Book picks similar to
Killer Instinct: A Lesbian Thriller by Barbara Winkes
mystery
lesbian
thriller
lgbt
Sins of Our Fathers
A. Rose Mathieu - 2017
Her propensity for bending the law, as well as uttering a few choice phrases, makes her pairing with a Catholic priest to investigate the case of a simple man with an IQ of a child, who confessed to a brutal killing, a challenge. But solving a gruesome murder is not even her greatest trial—it’s her growing attraction to sexy but cranky Detective Grace Donovan who is hell-bent on keeping her client in prison. While chasing a mystery that found its way from the concentration camps of WWII to an abandoned Catholic school, Elizabeth and Grace struggle to set personal boundaries, as their relationship slowly evolves from one of hostility to indifference, to something neither wishes to define.
The Fifth Gospel
Michelle Grubb - 2016
A shocking discovery and dark secrets. Is the leader of the Catholic Church hiding something that could change the world? Investigative journalist Flic Bastone overhears a startling conversation she can’t ignore. There is no proof, nor does she want any. Poking into Vatican affairs is dangerous. Aware that the secret could soon be exposed to the world, Flic hastily pens a novel that shares alarming similarities to the uncovered truth. Eager to capitalize on what they recognize as a best seller, Griffin Publishers fast-tracks the novel to print, propelling marketing guru Anna Lawrence and Flic on a grueling promotional tour. Pushed closer together when attempts are made on Flic’s life, their growing attraction intensifies. Who’s targeting Flic? And will Anna move beyond her own religious beliefs while their worlds fall apart?
Madeleine
Emma Nichols - 2018
Claudette isn’t like other young French women. As their lives collide, Madeleine and Claude will discover a depth of connection and desire they never knew could exist. Can their love flourish in post-WW2 France or will their past derail their future? If you like your novels with strong leading ladies, smouldering chemistry and an epic love story that twists and turns, then you’ll love Emma Nichol’s latest lesbian romance.
The Love Project
T.B. Markinson - 2021
The once successful advice column she runs with her mother is on the brink of cancellation, and it’ll take a miracle to turn things around. Joni’s last-ditch effort to save her job and preserve her mother’s legacy is The Love Project, a web series she’s developing to bring the Help Me Henrietta franchise alive for a new generation. All she needs is a willing victim…er, star.Hope Alvarez dreams of falling in love, but she’s always suspected she’s different. Physical attraction is a foreign language to her. After her only prospect for a meaningful relationship falls through, Hope has to face the fact that she’s completely hopeless when it comes to love. Can her favorite advice columnist, Henrietta, save her from a lonely future?As the series gets underway, fans swoon for the lovable yet unlucky Hope, and they’re not the only ones. Joni is smitten, too. But she’s been down that road before, vowing never again to fall for a straight woman who will keep her forever in the friend zone. Except, what if she’s been reading the situation all wrong? Helping Hope make sense of her identity might save Joni’s job, but will it also bring her love?
Ladyfish
Andrea Bramhall - 2012
Coerced into picking up a new trainee from the airport, Oz has no idea that her life is about to change in every imaginable way.Daniela Finnsbury-Sterling, Finn to her friends, is trying to break away from an overbearing father, a man intent on making her life fit his plans. Desperate to make her own way, she escapes to Florida to train as a diving instructor. She knows it won’t be easy. She knows her father will do anything he can to force her back into line. Unfortunately, she has no idea exactly what anything will be!
Casting Lacey
Elle Spencer - 2017
At least that’s how the hyper-private Quinn Kincaid sees it. When her publicist suggests a good old-fashioned sham of a Hollywood relationship, Quinn reluctantly agrees. And that’s how the star of Jordan’s Appeal, TV’s highest rated legal drama, ends up with a fake girlfriend – the very real, very sexy and very gay soap star, Lacey Matthews. In Casting Lacey, Elle Spencer gives us a hilarious new take on a classic storyline, complete with nosy mothers, fawning assistants and two beautiful actresses who might learn about true love. If they don’t kill each other first. 110,000 words
Jericho
Ann McMan - 2010
Her plans to hide out and heal her wounds go by the wayside as she gets drawn into the daily lives of the quirky locals and becomes fast friends with Maddie Stevenson, the enigmatic physician who has returned to the backcountry community to take over her late father’s medical practice.Ann McMan weaves a story of life and love in the beautiful mountains of Virginia.
A Matter of Blood
Catherine Maiorisi - 2018
But when she’s ordered to kill to prove her loyalty, she aborts the operation without having identified the leaders. Now, Corelli is the one exposed. With her brothers and sisters in blue ostracizing her, can she trust Detective P.J. Parker to watch her back?Parker is the daughter of a vehement critic of the NYPD. But that doesn’t stop her from wanting to work in the homicide division. And wanting to learn from the best. Unfortunately, Chiara Corelli is the best…even if she is the most hated detective in the department.Without Parker, Corelli will be condemned to desk duty. Corelli is Parker’s only chance to work in homicide. Will the two women put aside their fears and join forces to solve a brutal murder and identify the leaders of the dirty cops before they get to Corelli’s family?Editor: Ann RobertsCover Designer: Judith FellowsGenre: Mystery
The Girls From Alcyone
Cary Caffrey - 2011
Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations. Known only to Kimura, the two girls share startling secret—a rare genetic structure not found in tens of millions of other girls.But when their secret becomes known, Sigrid and Suko quickly find themselves at the center of a struggle for power. Now, hunted by men who would seek to control them, Sigrid and Suko are forced to fight for their own survival, and for the freedom of the girls from Alcyone.
Telling Lies Online
Miranda MacLeod - 2016
Tired of her impulsive streak leaving her heartbroken, she's determined to do everything right the next time she's in love. But her resolve crumbles when a technical glitch matches her with perfection in Claire, a woman who lives on the opposite side of the country. Who is straight. And under the impression that Jamie's a guy. But Jamie can't help being smitten. Would one tiny lie be so terrible if it gets her closer to the woman of her dreams?Claire Flores is a dreamer and a believer in signs, but she has a secret that keeps her cautious about love. All she wants is a picture-perfect family of her own, but she's never met a man who attracts her. Until now. Throwing caution to the wind, she goes from Portland to Boston to meet Jay, her online love. Instead she meets Jamie, his work colleague, who befriends her in Jay's unexpected absence. Claire's heart is aflutter. Jamie stirs up feelings Claire never knew possible, but how close can she get without having to admit that she's been lying to herself about her dreams all along?What starts as a simple fib soon snowballs as Jamie fabricates increasingly ridiculous tales to keep her identity as Jay under wraps, until a comedy of errors threatens to topple the whole charade to the ground. Can true love prevail when it's founded on a lie?
Last Salute
Tracey Richardson - 2013
Numb with grief, she buries her sister but not her rage.Among the mourners is Trish Tomlinson, who loved Laura long ago and has found the news of Laura’s death sharply painful. She remembers Pam as an unwelcome third wheel, but now finds comfort in the company of the young medical resident, and in the details of Laura’s journal that Pam shares.Brought together by grief, something more grows. Guilt and anger cloud their feelings and jeopardize any chance at a future. How can love blossom in the shadow of death?
Desperate Times
Hildred Billings - 2018
When the two tough butches meet at a small town bar, they think they're getting the femmes of their dreams. So begins the awkward - yet sordid - acquaintance of the only two lesbians in town. Local rancher Tess doesn't have time for women who aren't her type, and new-girl-in-town Sidney isn't interested in someone who only sees her as a piece of fresh meat.
Yet they keep bumping into each other... is it fate, or just small town karma?
A bad date turns into a one-night stand. A one-night stand turns into a casual relationship. A casual relationship becomes Sidney's greatest amusement, and Tess's biggest nightmare as she's slowly forced out of the closet in conservative River Rock. Desperate times are afoot in the sleepy, gossipy hamlet of rural America. It's going to take more than nerves of steel to survive the isolationism and people with nothing better to do than ruin their neighbors' lives. It's going to take a whole lotta introspection - and love. (And no-holds-barred carnality. Let's be real.)
Bad Girl Love
Cynthia Dane - 2018
They don't even know about her ex-girlfriends or her fake IDs.But it's that fake ID that leads her to the hottest club in the city. While her friends tear up the dancefloor, however, Audrey meets the foil to her suppressed desires and curiosity.Dylan. The resident bad girl with an affinity for good girls like Audrey.What begins as a torrid fling soon transforms into something that opens Audrey's eyes to the life she's always wanted. The longer she's with Dylan, the more she realizes the sources of her suffocation. A toxic family. Airheaded friends. Caring for nothing but the trappings of wealth.
"A bad girl is someone who refuses to accept the status quo."
Dylan has dated her fair share of heiresses, but Audrey is the first one to make her believe in a chance at love.Yet it's not easy to give over to someone like Audrey. She represents everything Dylan has spent her whole life rejecting, for she knows all too well what it's like to be forced into the good girl role.And her past is constantly threatening to ruin everything she's built for herself since her darkest days.
"Good girls don't go bad. They save themselves."
The fatalistic love that haunts both Dylan and Audrey will last the summer. After that? Someone will have to give up the only life they've ever known.Easier said than done.Please note that this book contains examples of transphobia and growing up in an abusive cult.
Survival Instincts
May Dawney - 2018
Wild animals roam the streets, but mankind is still the biggest threat to a woman alone in the ruins of a world reclaimed by nature. Lynn survives by sleeping with one eye open at all times and trusting no one but her dog.When she is forced to go on a dangerous journey through the concrete jungle of New York City, Lynn does all she can to scheme her way to safety. Her guard, Dani Wilson, won’t be played that easily, however. As their lives become entwined, Lynn finds herself developing feelings for Dani and is forced to find the answer to the question that scares her most: is staying alone really the best way to survive?Fast-paced and full of adventure, Survival Instincts introduces a post-war dystopian world where the only person you can rely on is yourself…unless you fall in love.133,000 wordsThemes: adventure · dystopian · post-apocalyptic · survival · trust