Book picks similar to
Bitter Sweet by Mason N. Forbes


mystery
prostitution
college
crime-mystery-thriller

Winter Trees


Kim Stokely - 2014
    Ginny struggles to make the holidays joyful for the residents, while still mourning the death of her fiancé. Edith and Frank decide it’s time for an intervention. The two conspire to play matchmaker between Ginny and Chester. The task isn’t an easy one. Ginny must find a way to let go of her grief and Chester’s past may stop any romance from growing. But the two matchmakers are nothing if not persistent. They’ve lived too long, and learned too much, to give up hope. They know that barren winter trees bloom again in the spring and everyone deserves a second chance at love. Semi-finalist Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel Contest 2010

The Cat Who... Omnibus 05 (Books 13,17,18): The Cat Who Moved a Mountain / The Cat Who Blew the Whistle / The Cat Who Said Cheese


Lilian Jackson Braun - 1994
    The owner, J. J. Hawkinfield, brought real estate development to the once peaceful Potatoes. But Hawkinfield paid a steep price for his enterprise: he was pushed off a cliff, apparently by an angry mountain dweller. Qwilleran, however, suspects the man is innocent - and Koko's antics have him convinced something's wrong. Qwill may be making a mountain out a molehill...but he's determined to find the truth. In The Cat Who Blew The Whistle, Moose County residents are excited about the opening of a new attraction: a restored steam locomotive. However, the excitement screeches to a halt when the train's owner disappears - along with millions of investor dollars. Puzzled and suspicious, Qwill tries to make a connection between the missing millionaire and a recent murder at a railroad tavern. Now, with the help of Koko and Yum Yum, he's about to prove that the police are on the wrong track... In The Cat Who Said Cheese, the approach of the Great Food Explo stirs up plenty of delicious activity in Moose County. There's nothing as tasty as a morsel of gossip, so when a mysterious woman moves into the New Pickax Hotel, the locals indulge in heaps of speculation. And after a bomb explodes in her room, and kills the hotel housekeeper, Qwilleran, Koko, and Yum Yum have to put aside the treats and figure out who cooked up this murderous recipe.

Not a Whisper


Donna B. McNicol - 2013
    She thought her biggest issue would be adapting to life in the middle of a National Forest, so very different from her upbringing in the deserts of Arizona.But that was before she met State Trooper Fire Marshall Jamison "Jazz" Maddox at the scene of a mysterious fire. As they both become acquainted with the close-knit Klondike residents, things get complicated as Cherie and Jazz find themselves in the middle of a local crime wave where arson, kidnapping, embezzlement and a decades old murder are just the tip of the iceberg.Be sure get your free copy of the Klondike Kompanion from the author's website and read the "Meet the Characters" interviews

It Ends With You


S.K. Wright - 2019
    Beautiful, bright, fun, generous - she's perfect.So when her dead body is found in a ditch in the local woods the only thing anyone wants to know is: Who could have done this?It has to be Luke, her boyfriend. He has the motive, the means, the opportunity and he's no stranger to the police.Even though the picture is incomplete, the pieces fit. But as time passes, stories change.Told from six narrative strands, this cleverly woven and utterly compulsive novel challenges preconceptions; makes you second, third and fourth guess yourself; and holds an uncomfortable mirror up to the way societies and systems treat those they perceive to be on the outside.

Chancing Hope


Lisa Slater - 2018
    If only Kerwyn could apply those same qualities to his relationship with the vibrant Mable Conner, who just happens to be his long-time childhood best friend. Haunted by the pain his father endures at the loss of his mother, Kerwyn feels determined to not make the same mistakes. He decided to set her free a long time ago, but can he? Should he? Mable Conner has big dreams, but growing up is hard, and life is demanding big changes. Desperately in love with her best friend, Kerwyn, how does she get him to sees her as the woman she is becoming, and not the little girl he grew up with? Also, wants to be a singer more than anything, and she’s got the voice and spirit to make it happen. With the right opportunity, anything could happen. But would leaving to sing mean leaving Kerwyn? Does he even care if she stays or goes? When mysterious, loner Devin Hill, begins interfering, the changes quickly become an eerily, unstoppable force. To Kerwyn, Devin could be a dangerous threat. To Mable, Devin could be an opportunity. The changes they encounter may not be what either of them had expected. They both may just be left to Chancing Hope. Max Van Zile, editor with Editing for Authors, writes about Chancing Hope, “Chancing Hope is one of my favorite books I’ve done working for this company.” Regarding a miscreant character, Mr. Van Zile writes, “He ends up becoming the single best and most memorable villain in any Editing for Authors book I’ve worked on.” Chancing Hope is a very coming of age, heart felt novel with emotional twists.

#scandal


Sarah Ockler - 2014
    The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation. Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love...

My Creative Billionaire 1


Ali Parker - 2016
    even when you don't want to. Matt's always known what it was like to live on the high end of society, and where his brother and father love it... he hates it. A creative at heart, he's forced into the world of Accounting to help stand beside the family name and build an empire from the ground up. His true passion is art, life and love. Erica is the Chief Advertising Officer for Bryant Accounting Firm and has had her eye on the CEO's son, Matthew for quite some time. He's a bit docile in public, and often plays the fool, but something tells her that a very different man exists just beneath the surface. She's willing to wager her career by taking Matt beneath her wing, and hopefully to her bed. ** This is book 1 in a series. There is a cliffhanger, and book two will be out in 3 months, as will each subsequent novel. + 18 due to strong language, explicit sexual content and possible violence.

Keep Her Safe


K.A. Tucker - 2018
    But all that changes the night she reveals a skeleton that's been rattling in her closet for years, and succumbs to the guilt of destroying an innocent family's life. Reeling with grief, Noah is forced to carry the burden of this shocking secret.Gracie Richards wasn't born in a trailer park, but after fourteen years of learning how to survive in The Hollow, it's all she knows anymore. At least here people don't care that her dad was a corrupt Austin cop, murdered in a drug deal gone wrong. Here, she and her mother are just another family struggling to survive...until a man who clearly doesn't belong shows up on her doorstep.Despite their differences, Noah and Gracie are searching for answers to the same questions, and together, they set out to uncover the truth about the Austin Police Department's dark and messy past. But the scandal that emerges is bigger than they bargained for, and goes far higher up than they ever imagined.Complex, gritty, and thrilling, Keep Her Safe solidifies K.A. Tucker's reputation as one of today's most talented new voices in suspense.

The River Widow


Ann Howard Creel - 2018
    Essentially trapped, Adah must plan an escape.But when she develops feelings for the one person essential to her plan’s success, she faces a painful choice: Will she choose to risk everything saving Daisy or take the new life offered by a loving man?

The Last Second: A Novella


Robin Burcell - 2013
    In a small Arizona border town, gunrunning and drug trafficking into Mexico are a part of the landscape—but not when they're orchestrated by an officer in uniform. At least that's the story told to agents Griffin and Fitzpatrick.But the dirty cop is now missing, and his sister says he's innocent, a victim of a corrupt police department. She is convinced they set him up to take the fall, then killed him, and she can prove it—with help from a highly unusual witness. Suddenly an open-and-shut case seems anything but, and the clock is ticking as Griffin and Fitzpatrick take on an entire police department in a deadly match that could go up in smoke at the last second.

Reckless Hearts


Lucy Lambert - 2015
    My parents didn't have the right kind of jobs or the right kind of house. And, at university, I was also the girl who ruined the curve by being at the top of the class. The rich kids hated me, and I hated them. A chip on my shoulder? Yeah, that's a nice way of putting it. Then the richest of the rich - the enigmatic billionaire "Mr. X" - arrived on campus to give a speech. And I couldn't keep my big mouth shut. Strangely enough, Mr. X took an interest in me. Soon I realized that there was another side to the reckless billionaire. Something beyond his impulsive business moves and fast cars. There was... Owen. Owen, the kind man who saved stray dogs from the side of the road, the man who planted a tree for every one that his company chopped down. The more I spent time with him, the more I realized that I loved him. They say that you're your own worst enemy, and I've always been one to play by the rules. This time, though, my heart pushed me into a mess I didn't know how to escape from. Could I let myself fall in love with Mr. X, even if it meant I had to break every rule in the book to get him?

Namaste: The Whole Story


Sean Platt - 2013
    Death Comes From Without. Amit is a member of the order of shadow monks, his every waking moment is spent training his body and mind to the peak of human ability - and beyond. But the order is pacifist, a repository for deadly weapons with their safeties permanently set to "on." Until everything is taken from him, and Amit decides that turning the other cheek is no longer an option. Now, every ounce of his training will be put to the test. His epic quest for revenge will see wrongs righted - or see Amit forgotten in an unmarked grave. Namaste includes Prelude, as well as the rest of the adventure. Join Amit as he chases Nisha's killer from boss to boss, all the way to the last place he ever expected. He will fight, and die if he must. What will be, will be. It's a Zen thing. ˃˃˃ Readers Love Realm & Sands. Here's What They're Saying About Namaste "Having read just about everything that these guys have written (separately and together), I absolutely loved it! Suspense, mystery, mysticism, monks, murder, love, fear, blood, revenge...just about anything you could imagine (all crammed into this one episode!). I'm still trying to wrap my brain around Amit. Do I love him? Do I hate him? Is he justified in his actions or a man gone over the edge? Knowing Sean and Johnny, no matter what I decide, they'll blow it out of the water! Can't wait to read more. Well done guys!""Screw these guys. I have things to do but I decided to load this just to check out a serial on kindle and now I'm hooked. My dogs need to be fed, I need to change the oil in my car and I'm not sure where my infant son is. But I know where I'll be for the foreseeable future: sitting on my ass reading the sequels.""Sean Platt, Johnny Truant, and David Wright are masters of their craft. They excel at taking all that is good and fun from episodic t.v. and monthly comics and crafting well written stories. Namaste is no exception. A tale of love, loss, and vengeance with their special skewed vision. Like the Punisher main character Amit is almost instantly likable and even before you learn his reasoning you know that he is justified in his pursuit. Like all of the authors books I look forward to the continuing adventures of Amit.""In Namaste, Platt and Truant deftly sketch out the background, setting, and characters of their latest serial with minimal description and brief snatches of dialog, keeping the action at a fever pitch in a high-intensity Hong Kong cinema style thriller. Punctuated by scenes of graphic violence, the experiment in non-linear storytelling is effective for this short action-oriented installment. Over the course of a longer story, the back-and-forth narrative flow might grow tedious or confusing, but here the approach lends a filmic flair to the introduction of "a pacifist monk on a rampage." Fans of Chow Yun Fat or John Woo films looking for a literary equivalent should appreciate this latest Platt & Truant effort." ˃˃˃ WARNING: Namaste is the most violent thing Realm & Sands has so far written. An Unlikely Tale of Vengeance Like Nothing You've Read!

The Innocent Wife


Amy Lloyd - 2018
    You Trust Him. So Why Are You So Scared?Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was arrested and imprisoned for the brutal murder of a young girl. Now he’s the subject of a true-crime documentary that’s whipping up a frenzy online to uncover the truth and free a man who has been wrongly convicted.A thousand miles away in England, Samantha is obsessed with Dennis’s case. She exchanges letters with him, and is quickly won over by his apparent charm and kindness to her. Soon she has left her old life behind to marry him and campaign for his release.When the campaign is successful and Dennis is freed, however, Sam begins to discover new details that suggest he may not be quite so innocent after all. But how do you confront your husband when you don’t want to know the truth?

Mick Abruzzo: The Second Wire


Nancy Martin - 2014
    But when his family needs him, Mick feels obligated to help. This time, it's his presumed-dead brother, Little Frankie Abruzzo, who needs help getting out from under a pushy bookie. But the simple job of getting Frankie out of debt soon escalates into bad business that threatens the life Mick wants with his lover, Nora Blackbird.

Asylum


Kristen Selleck - 2011
    These crumbling castles all share a common appearance and history. They inspire curiosity, fear, and even a few urban legends.Chloe Adams came to Birch Harbor, a small college town in the U.P., to escape the stigma of mental illness. Her new roommate Sam Klingeman, came to drink her weight in vodka and find a hot guy with a trust fund. Between Chloe's developing relationship with campus hockey hero and floor RA, Seth Maird, trying to be the voice of moderation for Sam, and her new position as teacher's assistant for the eccentric Dr. Willard, she's stayed busy enough to keep the past firmly behind her.But the voices return...and this time, she's not the only one that can hear them.The beautiful old dormitory she lives in is hiding a secret. A secret that will uncover a dark plot 200 years in the making. Will Chloe be able to hold onto the new life she's worked so hard to build, will she relapse into a world of her own making, or will she, perhaps, fulfill the legacy she was born into?