Book picks similar to
The Trouble Boys by E.R. Fallon
abandoned
crime-thriller-psychological
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If You Must Know
Jamie Beck - 2020
Amanda follows the rules—at the school where she works; in her community; and as a picture-perfect daughter, wife, and mother-to-be. Erin follows her heart—in love and otherwise—living a bohemian lifestyle on a shoestring budget and honoring her late father’s memory with a passion for music and her fledgling bath-products business.The sisters are content leading separate but happy lives in their hometown of Potomac Point until everything is upended by lies that force them to confront unsettling truths about their family, themselves, and each other. For sisters as different as these two, building trust doesn’t come easily—especially with one secret still between them—but it may be the only way to save their family.
The Girl From the Workhouse
Lynn Johnson - 2020
Ginnie Jones’s childhood is spent in the shadow of the famous Potteries, living with her mother, father and older sister Mabel. But with Father’s eyesight failing, money is in short supply, and too often the family find their bellies aching with hunger. With no hope in sight, Ginnie is sent to Haddon Workhouse.Separated from everything she has known, Ginnie has to grow up fast, earning her keep by looking after the other children with no families of their own. When she meets Clara and Sam, she hopes that she has made friends for life… until tragedy strikes, snatching away her newfound happiness.Leaving Haddon three years later, Ginnie finds work as a mouldrunner at the Potteries, but never stops thinking about her friends in the workhouse – especially Sam, now a caring, handsome young man. When Sam and Ginnie are reunited, their bond is as strong as ever – until Sam is sent to fight in WW1. Faced with uncertainty, can Ginnie find the joy that she’s never had? Or will her heart be broken once again?An emotional, uplifting and nostalgic family saga that will make you smile, while tugging on your heart-strings. Fans of Sheila Newbury, Kitty Neale and Sheila Riley will love this beautiful read.
Leaving the Pink House
Ladette Randolph - 2014
From the isolated farmhouse of her childhood, to the series of houses her family occupied in small towns across Nebraska as her father pursued his dream of becoming a minister, to the equally small houses she lived in as a single mother and graduate student, houses have shaped her understanding of her place in the world and served as touchstones for a life marked by both constancy and endless cycles of change. On September 12, 2001, Randolph and her husband bought a dilapidated farmhouse on twenty acres outside Lincoln, Nebraska, and set about gutting and rebuilding the house themselves. They had nine months to complete the work. The project, undertaken at a time of national unrest and uncertainty, led Randolph to reflect on the houses of her past and the stages of her life that played out in each, both painful and joyful. As the couple struggles to bring the dilapidated house back to life, Randolph simultaneously traces the contours of a life deeply shaped by the Nebraska plains, where her family has lived for generations, and how those roots helped her find the strength to overcome devastating losses as a young adult. Weaving together strands of departures and arrivals, new houses and deep roots, cycles of change and the cycles of the seasons, Leaving the Pink House is a richly layered and compelling memoir of the meaning of home and family, and how they can never really leave us, even if we leave them.
The School Run
Helen Whitaker - 2019
Two daughters. One school place.
Imogen and Lily are old friends - they've shared hangovers, unsuitable boyfriends and wild nights out together. But now they're mums, and their partying days are behind them. When a place comes up at one of the best primary schools in the area, both women want it for their daughters. From faking religious beliefs to bogus break-ups, Imogen and Lily will go to any lengths to secure the perfect school for their children - and so will all the other mothers.Will their friendship survive the strain? Will their marriages take the pressure? And when a sexy new vicar arrives on the scene, will the mothers' keep focus for long enough to keep their eyes on the prize?
His First Wife's Secret
Emma Robinson - 2021
‘I can’t do this on my own,’ Emily sobbed. ‘I don’t know how.’When Emily’s husband dies in a terrible accident, she’s not the only wife he leaves behind.Because, before their whirlwind romance and Emily’s discovery she was pregnant, Pete had been married to Caroline for more than twenty years. A devastating tragedy had torn them apart. But there was a part of Pete that had never fully left his first wife and a secret that would bind them together, forever.Finding herself lonely, heartbroken, and forced to face life and motherhood alone – Emily is surprised that Caroline offers her support. But Emily knows she needs someone she can trust and rely on. Even if it’s the woman her husband loved before her.A tentative friendship develops and their lives become entwined. Their bond grows ever stronger as Caroline steps in to help when Emily’s baby arrives unexpectedly early. But it’s not just Caroline hiding a secret. Both of the women who once loved Pete have things they can never admit, without risking a friendship that might be the only thing keeping them both afloat.When grief begins to takes its toll on Emily, she feels sure that Caroline is the only person who can save her and baby Dylan… But should she trust the woman he loved before her – with her life… Or her child’s?An utterly devastating, but ultimately uplifting, emotional women’s fiction novel about friendship, motherhood and loss. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Susan Lewis and Jojo Moyes.
Cotton Field Dreams
S.E. Gilchrist - 2018
But when she meets local single dad, Cole, she can't help but be drawn to his warmth and his humour, and his two engaging children. Cole says and does all the right things, and Sasha finds herself falling, but will all of her secrets destroy the relationship before it has a chance to begin?Mindalby, a small town, a community, a home. But when the mill that supports the local cotton farmers and employs many of the town's residents closes unexpectedly, old tensions are exposed and new rifts develop. Everyone is affected and some react better than others, but one thing is certain: living on the edge of the outback means they have to survive together, or let their town die.
Hazzard Blue
Tabitha A. Lane - 2015
Hunt, Eyes Wide Shut?” Kathryn Hazzard needs a miracle if she's going to pay her huge tax bill and urgently repair Hazzard Hall’s leaking roof - inheriting the family stately home isn't the rose garden it’s cracked up to be. When salvation turns up on her doorstep in the form of gorgeous Daniel Hunt, can she risk her reputation by letting him use her beloved home as the venue for his high class and outrageous sex party? It's tempting. But then lots of things are tempting, aren't they? It doesn't mean they're good for you. Just ask Eve about that apple… HAZZARD BLUE IS AN EROTIC ROMANCE WITH NO CLIFFHANGER!
The Privileged
Emily Hourican - 2016
They choose the same university, and through smoke-filled nights, lectures, sexual encounters and first loves, their bond deepens: a friendship which seems like it will last for evermore.But then, at an end-of-year party, something happens which changes everything ... Afterwards, they drift apart. Now Stella, a lawyer in New York, lives for her work; Laura, a struggling journalist in Dublin, is still waiting for the scoop to kick-start her career; while Amanda, broken and beautiful, lives a life of slow decay in London. Then the phone call comes which brings them back together, to the friendship they swore would last, and the night when it all went wrong. The Privileged is a haunting tale of friendship, loyalty and how one decision, one night, can decide the future.
Portrait of Stella
Susan Wüthrich - 2014
Jemima Ashton is desperate to discover her real identity. With scant information and the burning question 'who am I?', she embarks on an incredible journey of detection. On learning of her late mother Stella's disappearance during WWII, she retraces her footsteps across the globe and at a distant vineyard, unearths a family she had no idea existed. While treading a path of narrow-minded bigotry, scandalous revelations emerge of two families inextricably linked by one woman and the drastic steps they took to hide the truth. ‘A powerful story of love and loss spanning two generations’ Frances di Plino - author of the Paolo Storey Crime Series
Truth Insurrected: The Saint Mary Project
Daniel P. Douglas - 2014
His informant turns out to be a guilt-ridden ex-operative in the Saint Mary Project, an ultra-secret program engaged in alien contact. The organization is wiping out loose ends, and Echo Tango thinks Harrison is the man he needs to stop it. Thanks to a gunshot wound suffered in an attempt to thwart an armed robbery, the crime-fighting life is something of Harrison’s past. He keeps his shooting skills sharp but walks with a limp, and he is more likely to catch marital cheaters than anything else—as a private investigator. But Harrison can’t shake the feeling that this case is meant for him. He enlists the help of colleagues and starts following the clues. However, hired guns stand between them and the truth. There are also alien-human hybrids to contend with, but that’s not all. Harrison’s investigation turns up a powerful secret about him and his family—a secret that may just be what lets him end these unimaginable crimes. Will Harrison discover and reveal the truth? Find out in Daniel P. Douglas’s thrilling UFO conspiracy novel Truth Insurrected: The Saint Mary Project.
An Honest Deceit
Guy Mankowski - 2016
If I have a criticism to make is that I wish the book were longer. A book of outstanding quality.' Daniela Quaglia, Huffington Post'This novel would satisfy even the most discerning reader. I was hooked. I loved it.' Ruth Dugdall, bestselling author of The Sacrificial Man and Nowhere Girl'A mesmerising observation of speaking truth to power. I finished it in one night.' Hanna Jameson, CWA shortlisted writer and author of Something You Are and Girl SevenBlurb-When Ben and Juliette's young daughter dies in a tragic accident on a school trip, they begin searching for answers. But will they ever know the truth? What was the role of the teacher on the trip - and are the rumours about his past true? As Ben and Juliette search for the truth and the pressure rises, their own secrets and motivations are revealed.... An Honest Deceit is an intelligent and gripping contemporary psychological thriller that questions not just the motives of others, but the real reasons for discovering the truth.
The A to Z of Us
Hannah Doyle - 2021
She’s never had a serious relationship herself and after supporting her best friend through a devastating break-up, she’s not about to let down her barriers anytime soon. Relationships always end badly.Zach is a romantic. Even after his parents got divorced, he still believed in love and is eager to settle down and have a family of his own. He just hasn’t met The One yet.After a chance meet-cute at an art gallery, Zach is immediately intrigued by Alice and realising their names bookend the alphabet suggests that their next date needs to begin with a B. Alice agrees to one date while Zach is determined to make her believe in love. But can love ever be as easy as abc?A fun and feel-good romantic comedy with dating as you’ve never seen it before, for anyone who’s missed Happy Hour drink dates and meet-cutes in real life. Fans of Sophie Cousens, Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Ranald won’t be able to put down this heart-warming page-turner.
Be(loved): Poetry and Prose for the Journey Home
Dakota Adan - 2020
Hailed as “an essential book for those seeking self-love,” this heartfelt anthology lends voice to the heartbreak and healing of our soul’s quest to reunite with whom we always hoped we could be—ourselves.
Widow's Island
L.A. Larkin - 2021
And they’re coming to find you…Stephanie Miller is an average working mom. She isn’t perfect, but when her war hero husband dies and her work as a scientist puts her in news headlines, her past laid bare for all to see, she’s determined to make a new life for herself and teenage daughter, Amy. But she fears it’s only a matter of time before the biggest mistake of her life is revealed.As Stephanie and Amy take refuge on a remote island in Washington, it feels like they’re learning how to live again. But then they come home to graffiti on their garage door, there’s no escaping the hate online, and Stephanie is sure someone is watching from the shadows outside their house.When someone close to Stephanie is murdered in cold blood, she knows her worst fears have come true. Someone knows the truth. And she must become the fighter her husband always knew her to be if she is to protect her daughter, and everything left in the world that she loves.An absolutely nail-biting thriller from bestselling author, L.A. Larkin. Perfect for fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan and Gregg Olsen. An addictive, unputdownable, up-all-night read.
From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA
Pete Croatto - 2020
Far beyond simply being a sports league, the NBA has become an entertainment and pop culture juggernaut. From all kinds of team logo merchandise to officially branded video games and players crossing over into reality television, film, fashion lines, and more, there is an inseparable line between sports and entertainment. But only four decades ago, this would have been unthinkable. Featuring writing that leaps off the page with energy and wit, journalist and basketball fan Pete Croatto takes us behind the scenes to the meetings that lead to the monumental American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, revolutionizing the NBA’s image. He pays homage to legendary talents including Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan and reveals how two polar-opposite rookies, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, led game attendance to skyrocket and racial lines to dissolve. Croatto also dives into CBS’s personality-driven coverage of key players, as well as other cable television efforts, which launched NBA players into unprecedented celebrity status. Essential reading whether you’re a casual or longtime fan, From Hang Time to Prime Time is an enthralling and entertaining celebration of basketball history.