Book picks similar to
Belly of the Whale by Linda Merlino


fiction
mystery-crime-suspense
suspense
a-puka

The Glassblower's Apprentice


Peter Pezzelli - 2013
    Fabio Terranova is a brilliant dancer. Young, handsome, and enormously talented he is desperate to leave his little hometown in the mountains of central Italy. With dreams of one day making his mark on Broadway and Hollywood, he has made plans to travel to Milan to enter a dance competition he hopes will be his springboard to fame and fortune in America. All is set until the eve of his departure when a night of wild celebration with his friends ends in tragedy. Left broken in body and spirit, his dreams of dancing shattered by the events of that night, Fabio descends into bitter darkness. Fearing for her son, his mother, Liliana, makes a fateful decision. She sends Fabio across the ocean to live with her uncle, Rick Vitale, who runs a small glassmaking operation in a quaint New England village. Rick lives in solitude, his own reasons for abandoning Italy years earlier long shrouded in mystery. He takes Fabio in and sets about teaching him the art of glassblowing. Relentlessly driven, ever laboring by the searing heat of the furnace, Fabio learns to create dazzling works of glass. The endless hours of toil, however, provide him no solace and he remains tormented by the past, a past he can't bear to face. Now, with the days growing short and the darkness of winter closing in, it is up to Rick to show his nephew the way back to the light. But it is a long journey through the deepest chambers of the heart, one that Fabio must ultimately make on his own if he is to learn that the best days of his life may yet lie ahead...

Amsterdam Rampant


Neil Cocker - 2014
    The city had promised an escape from all of his problems back in Scotland. It was the perfect fresh start – well-paid job, luxury apartment in the canal district, sobriety and celibacy.But everything changed when he went on a blind date with an unhinged sexologist, and now the city’s dark side is closing in on him.To make matters more complicated, his old life is hurtling back towards him in the shape of a stag party – four nutters from his hometown in Scotland, including his future brother-in-law and the former school bully – will arrive in the city within hours.Over the course of one chaotic weekend, Fin McPhail will come face-to-face with all of his demons.Vividly cinematic, Amsterdam Rampant draws on a potent blend of modern culture (Pulp Fiction, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and the work of Donna Tartt and Iain Banks). A riotously entertaining novel exploring the neon shadows of Europe’s sin city, this 21st Century tale of sex, friendship, and coming to terms with the past will leave readers wanting more from Scotland’s newest literary star.

Chaos In The Blink Of An Eye: Part Six: The Sealing


Patrick Higgins - 2019
     In retaliation for their actions, Salvador Romanero orderedthree Muslims killed for every life they took, and a thousand Muslims for everypregnant woman killed. Islamic mosques, universities, and religious trainingcenters were set ablaze by fire. Anyone found inside those buildings wereordered outside then killed by firing squad. This was only the beginning... Soon after the attack, Air Force One was blown out of the sky,as part of a coordinated attempt to strip President Jefferson Danforth of hispower. Only the President wasn't on board the plane with the First Lady, whenan on board explosion brought the aircraft down in a field somewhere inKansas--it was one of the President's body doubles. Now living in hiding, as Vice President Everett Ashford wasabout to be sworn in as the next Commander-in-Chief, Jefferson Danforth wasdoing all he could to fulfill the promise he made to supply the End TimesSalvation Movement with all the resources they would need. Without them, survival would be impossible... But before Ashford could even take the oath to become America'snext President, a new wave of chaos rocked the nation, plunging much of thecountry into darkness. Soon after that, the situation took another tragic turnfor the worse, leaving the new President immobilized, and rendering the UnitedStates, and Jefferson Danforth, completely powerless. With America now ripe for the taking, Salvador Romanero's goalof achieving a one world economical and religious system was one huge stepcloser to being realized. But for his ultimate goal to come to fruition, whichwas nothing short of global worship, those who would never submit to him neededto be wiped off the face of the earth. With nearly a billion Muslims gone, it was time for Romanero toshift his focus onto born-again Christians. After them, the Jews would end upin his cross hairs... But knowing the Most High God would soon place His seal on theforeheads of His 144,000 chosen servants, and send them out to evangelize theworld for the One they were forbidden, as practicing Jews, from reading aboutall their lives--Yeshua HaMashiach--meant Romanero's desire for globaladoration would not come easy...  WARNING: Please be advised that this installment is quitegraphic at times, due to the fact that Christians are being imprisoned andtortured. But this should come as no surprise to all who profess faith inChrist Jesus. The persecuted Church has faced similar types of torture (andeven worse) from the days of Jesus until this present age, and will onlycontinue until Christ returns for His people...

Invisible Threads


Lucy Beresford - 2015
    Invisible Threads

What Happened to Rachel? (The Anglesey Murders Book 6)


Conrad Jones - 2020
    

West Texas Match


Ginger Chambers - 1996
     At eighty-one, Mae is the matriarch of the Parker family and is accustomed to bending everyone to her will. Everyone, that is, except her great-nephew, Rafe, who runs the huge family-owned operation and is equally as iron-willed. Rafe is not at all happy when he learns that his great-aunt has picked out a wife for him...and invited her, after a recent accident, to recuperate at the ranch. All his life he’s watched Mae manipulate people. He’ll be damned if he’ll fall in love on her order! The Parker Ranch, run by Parker sons and daughters since before The War Between the States. Tough, rugged, fiercely loyal...to each other and to the people they let into their hearts. The West Texans, a 7-book series.

Mississippi Blues


D'Ann Lindun - 2013
    Although Trey wanted to believe in his friend’s innocence, he was forced to testify in court, and Jace was sent to prison for life. Trey returns determined to prove he was right. Even if it means losing the woman he still loves. Summer Hill cannot forgive Trey, or his father, the chief of police, for the wrongs she feels they did to her family. When her brother escapes from Angola, Summer vows to keep her brother safe, no matter the cost. Falling back in love with Trey again isn’t an option.Now, five years later, the past begins to unravel. Reluctantly thrown together, Summer and Trey follow a twisted path that lead them to the truth—Jace didn’t kill anyone and an entire town’s ugly secret is unveiled. But more importantly, can Trey and Summer rediscover the love they lost?

Guarding Salvation


Maddie Wade - 2022
    Yet the deference and rules he has lived by his entire life feel like a straitjacket compared to the wild feeling in his heart that seeks freedom and the cool bite of purpose. When an incident with his family ends in his arrest, he feels his life is over—until a mysterious man offers him hope and a future he yearns for. With ten years of military service under his belt, he retires from the Army and takes his place in the Shadow Elite. With his life everything he ever wanted it to be he can’t understand the nagging doubt in his heart until he meets the wild Irish Mafia Princess who could be his destruction.Aoife Doyle grew up as the princess of her father’s Irish Mafia reign but when he offers her hand in marriage to a man she hates, to forge the bonds that will stabilise his power, she runs. Fleeing her life and everything she knows Aoife finds herself in a tiny Welsh town with no money or food. Taking a job at a local pub she begins to put her life back together and regain some of her hard-won control. When a sexy man with a deep brogue and eyes she could drown in walks into her pub, she knows she’s in trouble, their chemistry is off the charts and the heart wants what the heart wants.Just as Bram and Aoife are making a path for themselves the worst happens and the happiness they’d found is destroyed in a bloody carnage. Bram must now fight like never before to save the woman who makes him whole and holds his heart in her hands, but outside forces want only his death.Will they survive the fallout, and will the prince finally get his princess?

The Odd Fellows Society


C.G. Barrett - 2015
    First, historian Jasper Willoughs, his closest friend, didn’t toss himself off a dormitory roof. Second, a Georgetown University secret society—a running joke on campus—has blood on its hands. Torres’s pursuit of the truth embroils him in a bizarre and thrilling scavenger hunt. The clues, scratched out on parchment by the mysterious Odd Fellows Society, lead Santi to risk everything he holds sacred: his job, his life, even the woman he secretly loves. As for his relationship with his God? Well, that’s complicated. A hold-your-breath thriller that explores our national obsession with race, The Odd Fellows Society will have you looking at the U.S. capital—and its monuments’ secrets—in a whole different shade of black and white.

Guardian


A.L. Crouch - 2014
    Now she wants nothing more than to forget Saluda, North Carolina and the life she once had there. When she is called back to the sleepy, mountain town to reclaim her family home, Alex is forced to face her fears and the memories she has tried so desperately to suppress. When the same evil that claimed her family returns for Alex, she must learn to rely on her broken faith and the strength of her Guardian, Donovan, to survive. But there is a problem. Alex cannot see him. Donovan exists in a reality apart from Alex and her lack of belief limits their interactions to spoken words and fleeting glimpses. With her life staked on her faith, can Alex open her mind enough to see before it's too late?

Ride or Die


Solomon Jones - 2004
    Handsome, ambitious Jamal-a street-savvy crack dealer-is the son of North Philly's most notorious drug kingpin. A history of violence and betrayal lies between their fathers, who are now bitter enemies. After one of his church members is gunned down-with a bullet he is sure is meant for him-Pastor Anderson goes after Frank Nichols, determined to drive him from the neighborhood for good. There's just one problem: Keisha and Jamal are in love.When the families face off on opposite sides of an anti-drug demonstration, a high-ranking police official is killed in the crossfire, and Jamal becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Keisha is left with a choice. Will she stay with her father, in the confines of the sheltered world she's known, or will she venture into the unknown in order to help Jamal clear his name? She chooses Jamal, and in a whirlwind flight across the seamy underside of Philadelphia, Keisha will risk everything for love. Even her life.

Killing Time: Serial Killers Never Retire - They Just Go On Hiatus


Stephen Leather - 2021
    

No Way in Hell


J.B. Havens - 2021
    Those books have been combined into one and nothing has been added or removed from the story. ***Steel Corps—an elite, covert U.S. military team led by Staff Sergeant Bea ‘Mic’ Michaels, based out of a secure location in Pennsylvania.Trident Security—a private security agency located in Tampa, Florida, comprised of retired Navy SEALs.T. Carter—U.S. spy and assassin.What do they have in common? They all do Uncle Sam’s dirty work.How did they get started and how did their paths cross? Find out as they prepare to join forces to take down a domestic terrorist organization with one goal in mind—to destroy what these men and one woman will fight to the death to protect—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.No Way in Hell is a crossover novel uniting J.B. Haven’s Steel Corps Series and Samantha A. Cole’s Trident Security Series. While reading both series is not necessary prior to reading No Way in Hell, it is recommended for optimum enjoyment.*** Please note: While this is connected to the Trident Security series, it is not a romance. No Way in Hell contains scenes of graphic violence. ***

Pythagoras Falls


S.A. Ison - 2019
    Miles O’Connor knows a deadly secret and works at a black site in New Mexico. A lethal weapon, the Pythagoras Project, is in development. O’Connor is part of the team, but when he discovers the full range and plans for the weapon, O’Connor destroys his work and disappears. Phoenix, Lydia, Julian and Yuma are strangers, flying to see loved ones for Thanksgiving. In a terrifying moment, their plane falls from the sky and plunges to the ground, in the middle of a Montana forest. Grateful to have survived, they must find their way out of the forest when no one comes to rescue them. To their utter disbelief, the world has changed in a split second and they must fight to survive. What does O’Connor know that the rest of the world doesn’t? What happens when Pythagoras Falls?

Litany of woes


Deepti Sharma - 2020
    Nida is no different.Coming from a broken marriage, she dreams to spend her life in the arms of her lover. Reality, however, has other plans for her. As she goes through different phases in her life, she encounters various heart-wrenching experiences along the way; all in her journey to be a rebellious author. Turning to comfort in everyone she meets, trying to cope up with the betrayals of her most trusted friends, Nida understands what it means to be independent when it’s her against the world.From the late-night escapades with her boyfriend in the chills of Simla, to attending her mother’s marriage, to write about all the outrageous books, to adopting an orphan child; join Nida in Litany of Woes as she searches for love in all forms and to the realization that it is indeed just a word after all.