julia Deaton‘…an emotionally charged roller coaster of a read’—Shannon Fetters‘…emotionally charged’—Amazon Customer‘My emotions were all over the place’—lamilo 1562‘I loved that it pulled at my heartstrings yet still had the edge of suspense that kept me guessing the whole time.’—April Shuffler‘If you get emotionally attached to characters, have a box of tissues on hand when you read this one. The ending is totally unexpected…but good!’—PTB‘The ending is perfect!’—escritora
Curtain Call
Ryan Kane - 2018
Follow the twists and turns as this thriller unfolds in to a thrilling ride of who done it and why. Four years on from moving away from the dangers of New York and Damien is still drifting through life, with a list of ‘to-dos’ that seemed to get longer with each passing day. With a drunken father and overly dramatic mother, who is always threatening to leave, he often prefers to snatch some sleep on his friend’s couch rather than putting up with them. When an old friend, Christa, unexpectedly shows up, bereft at the loss of her friend and co-star in the Broadway show they starred in, Damien is astonished but happy to see her. But she is far from the confident young girl he remembered. Other deaths follow, all of them close to Christa, and Damien becomes suspicious. Is his old friend in danger? Why are people close to her dying inexplicably? Damien is determined to find out what’s going on, no matter what the personal cost will be. Can he get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Christa or will he succumb to the Curtain Call?
The Secrets of Lost Stones
Melissa Payne - 2019
Haunted by memories and grief, Jess packs what’s left and heads for the small mountain town of Pine Lake, where she takes a position as caregiver to an eccentric old woman.A rumored clairvoyant, Lucy is strange but welcoming and immediately intuits Jess as a “loose end” in need of closure. But Jess isn’t the only guest in Lucy’s large Victorian home. There’s also Star, a teenage runaway with a secret too painful to share. And the little boy with heart-shaped stones, who comes with a hope for reconciliation—and a warning.Soon Jess learns that she’s not the only lost soul running from the ghosts of the past. She and Star have been brought together for a reason: to be saved by the very thing that destroyed them.
Cold Black Earth
Sam Reaves - 2015
But after the horrors of war and a painful divorce, the only place where she can rebuild is the town she once escaped.At home, however, there is little comfort. Her brother, still reeling from his wife’s suicide, struggles to run the family farm and handle a hell-raising son. Rachel’s arrival also draws a pair of rival suitors: her brother’s handsome friend and a rough-hewn sheriff’s deputy who pined for her in high school. Romance is the last thing on Rachel’s mind, but a little comfort would be nice—except for the complications.When a deranged killer escapes from a local prison, the far-flung farmsteads go on high alert—especially when the bodies start turning up. And in a county where the miles outnumber the people, it soon becomes clear that the madman is close behind Rachel.
The Term Sheet
Lucas Carlson - 2015
_____________________________________________________ David Alexander always dreamt of starting his own company. But in the exciting world of tech startups, where venture capital rules and billion-dollar businesses are the holy grail, things can and do collapse — in the blink of an eye... David’s thrown into this world and his adventures spiral him into a dark hole of terrorist plots, government espionage and classified information. It’s not as elegant a universe as he had first thought. One wrong decision could put the country in jeopardy, collapse David’s company, or even cost him his life. _____________________________________________________ THE TERM SHEET is a fast-paced technothriller about entrepreneurship, startups, encryption, and the delicate balance between national security and individual privacy. Its complex characters explore thought-provoking questions about the role of technology in an ever-changing society. Step into the high-stakes game played by today’s technology innovators, who push the envelope and risk it all. Get ready, this thrilling book gives you a taste of what startups are really like. _____________________________________________________ David Alexander, a young programmer in Portland, Oregon, loathed his job. Computer programming had always come naturally, but being an employee never suited him. So he tried entrepreneurship instead. After making a series of embarrassing blunders, David finally hit on a startup idea that stuck: encrypted chat. Sure there were alternatives, but as Edward Snowden has shown us, most of them (willingly or unwillingly) have backdoors for spies and bad guys. A new approach made David’s app one of the most secure options out there, which caught the attention of many people, including Shawn Douglas from the Secret Service. Shawn Douglas worked with eight different presidents, preventing twenty assassination attempts, forty-three terrorist plots and two bullets. When he was promoted to a desk job overseeing and organizing travel, he picked up on a cryptic email thread that hinted at a threat to the President’s life. In a race to unravel the conspiracy, Shawn and David both have to make some difficult decisions. Will Shawn stop the terrorists in time? Will David be able to navigate his startup out of a crisis and keep his entrepreneurial dream alive? Or will fate deal them both a crushing hand? Read the book to find out.
Every Chance I Get
AlTonya Washington - 2011
Their first kiss erased all doubt—they shared a passion as true as their hearts. And Talib Mason knew he'd love Misha Bales forever.But their sizzling affair came to a crashing halt when secrets and lies tore them apart.Six years later, fate has given them a second chance. But Misha isn't about to trust her heart again to the much-too-seductive ex-athlete. And though Talib is still haunted by Misha's betrayal, he realizes it's time to forgive and forget. Can he convince the guarded journalist that their love deserves a fighting chance?
The Sheikh's Marriage Bargain
Leslie North - 2020
Marriage was never in the picture. But when her grandfather is tricked into signing a binding marriage contract to a man she finds repugnant, she has one choice: Run away. Her flight ends with a fortuitous meeting with Zayid Hasan, Crown Prince of Raihan, who offers the perfect solution to Laila’s predicament: marry him and solve both their problems. Zayid’s younger brother must marry his pregnant fiancé, and ancient laws dictate the oldest brother is required to marry first. Desperate for a way to protect both her grandfather and herself, Laila agrees. After all, their marriage will last only until Zayid’s brother can marry—and her marriage to the brooding, handsome prince isn’t much of a sacrifice. It’s not like she’s going to be foolish enough to fall in love…Zayid doesn’t know what to think about his new half-American wife. He doesn’t really want to think about her at all, but for some reason, he can’t stop himself. Strangely enough, all the royal functions that used to bore him silly are now entertaining with Laila by his side—even though he knows she’d much rather be alone creating her art. Though the marriage of convenience was his idea, he can’t help but start to wish it was the real deal. No way can he ignore the simmering chemistry that’s driving them both a bit crazy. He’s much better at ignoring what’s in his heart—until he realizes it just might break if he can’t convince Laila to stay with him forever…
What You Did
Claire McGowan - 2019
A devastating accusation. Who should she trust, her husband or her best friend?It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again.When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying—but which? And why?When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.