Book picks similar to
Split Image by Judy Mercer
mystery
kelly
romance
thriller
The Sleeping Doll
Jeffery Deaver - 2007
Pell is serving a life sentence for the brutal murders of the wealthy Croyton family in Carmel years earlier -- a crime mirroring those perpetrated by Charles Manson in the 1960s. But Pell and his cult members were sloppy: Not only were they apprehended, they even left behind a survivor -- the youngest of the Croyton daughters, who, because she was in bed hidden by her toys that terrible night, was dubbed the Sleeping Doll.But the girl never spoke about that night, nor did the crime's mastermind. Indeed, Pell has long been both reticent and unrepentant about the crime. And so with the murderer transported from the Capitola superprison to an interrogation room in the Monterey County Courthouse, Dance sees an opportunity to pry a confession from him for the recent murder -- and to learn more about the depraved mind of this career criminal who considers himself a master of control, a dark Svengali, forcing people to do what they otherwise would never conceive of doing. In an electrifying psychological jousting match, Dance calls up all her skills as an interrogator and kinesics -- body language -- expert to get to the truth behind Daniel Pell.But when Dance's plan goes terribly wrong and Pell escapes, leaving behind a trail of dead and injured, she finds herself in charge of her first-ever manhunt. But far from simply fleeing, Pell turns on his pursuers --and other innocents -- for reasons Dance and her colleagues can't discern. As the idyllic Monterey Peninsula is paralyzed by the elusive killer, Dance turns to the past to find the truth about what Daniel Pell is really up to. She tracks down the now teenage Sleeping Doll to learn what really happened that night, and she arranges a reunion of three women who were in his cult at the time of the killings. The lies of the past and the evasions of the present boil up under the relentless probing of Kathryn Dance, but will the truth about Daniel Pell emerge in time to stop him from killing again?
The First Lady
James Patterson - 2018
has gone rogue."President Tucker is caught up in a media firestorm. The scandal of his affair has sent shockwaves through his re-election campaign, and threatens to derail everything he has worked for. To win the vote, he needs the First Lady to stand by his side.But Grace Tucker has a mind of her own.After years of compromise, unfulfilled promises, deception and betrayal, Grace refuses to give in to her husband's demands. Escaping the city and her Secret Service agents, she is officially off the radar.But did the First Lady run away? Or is she in far greater danger than anyone could have imagined?
The Final Judgment
Richard North Patterson - 1995
His distraught girlfriend is the prime suspect. Her aunt, Caroline Masters, about to take up a top job in the US Court of Appeals, decides to defend the young woman in the murder trial. But this will be Caroline's first contact with her family in almost twenty years, and as she prepares the case and goes through the trial, long forgotten secrets re-surface, putting Caroline against not only the police and prosecution, but also against her father (a retired judge), her sister and the memory of her young self when she, too, lost a boyfriend in suspicious circumstances. The Final Judgement is a powerful, poignant, page-turning legal thriller that confirms Richard North Patterson as among the very best writers in the bookselling area.
The Sky is Falling
Sidney Sheldon - 2000
Like Chicken Little and the sky falling, she chases clues across the world to unravel an international conspiracy. The inheritance goes to charity, so money is not the motive. Her Sarajevo ward Kemal gets expelled, a prosthetic arm, then often naps afternoons under care of kindly new housekeeper. Unseen agents follow her, bug hotel rooms, while an evil mastermind voice overhears taped conversations and supervises regular secret auctions, inviting armed wealthy customers. Witnesses and informants die before, and after meetings. Friends become foes, nobody can be trusted.
Still Life
Joy Fielding - 2009
Lying in her hospital bed, Casey realizes that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything. She quickly discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free from her living death, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be even worse.
Retribution
Jilliane Hoffman - 2003
Townsend is a brilliant prosecutor known for keeping her cool even when trying the most horrific cases. The latest: an accused serial killer who savors cruelty and considers murder an art. But this case is different. C.J. recognizes the suspect. She knows what he's capable of. After all these years she still has the nightmares to prove it. Now she's walking a fine line between justice and revenge. Even C.J. isn't prepared for where it will take her.
Cold Truth
Mariah Stewart - 2005
Back then, Cassie was a scared kid—now she’s a homicide cop. Back then, the suspect was caught and convicted—he died in prison. But now the killing has started again. And all signs indicate that the Bayside Strangler has come back for more. With too many victims and too few suspects, Cassie has her hands full investigating the case, while working through the old trauma it has brought to the surface. Luckily, FBI agent Rick Cisco is dispatched to lend support. Together, Cassie and Rick must uncover the link between the dark past and the dangerous present to bring this small town’s long nightmare to an end. If they fail, an elusive fiend will slip back into the shadows ... to watch and wait—and kill another day. In matters of crime, there are many versions of the truth.
Vanish with the Rose
Barbara Michaels - 1992
Taking a job as a landscape architect at the last place Brad was seen—the sprawling estate where he worked as a caretaker—she prowls the strange old house determined to unlock its secrets. But each mystery Diana uncovers is more unsettling than the last, as odd visions, scents, and sounds pervade an atmosphere of dread and barely suppressed violence. And in her zealous search for answers, she may have inadvertently opened a door to something frightening and deadly that can never be closed again.
Disordered Minds
Minette Walters - 2003
When a local councillor and an anthropologist re-investigate the controversial murder conviction of a mentally retarded 20-year-old, they're unprepared for the disturbing facts that come to light--and the personal demons with which they must come to terms.
Criminal Justice
Barbara Parker - 1997
attorney's office. That was before he refused to put a lying witness on the stand and lost the case. That was before he was tossed out of his job. That was before his wife left him, keeping their beautiful home and young son. And that was before he wound up trying to scrape a living off the bottom of society in a shabby Miami law office. But if Dan thinks things can't get worse, he is wrong. He is about to be drawn into a case that involves a million-dollar money-laundering scheme; a dangerously ambitious young female musician; a desperate music promoter; a crime lord who charms without effort and kills without conscience; a ruthless DEA agent with a blood score to settle with Dan; and then, most shockingly, a brutal murder that brings the police right to Dan's doorstep.
Heat Wave
Richard Castle - 2008
A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPB detective shines a light.Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly bestselling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. She’s hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York’s finest. Pulitzer- Prize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wisecracking and meddling aren’t her only problems. as she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called Heat.
Dublin Murder Squad Series 6 Books Collection Set by Tana French (In The Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbour, Secret Place & The Trespasser)
Tana French - 2019
He never saw them again. Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree and his shoes filled with blood. The Likeness: Still traumatised by her brush with a psychopath, Detective Cassie Maddox transfers out of the Murder squad and starts a relationship with fellow detective Sam O'Neill. When he calls her to the scene of his new case, she is shocked to find that the murdered girl is her double. Faithful Place: The course of Frank Mackey's life was set by one defining moment when he was nineteen. The moment his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, failed to turn up for their rendezvous in Faithful Place, failed to run away with him to London as they had planned. Broken Harbour: In Broken Harbour, a ghost estate outside Dublin - half-built, half-inhabited, half-abandoned - two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care. Scorcher Kennedy is given the case because he is the Murder squad's star detective. The Secret Place: Even in her exclusive boarding school, in the graceful golden world that Stephen has always longed for, bad things happen and people have secrets. The previous year, Christopher Harper, from the neighbouring boys' school, was found murdered on the grounds. The Trespasser: Being on the Dublin Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed. Her working life is a stream of thankless cases and harassment. Antoinette is tough, but she's getting close to the breaking point.
The Girl Before
J.P. Delaney - 2017
But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant - and it does.JaneAfter a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street, she is instantly drawn to the space - and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home's previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror as the girl before.
Déjà Dead
Kathy Reichs - 1997
In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Temperance detects an alarming pattern and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her, her best friend and her own daughter, in mortal danger...