Book picks similar to
Illusion by Edmond Cheng
mystery
fiction
crime
christian
In a Dark, Dark Wood
Ruth Ware - 2015
Not since Nora walked out of school one day and never went back. There was a dark, dark houseUntil, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. Is this a chance for Nora to finally put her past behind her?And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark roomBut something goes wrong. Very wrong.And in the dark, dark room.... Some things can’t stay secret for ever.
Already Gone
John Rector - 2011
He lives in a small brick Tudor close to campus with his art buyer wife, Diane. His life is quiet, ordinary even. And he likes it that way. But it wasn't always quiet. Jake's distant past was a life on the streets, inflicting damage and suffering on more people than he can count. And now someone from his past, it seems, has come looking for him.A raw, gripping thriller about the price paid for past sins, John Rector's third novel is a live wire that crackles with the intensity of a man with nothing left to lose. When two men attack Jake in a parking lot and cut off his finger, he tries to dismiss it as an unlucky case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But when events take a more sinister turn and Diane goes missing, Jake knows he can no longer hide from the truth. As he embarks on a mission to find his wife, he realizes his dark past is refusing to stay buried and that his future is about to unfold in ways he could never have imagined.
Thief River Falls
Brian Freeman - 2020
The author of a bestselling thriller called Thief River Falls, named after her rural Minnesota hometown, Lisa is secluded in her remote house as she struggles with the loss of her entire family: a series of tragedies she calls the “Dark Star.”Then a nameless runaway boy shows up at her door with a terrifying story: he’s just escaped death after witnessing a brutal murder—a crime the police want to cover up. Obsessed with the boy’s safety, Lisa resolves to expose this crime, but powerful men in Thief River Falls are desperate to get the boy back, and now they want her too.Lisa and her young visitor have nowhere to go as the trap closes around them. Still under the strange, unforgiving threat of the Dark Star, Lisa must find a way to save them both, or they’ll become the victims of another shocking tragedy she can’t foresee
Girl Number One
Jane Holland - 2015
The killer was never found. Now an adult, Eleanor discovers a woman's body in the same spot in the Cornish woods where her mother was strangled eighteen years before. But when the police get there, the body has disappeared. Is Eleanor’s disturbed mind playing tricks on her again, or has her mother’s killer resurfaced? And what does the number on the dead woman’s forehead signify?
Meredith & Hodge Boxset: Books 1-3
M.K. Turner - 2021
However, nothing gets in the way of them solving a case. Discover them and their world in this three book box set, containing over 1300 pages of murder, mystery, twists and turns and find out why over 60,000 readers have downloaded M K Turner’s popular series. Misplaced Loyalty – Assisted suicide or euthanasia? Meredith calls it murder! Ill Conceived – Why is an apparently innocent young woman prime suspect in a motiveless, senseless murder? The Wrong Shoes – Why did a pair of shoes set off a string of murders and a kidnapping? Want the answers? Buy the box set now!
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?
Every Last Lie
Mary Kubica - 2017
The bad man is after us."
Clara Solberg's world shatters when her husband and their four-year-old daughter are in a car crash, killing Nick while Maisie is remarkably unharmed. The crash is ruled an accident…until the coming days, when Maisie starts having night terrors that make Clara question what really happened on that fateful afternoon. Tormented by grief and her obsession that Nick's death was far more than just an accident, Clara is plunged into a desperate hunt for the truth. Who would have wanted Nick dead? And, more important, why? Clara will stop at nothing to find out—and the truth is only the beginning of this twisted tale of secrets and deceit. Told in the alternating perspectives of Clara's investigation and Nick's last months leading up to the crash, master of suspense Mary Kubica weaves her most chilling thriller to date—one that explores the dark recesses of a mind plagued by grief and shows that some secrets might be better left buried.
Hunt Evil
Julia Derek - 2018
Not only is his mother an escaped prisoner out to kill him, but he also suspects that his precocious half sister, four-year-old Neera, has inherited their mom's psychopathic tendencies. When Neera's father suddenly dies from a heart attack, Shane's even more convinced that Neera is a budding psychopath; after all, she triggered the deadly heart attack. The authorities reject the idea that Neera tried to hurt her father on purpose, but Shane sees increasing signs that something is wrong. He refuses to give up on her, though, believing he can fix her by raising her right. Before he can get far, Neera suddenly disappears and it turns out their mother has kidnapped the girl. Why, he can't be sure, but it's hardly for a good reason. Will Shane be able to find them before it's too late?NOTE: HUNT EVIL is the final book in the Evil Trilogy. While the books are stand-alones, they are best enjoyed in order. So start with BORN EVIL.
The Girl Who Lied
Suzanne | Sue Fortin - 2016
Now, Roisin has discovered a secret—one Erin has kept for over a decade—and she’s determined to make Erin pay for her lies.Erin wants nothing to do with Roisin. She has a new life in London and no intention of going back home. Yet when her father is mysteriously and critically injured, Erin has no choice but to return and face Roisin—and her past. Erin knows if the secret of what she gave up got out, the consequences could be devastating.When Roisin suddenly disappears, suspicion soon lands on Erin. She would do anything to protect her family, but just how far is she willing to go when time is running out…?
It's Always the Husband
Michele Campbell - 2017
They first met as college roommates and soon became inseparable, even though they are as different as three women can be. Twenty years later, one of them is standing at the edge of a bridge... and someone else is urging her to jump. How did things come to this?As the novel cuts back and forth between their college years and their adult years, you see the exact reasons why these women love and hate each other—but can feelings that strong lead to murder? Or will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it’s always the husband?
The One That Got Away
Simon Wood - 2015
But something goes terribly wrong on their way home, and the last time Zoë sees her, Holli is in the clutches of a sadistic killer. Zoë flees with her life, changed forever.A year later and still tortured with guilt, Zoë latches on to a police investigation where the crime eerily resembles her abduction. Along with a zealous detective, she retraces the steps of that fateful night in the desert, hoping that her memory will return and help them find justice for Holli. Her abductor—labeled the “Tally Man” by a fascinated media—lies in wait for Zoë. For him, she is not a survivor but simply the one that got away.With an unforgettable heroine, a chillingly disturbed psychopath, and a story that moves at breakneck speed, The One That Got Away is thriller writer Simon Wood at his finest.
Stitched: A gruesome tale of control, fear and brutality
Cheryl Elaine - 2019
To the outside world, Andrew Brooke is a cop who’s obsessively committed to his job. But behind closed doors, he enforces his dominance and disciplines his wife, Emily, in the most inhumane ways. When his life begins to fall apart and his reputation becomes tarnished, he unleashes his anger and seeks revenge on those who dare to encounter him. Emily Brooke is left broken by her husband’s hand, with no means of escape. Eventually, though weak and confused, she manages to flee. But is the life she escapes to a better one? Detective Donavan has his own demons to battle following his wife’s death. Assigned a missing person’s case that leads to a series of brutal attacks, he follows the trail of a serial killer dubbed ‘The Stitcher’ - but will his own dark secrets get in the way of justice being served? Stitched perfectly demonstrates how cruel life – and people – can be.
Cold Waters
Debbie Herbert - 2019
After a summer-night swim with her best friend, Ainsley, Violet is found confused, wandering in the forest—and Ainsley’s never seen again. But without a body, murder charges won’t stick, so Violet is sent away.After more than a decade in a psychiatric ward, Violet returns to her broken-down hometown of Normal, Alabama, to claim her dead mother’s inheritance and help her overworked sister care for their unstable, alcoholic father. Violet, still haunted by that night eleven years ago, endures horrific flashbacks and twisted hallucinations while townsfolk spit accusations—and for all she knows, they’re right.As the summer heats up, details of Ainsley’s fate appear like a beast’s wild eyes, watching in the darkness, and grim revelations about Violet’s family threaten to devour her. Already on the edge of madness, Violet must fight to keep her sanity long enough for the terrible truth to burst from the cold, dark waters.
The Housekeeper
Natalie Barelli - 2019
She's a stalker. She's in your house.When Claire sees Hannah Wilson at an exclusive Manhattan hair salon, it's like a knife slicing through barely healed scars. It may have been ten years since Claire last saw Hannah, but she has thought of her every day, and not in a good way. So Claire does what anyone would do in her position—she stalks her.Hannah is now Mrs. Carter, living the charmed life that should have been Claire's. It's the life Claire used to have, before Hannah came along and took it all away from her.Back then, Claire was a happy teenager with porcelain skin and long, wavy blond hair. Now she's an overweight, lazy drunk with hair the color of compost and skin to match. Which is why when Hannah advertises for a housekeeper, Claire is confident she can apply and not be recognized. And since she has time on her hands, revenge on her mind, and a talent for acting…Because what better way to seek retribution—and redress—than from within the beautiful Mrs. Hannah Carter's own home?Except that it's not just Claire who has secrets. Everyone in that house seems to have something to hide.And now, there's no way out.