Book picks similar to
Detached by Wendi Starusnak


horror
fiction
ebook
psychological-thriller

The Haunting of Thores-Cross: A Yorkshire Ghost Story


Karen Perkins - 2012
    A haunting historical thriller set in Britain's North Yorkshire Moors about isolation, superstition and persecution, The Haunting of Thores-Cross explores 18th century life in a picturesque but isolated village in the North Yorkshire Moors. When a vulnerable young girl is ostracised within her community and accused of witchcraft, the descendants of her neighbours will suffer for centuries to come.*Silver Medal Winner, European fiction - 2015 IPPY Book Awards *#1 Bestseller in 6 Amazon Categories, including Ghost Suspense, British Horror and Gothic Romance*Top 10 Bestseller in 8 more, including Historical Thrillers and Occult Horror*Over 100 5-STAR reviews on Amazon.com Likened by independent reviewers on Amazon to the Brontë sisters, Edgar Allen Poe, Barbara Erskine and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Karen Perkins' novels are filled with unflinching honesty and an acute understanding of human nature. She explores not only the depths of humanity, but the depths of human motivation behind the actions and pain people inflict upon each other, as well as the repercussions of these actions not only in the short term, but also the later generations who live with the implications of the past. Emma Moorcroft is still grieving after a late miscarriage and moves to her dream house at Thruscross Reservoir with her husband, Dave. Both Emma and Dave hope that moving into their new home signifies a fresh start, but life is not that simple. Emma has nightmares about the reservoir and the drowned village that lies beneath the water, and is further disturbed by the sound of church bells - from a church that no longer exists. Jennet is fifteen and lives in the isolated community of Thores-Cross, where life revolves about the sheep on which they depend. Following the sudden loss of both her parents, she is seduced by the local wool merchant, Richard Ramsgill. She becomes pregnant and is shunned not only by Ramsgill, but by the entire village. Lonely and embittered, Jennet's problems escalate, leading to tragic consequences which continue to have an effect through the centuries. Emma becomes fixated on Jennet, neglecting herself, her beloved dogs and her husband to the point where her marriage may not survive. As Jennet and Emma's lives become further entwined, Emma's obsession deepens and she realises that the curse Jennet inflicted on the Ramsgill family over two hundred years ago is still claiming lives. Emma is the only one who can stop Jennet killing again, but will her efforts be enough? The Haunting of Thores-Cross was previously titled Thores-Cross.The Yorkshire Ghost Stories are all stand-alone, complete books, and can be read in any order

Teenage Killer


John Meany - 2016
    After being cyberbullied for his entire senior year of high school by three of his former best friends, Terrence doesn't just seek revenge. He murders all three of his old friends in a barbaric manner, he decapitates them with a hatchet.However, would Terrence have gone after his former friends on his own? Or was it The Dark Man's fault? Did the mysterious Dark Man, who might or might not exist, put the hatchet in Terrence's hand.That's what Terrence's family longs to find out, as well as the entire country. The brutal murders become one of the biggest teenage massacre stories reported by the national media since the Virginia Tech Shooting and Columbine.

The Fireproof Girl


Loretta Lost - 2016
    When the constant danger became too much to bear, she ran away, thinking she could survive on her hacking skills alone.That was until she met Cole Hunter. He became the only person she could trust: her family, her friend, her partner-in-crime. Her everything. After struggling through college and starting their lives together, she believed that nothing could ever tear them apart. Until it did.When news of a brutal murder reaches Sophie, she’ll do everything in her power to fix what is broken. If it isn’t too late…---------When Cole was nine years old, he watched his whole family burn to death in a house fire. Fueled by years of obsession, he started one of the world’s leading architectural firms, with a mission to design homes resistant to fire, earthquakes, floods, and every threat known to man. Sophie was his secret weapon. She was his purpose. Since they were teenagers, he was determined to build a better life for her, so she could finally be safe, and they could be together. But disaster has always followed Cole around, ripping away everything he loves. This time, if he isn’t careful…His enemies might just take him down.

Don't Make a Sound


T.R. Ragan - 2020
    Now, after finally getting promoted at work, she is forced to return home and face her past.River Rock is where she’d been abandoned by her two older sisters to suffer alone, and in silence, the unspeakable abuses of her family. It’s also where Sawyer’s best friend disappeared and two teenage girls were murdered. Three cold cases dead and buried with the rest of the town’s secrets.When another girl is slain in a familiar grisly fashion, Sawyer is determined to put an end to the crimes. Pulled back into the horrors of her family history, Sawyer must reconcile with her estranged sisters, who both have shattering memories of their own. As Sawyer’s investigation leads to River Rock’s darkest corners, what will prove more dangerous—what she knows of the past or what she has yet to discover?

Until You


Sandra Marton - 1997
    Miranda's life is in danger, and Conor will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means not letting her know he's working for the government. For her part, Miranda will do whatever it takes to keep Conor from learning the truth about her past. And yet, the one thing neither can lie about is the passion that blazes between them.

Scary Mary


S.A. Hunter - 2006
    When a new boy starts school, he surprises Mary by befriending her. That's a rare thing for the school freak, but her unusual abilities put a rift in their budding friendship when Mary has to tell Cy that his home is haunted and not by Casper, the friendly ghost. Mary has to get rid of the ghost, thwart the school bully, do her homework, and not get detention. Mary's sure she can do all of that except for the last part.

Unreal


Riley Moreno - 2014
    The day before they depart, the girls are given a party by Julie’s mother, Sharon, and her stepfather, Greg. Sharon seems nervous at the prospect of the girls taking off for parts unknown, but Greg sees no harm in the adventure. The girls set off and after driving through the morning, they stop at a small town diner for a bite to eat...and you can never imagine what happens next.

INK: Fine Lines


Bella Roccaforte - 2013
    The ink's not even dry on her breakout first issue but even Shay's twisted imagination can't predict what will happen when the fine line between reality and nightmare is crossed...She walked away once from the men who want to control her and now they’re back. But can she break away from them and the specter who walks right off the pages of her comic committing gruesome murders.INK: Fine Lines is a New Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy **This book contains adult language and situations**

Ash


Jason Brant - 2013
    10:32 AM EST: An entire floor of government agents leap to their death from their office building. 12:57 PM EST: All the police officers inside a station murder each other. And the day has just begun. Lieutenant Asher Benson left Iraq with a traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and a Purple Heart. His doctors warned that the symptoms would be life altering. They had no idea. As his body healed, the thoughts of those around him began to echo through Ash’s mind, stretching the boundaries of his sanity. Five years later, Ash is drowning the voices with copious amounts of booze and self-loathing. When unidentified intelligence agents abduct him in broad daylight, Ash is thrust into a world of espionage and assassinations. A unique terrorist is operating on U.S. soil, and the government needs Ash, and the malady that has plagued him for half a decade, to find the killer. *Ash is the first book in the Asher Benson thriller series, which is full of snarky humor and nonstop action.

The King Tides


James Swain - 2018
    And that of strangers, too. Wherever she goes, she’s being watched. Each stalker is different from the last, except for one thing—their alarming obsession with Nicki.Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Nicki’s father is turning to someone who can protect her: retired private detective and ex–Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster. Teaming up with FBI agent and former abduction victim Beth Daniels, Lancaster can help—his way. He’s spent most of his career dispatching creeps who get off on terrorizing the vulnerable. Unlicensed, and unrestricted, he plays dirty…But this case is unusual. Why so many men? Why this one girl? Does Nicki have something to hide? Or do her parents?Trawling the darkest depths of southern Florida, Lancaster faces a growing tide of secrets and deception. And the deeper he digs, the more he realizes that finding the truth won’t be easy. Because there’s more to this case than meets the eye.

Hidden Monster


Amanda Strong - 2014
    That is, until the day a morning run turns into a living nightmare. When Samantha wakes up to find herself bound to a dirty, pinstriped mattress, she realizes she’s anything but free. With a masked abductor repeatedly injecting her arm with an unknown substance while holding her captive, Samantha tries in vain to find out what he wants, but he refuses to speak. Until the day he breaks his silence and his twisted words are worse than what she’d imagined. He promises her one day she will fall in love with him but the best part will be that she won't know who he is... until it's too late. Finding herself freed from captivity, with her captor still at large, Samantha is on guard against everything and everyone around her. Unfortunately, walling up her heart proves difficult when eighteen-year-old Blake Knightley moves in next door. When Samantha starts experiencing strange changes within her, she realizes her captor may have left her more damaged than she originally thought. Now she must turn to Blake for help in order to unearth the truth behind the monster who started this all... or risk experiencing worse things than just falling in love.

The Seduction of Samantha Bowman


Nancy Miller - 2013
    But behind closed doors, she’s a bit restless as she deals with a stressful job and a distant husband, whose only interest appears to be inventing virtual reality for his company, Holotech. Looking for a little harmless fun, Samantha escapes to one of Holotech’s “Adult” virtual games on Thursday afternoons where she feels more sexy and desirable than she has in years. She loves the game, and soon becomes obsessed with one actor in particular: Pool Boy. Before long, he’s all she can think about—unaware that behind the scenes Charlie’s unscrupulous business partners have seen an opportunity to further their own agenda. Fantasy sex soon turns all too real with deadly repercussions. A crazy wild ride featuring a cast of characters you will remember long after you’ve finished the story.

Poison Orchids


Sarah A. Denzil - 2019
    Denzil and Anni TaylorYoung backpackers Gemma and Hayley arrive at a remote mango farm, out of money and desperate for work. The farm's owner, Tate Llewellyn, welcomes them in with open arms. An enigmatic, wealthy chemist, Tate spends his days running his hobby farm and cultivating rare orchids in his greenhouse.The weeks go on, a blur of fruit-picking with the other international backpackers, parties, campfires and wading beneath waterfalls in the nearby hot springs. Tate calls the girls his orchids...his pretty orchids... Until the night the girls find themselves on a dark highway, bruised and bloodied.How did paradise turn so ugly?Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti question the terrified girls. But Hayley and Gemma are telling two very different stories of what happened to them over the past three months.Which story is the truth and what are the girls covering up?

Accountable to None


Ashley Fontainne - 2011
    Welcome to Audra Tanner's personal hell. She had heard the rumors about her employer. The whispered secrets. But she had thrown herself into work to escape the pain of her miscarriage and demise of her marriage. Idealistic, she thought if she worked hard she would be rewarded. She thought wrong.Savagely initiated into the brutal underbelly of the firm, Audra learns too late that the rumors are true. Now after five years of careful plotting, Audra is ready to push the wheels of justice in motion. Her goal of retribution has turned into an obsession and she will stop at nothing until everyone responsible pays. Will revenge set her free or is Audra's quest for personal justice only beginning?

314


A.R. Wise - 2012
    She has a good life as a music teacher now, and might rekindle her relationship with her one true love. However, the number 314 haunts her, and threatens to bring her back to the day that her brother disappeared. When a reporter shows up, just days before March 14th, Alma realizes that her past is coming back to haunt her. What happened on March 14th, at 3:14, 16 years ago? No one but The Skeleton Man can remember.