Book picks similar to
New Year’s Eve by Hannah Emery
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mystery
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domestic-suspense
The Party at No. 12
Kerry Wilkinson - 2022
In this grand house rented specially for the evening, everyone admires the sparkling chandelier and raises a glass to say goodbye before Hannah moves away from this little town for good. But the next day, one of them lies cold and lifeless in their bed…The day of her leaving party, Hannah Ford is nervous. With so many secrets and lies over the years between her friends, and arguments between her sisters, is it really a good idea to gather everyone together? But her mother insists that, after Hannah’s divorce and job struggles, she deserves a send-off to remember. So they all plaster on fake smiles and put aside their rifts for an evening of celebrations.In the morning, one of the guests is found dead.Hannah is desperate to tell the police. But every single guest has something to hide, or someone to protect. The group insists: they will deal with this themselves.After all, it must have been an accident. Perhaps too much wine, on a night where emotions were running high.But what if it wasn’t?And what if this was just the first victim?An absolutely unputdownable thriller that won’t let you sleep until you’ve reached the final page! Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, The Hunting Party and Shari Lapena.
The Affair: Escape to Lake Como this summer
Hilary Boyd - 2021
Forty years on they are the couple their whole village envies. Life isn't quite so rosy just now with Devan struggling to adjust to early retirement, but Connie hopes that getting away for a few weeks through her job as a European tour manager will help. But on one of her favourite tours, to Lake Como, it is clear one of her guests is falling for her. She resists, but Jared somehow gets under her skin, until she's intoxicated and doing the unthinkable: breaking the marriage vows she's always held so dear. But she tells herself the affair is not serious, it will end when the season does. And Devan will never find out. But when Connie returns home, Jared follows. He isn't going to give her up so easily. And as he grows ever more embroiled in her life, Connie begins to wonder if more than her marriage is in danger . . .
Praise for Hilary Boyd
'Boyd is as canny as Joanna Trollope at observing family life - and better than Trollope at jokes' Daily Mail'Poignant, well observed and wonderfully written, this is a bit of a heart-string puller' Closer'I was ripping through this book . . . addictive' Evening Standard
The New Girl
Ruth Heald - 2022
I was wrong…When I moved to a city where no one knew me, clutching only a small bag of possessions, I really believed that I had left my old life—and my darkest secret— behind.Within weeks, I landed my dream job, a gorgeous flat and the perfect boyfriend in James. For the first time in years, with him, I started to feel I could finally trust people again. I began to feel safe.But now strange things have started to happen. Odd noises in the night, the constant feeling that someone is lingering at my door. James convinces me that I’m imagining things. But when I find a beautiful dress hidden behind the wardrobe and wear it to work, the atmosphere chills instantly. I can’t help but wonder, is there something, or someone they’re hiding from me?Then she appears at my door. The girl before me. She tells me that I need to leave; that the new life I thought I’d built for myself is all a twisted trap…And my whole world tilts… because if what she says is true, what’s going to happen to me?
The Nurse
Claire Allan - 2022
She just doesn’t know it yet.The unputdownable new book from the bestselling author of Her Name Was Rose.Everyone has a secret. But some are worse than you could ever imagine. Nell Sweeney has led an ordinary life. Every day she walks to and from the hospital where she works as a nurse, believing that no harm can befall her. Until one day she is taken. Because someone out there has a secret. Someone out there has been watching Nell – and they’ve been watching others like her too. Nell is the unlucky one – she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if she isn’t found soon, someone will make sure that she isn’t the last woman to be taken… A chilling, gripping read, perfect for fans of Clare Mackintosh and Gillian McAllister.
The Perfect Neighbour
Susanna Beard - 2021
She wishes she could make friends with her beautiful neighbour Oksana. She longs for a new group of friends. Welcoming neighbours to visit. Coffee dates and dinner parties.But life here feels so closed. Then Beth runs into Oksana’s garden one day to fetch her runaway dog, and she sees something shocking that makes her wonder who her new neighbours really are.A girl in the window.A pale desperate face.A hastily scribbled sign bearing only two words.HELP ME.Who is the girl? What are the neighbours hiding?Sometimes, it’s the most perfect neighbours that hide the most terrible secrets.
Mothers Don't Lie
Jo Crow - 2020
With the help of medication to control her borderline personality disorder, she’s become a successful real estate agent with a loving husband who treats her four-year-old son as if he were his own. The emotional highs and lows from a difficult childhood have smoothed out but are still best concealed with little white lies to protect loved ones from her troubled history. Until Molly’s past returns to shatter her idyllic life.Molly’s son, Colin, is discovered injured and covered in his grandfather’s blood—and her father-in-law is nowhere to be found. The police suspect foul play. Longstanding bitterness erupts between Molly and her mother-in-law, exacerbating Molly’s feelings of inadequacy and triggering fierce reactions that can no longer be contained.A hallucination of her missing father-in-law only increases Molly’s paranoia over the sins of the past. Deceit lies around every corner and embroils everyone in the growing madness. Someone knows what she did. And someone is trying to expose the truth.And if the truth is revealed, her family will pay the price.
The Family Across the Street
Nicole Trope - 2021
How well do you know the people next door…?Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty, tree-lined avenue with its white houses. The new family, The Wests, are a perfect fit. Katherine and John* seem so in love and their gorgeous five-year-old twins race screeching around their beautiful emerald-green lawn.But soon people start to notice: why don’t they join backyard barbecues? Why do they brush away offers to babysit? Why, when you knock at the door, do they shut you out, rather than inviting you in?Every family has secrets, and on the hottest day of the year, the truth is about to come out. As a tragedy unfolds behind closed doors, the dawn chorus is split by the wail of sirens. And one by one the families who tried so hard to welcome the Wests begin to realise: Hogarth Street will never be the same again.A completely gripping, twist-packed psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Sally Hepworth and Lisa Jewell.(*there is a typo on the back cover that calls him Josh)
The Beach House
P.R. Black - 2020
Cora's on the island vacation of her dreams: a private beach in paradise, a romantic proposal, and an eight-figure cheque following the sale of her new fiancé’s business. When their island turns out to be not so private after all, Cora tries to make the best of a bad situation by inviting their strangely friendly neighbours to celebrate with them. But it doesn't take long for her once-in-a-lifetime holiday to take a very sinister turn...
The Woman on the Beach
Julia Roberts - 2021
But it couldn’t be her. Sophie’s dead…Ever since we locked fingers and swore to be best friends at school, Sophie was there for me. When she married my brother, I followed her down the aisle as her bridesmaid, thrilled that we were becoming family. We laughed together and cried together. We shared everything. At least I thought we did.And then she was gone. The terrible accident that took her life devastated me, and though everyone else has moved on, I can’t. She was so quiet, those last few months. I keep thinking there is something I don’t know…Now I’m standing on the beach we visited when we were younger and there’s a woman with long blond hair a few metres away, playing with a dog in the sunshine. She turns, and I see Sophie. Heart racing, I struggle to my feet, but before I can reach her she’s vanished, leaving only footprints in the sand.It can’t be Sophie… Can it? And do I want to know what she was running from, if the answer means I can no longer trust the people I love?
I Will Find You
Amanda Rigby - 2022
But Ash is tormented by her demons and a past that refuses to be laid to rest.Jessica: Perfect wife and loving mother. But although Jessica might seem to have it all, she lives a secret life built on lies.Grace: An outsider, always looking in, Grace has never known the love of her sisters and her resentment can make her do bad things.When Ashleigh goes missing, Jessica and Grace do all they can to find their eldest sister. But the longer Ashleigh is missing, the more secrets and lies these women are hiding threaten to tear this family apart.Can they find Ashleigh before it’s too late or is it sometimes safer to stay hidden?
My Sister’s Child
Karen Clarke - 2021
Five years ago, my sister Rachel left her baby boy on my doorstep. A little bundle wrapped in blankets.I loved him. I cared for him. I called him Noah and raised him as my own.Rachel was full of secrets, and the truth about Noah was one we shared. A secret just between sisters.Now, my sister is dead. The police say it was an accident… But I’m convinced that’s a lie.I owe it to Rachel to uncover the truth… Even if I risk losing the family I’ve fought so hard for.Dark family secrets rise to the surface in this utterly gripping and emotional page-turner! My Sister’s Child will keep you reading long into the night and is perfect for fans of Nicole Trope and Claire Amarti!
Tell Me No Lies
Alex Sinclair - 2018
Her perfect world is collapsing around her, the home she hoped to fill with children is huge and empty, and she’s paralysed with grief. But as Grace sorts through her husband’s belongings, she realises the man she loved was lying to her. There’s a mysterious list of names hidden among his things, a secret bank account, and a shocking revelation about his family that he kept from her since the day they met. Who was John Dalton? As Grace tries to identify the names on the list she realises something is wrong. She’s imagining things: seeing John in the faces of strangers and finding things in an entirely different place to where she’d swear she left them. Is Grace losing her grasp on reality, or is someone trying to stop her finding out the truth about her husband? A gripping psychological thriller that will have you questioning everything you think you know. If you enjoyed The Wife Between Us, The Girl on the Train or Behind Closed Doors, you’ll love this book! What readers are saying about Alex Sinclair: ‘I devoured this book in one sitting… What a bloody book! I had been wondering what the twist would be. Jesus!!! I am still reeling… I am in shock, I am not sure when I will be out of it. I sat in the car in a stunned silence and then for about five minutes kept saying What the hell!’ Zooloo’s Book Blog, 5 stars ‘I read this one in one go. From the first page I was hooked… I did not see this twist coming… I was thoroughly captivated.’ B For Bookreview, 5 stars ‘Wow… I was well and truly hooked! Easily could have finished it in one sitting. It was bloody brilliant… This is a must buy and must read… Outstanding.’ Between the Pages Book Club, 5 stars ‘Right from the beginning it had me hooked… Captivating… Genuinely gave me the chills, and yet I had to just keep reading one more page!… Be prepared to be reading into the early hours just to get it finished!’ Stardust Book Reviews ‘Utterly thrilling… Wow!... Completely unexpected. This was a true psychological thriller that kept me on my toes.’ Robin Loves Reading ‘Gripping, thrilling, thrilling!... I was so shocked… There is a huge revelation at the end that I DID NOT see coming… I loved it!... I was hooked from the start of this book... A great page turner of a book, that keeps you reading more and more late into the night.’ Books on the Shelf, 5 stars ‘Wow!! Hold on tight for this non-stop, hold-your-breath thriller!!... You will not know what hits you when you get to the end. Remember, keep breathing, I think I held my breath for the last 2 chapters.
The Forgotten Wife
Emma Robinson - 2020
Shelley ran a finger over the embossed lettering – Memories – pressed her lips tightly together, feeling her heart pounding in her chest… and opened it.When Shelley first met Greg, her life had been full of possibility. A whirlwind romance, a dream wedding, moving into their first house together, thinking about starting a family…But now it’s ten years since their wedding. Greg has gone. And there’s a room in the house where Shelley has shut a baby blanket away. In a box, under a bed, in a spare room, behind a door that she never opens. If it’s there, she can forget about it. Just like everything else in that room. Just like her other memories. Of a marriage that perhaps hadn’t been perfect. Of a life that hadn’t gone the way she had expected.She’s been managing to hide from her past. Every day she acts like everything is normal. Going to work and following a routine helps her pretend the bad stuff never happened.Until one day, everything changes. She sees the couple moving in next door, giggling as they walk up the path to their new home. The woman is pregnant. It’s like she has everything that Shelley has lost. But when Shelley properly meets Lara, she soon discovers she is in fact carrying a heartache to match Shelley’s own.As her friendship with Lara deepens, Shelley starts to wonder what might happen if she opens the box she’s hidden away. Will the secrets from her past – about what she lost, what she’s hiding from, and what she has been doing her best to forget – destroy her?
Two Wrongs: The twisty and addictive story about obsession, betrayal and regret
Rebecca Reid - 2021
It doesn't take long for Chloe to ditch her studies in favour of all-night parties at Zadie's huge house off campus.But when something goes badly wrong one night and Zadie disappears in the aftermath, Chloe knows she should have done more to help her friend. It's something she'll always regret.Fifteen years later, Chloe finally gets the chance to make it right. But in order to do so, she'll have to put everything at stake . . .