Book picks similar to
Frankly Speaking by Don Massenzio


mystery-suspense
mystery
amazon-ebooks
contemporary

A Day Like This


Kelley McNeil - 2021
    It’s a day like any other when she takes Hannah to the pediatrician…until she wakes hours later from a car accident. When she asks for her daughter, confused doctors tell Annie that Hannah never existed. In fact, nothing after waking from the crash is the same as Annie remembers. Five happy years of her life apparently never happened.Annie’s marriage is coming to an end. Now a successful artist living in Manhattan, she’s no longer home in their beloved upstate farmhouse. Her long-estranged sister is more like a best friend, and her recently deceased dog is alive and well. With each passing day, Annie’s remembered past and unfamiliar present begin to blur. Haunted by visions of Hannah, and with knowledge of things she can’t explain, Annie wonders…is everyone lying to her?The search for answers leads Annie down an illuminating path far from home, to reconcile the memories with reality and to discover the truth about the life she’s living.

All Good Deeds


Stacy Green - 2014
    She's just taking out the trash. Don’t call Lucy Kendall a serial killer. She’s fighting for the innocent, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring justice. When a child disappears, Lucy quickly discovers the link to a predator she’s faced before–a man the state of Pennsylvania decided to turn loose on the streets. Determined to find the little girl and put a criminal behind bars for good, Lucy forces her way onto the case.As the search for the kidnapped child pulls Lucy into a web of evil beyond her darkest imagination, she’ll have to face her own dark truths to save the little girl–and herself.

The Good Neighbor


A.J. Banner - 2015
    That’s what Sarah thinks as she settles into life with her new husband, Dr. Johnny McDonald. But all too soon she discovers an undercurrent of deception. And one October evening when Johnny is away, sudden tragedy destroys Sarah’s happiness.Dazed and stricken with grief, she and Johnny begin to rebuild their shattered lives. As she picks up the pieces of her broken home, Sarah discovers a shocking secret that forces her to doubt everything she thought was true—about her neighbors, her friends, and even her marriage. With each stunning revelation, Sarah must ask herself, Can we ever really know the ones we love?

Scraps of Paper


Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2003
    It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families.Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play.Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer. ***

The Neon Lawyer


Victor Methos - 2014
    He joins a seedy fly-by-night firm in Salt Lake City out of desperation. After he loses his first case—a speeding ticket—he’s convinced his career is over. But to his shock, his boss hands him a slightly more complex case: capital murder.Brigham’s new client is Amanda Pierce, a lost, exhausted woman who gunned down the man who tortured and killed her six-year-old daughter. A jury may prove sympathetic to her unbearable pain, but the law is no fan of vigilante justice—and neither is Vince Dale, the slick and powerful prosecutor who’s never lost a murder case. There’s no question that Amanda pulled the trigger—she did it in front of five witnesses. If she pleads guilty, she will avoid a death sentence, but saving her life this way comes with an admission that what she did was wrong. However, if she refuses the “guilty” label, Brigham will have no choice but to fight for his career—and Amanda’s life.

Flesh and Blood


Michael Lister - 2006
    Within the confines of seemingly ordinary cases, John explores the ineffable and inexplicable, the profoundly mysterious within the mundane. In this diverse collection of cases, John investigates the Shroud of Turin, a pregnant virgin, a daring prison break, a Hurricane Katrina orphan who might just be the Second Coming, a desperate woman who sleeps with one too many men, a bloody body on the rec yard, a mystery that turns on a single observation, and a murder in which John himself is the prime suspect—all this as he deals with depression and battles alcoholism. These stories are puzzles, whodunits, and enigmas, but they are much more. John Jordan doesn't just solve crime, he investigates the hidden heart of humanity and the mysterious world in which we live. Here are temporal answers and eternal questions, and at the center of it all, a conflicted man of faith and doubt, flawed, but faithful, who ministers mercy even as he thirsts for justice.

Haunting Me (Haunting Me #1)


Nikki LeClair - 2016
    Getting engaged is just the honey in her tea! Then she gets run over by a hot dog cart, wakes up with a concussion and the ability to see ghosts. Well, one ghost. A loud, obnoxious woman who claims to have been murdered for her vast fortune. Soon, Phoebe is solving a mystery that not only threatens her relationships, but her career as well. As she begins to battle feelings for the ghost’s handsome nephew, she realizes quite a few people in her life are not as they seem. Slowly, Phoebe uncovers the secrets and lies around her, learning that in order to solve this mystery and be free of the ghost, she must lie herself. The only catch? The secrets Phoebe has kept from the people in her life could ruin everything for her, and her ghostly companion, in the end.

Happy Birthday Murder (A Reporter Roland Bean Cozy Mystery)


Rachel Woods - 2021
    Someone broke into her house, and she needs his help.Rushing to his sister's rescue, Beanie nearly hits a man staggering into the road. After the stranger collapses in the street, Beanie rushes to render aid. To his horror, he recognizes the dying man as Robyn's boyfriend, Dr. Henry Montague. When Beanie asks the doctor who shot him, Henry’s last words shake him to the core: Robyn ... shot me.Refusing to believe his twin sister killed a man, Beanie vows to use his investigative skills to prove her innocence. Beanie discovers plenty of suspects as he delves into the doctor’s dirty dealings, but can he solve the case before the killer makes him the next victim?

Legacy of the Highlands


Harriet Schultz - 2011
    Will and Alexandra Cameron had it all until the night he went out to buy ice cream after an evening of passionate sex and never returned. When his body is discovered in a nearby Boston alley, the only clue to his murder is a Scottish sgian dubh dagger left beside it. Will's grieving widow finds refuge in the Miami villa of his best friend Diego Navarro, who has the means, power and temperament to solve the puzzle and to avenge his friend's murder. The sinfully handsome and charming womanizer's feelings for Alexandra run deep, and he becomes equally determined to win the devastated widow's heart. The attraction between them grows as they follow leads from Miami to Buenos Aires and Scotland, unraveling the Cameron family's centuries-old secrets.

Bad Guys


Anthony Bruno - 1988
    Hot-headed Tozzi goes renegade, and Gibbons is pulled out of retirement to stop him. Together they uncover a secret crime family headed by Richie Varga, a convicted mobster pulling the strings from the safety of the witness protection program. When Tozzi gets involved with Varga’s sexy ex, the fur really starts to fly.

Trust No One


L.J. Breedlove - 2013
    Mac Davis likes being a reporter.No one shoots at him, he eats real meals regularly -- what's not to like? Then someone kidnaps his friends, and tries to kill him. Mac doesn't know who or why, but he plans to find out. And make them pay.First book of the Mac Davis thrillers.

Blind Spot


William Casey Moreton - 2013
    He doesn't remember his own name, doesn't recognize the faces of anyone around him, there is a dead woman in his apartment, and a close friend has died suddenly in a tragic accident. The puzzle gets more complex by the hour as Nick struggles to piece together the holes in his memory, is questioned by police about a missing person, and becomes the target of a team of hired killers. Danger and mystery lurk around every corner, and as Nick soon discovers...the difference between friends and enemies is sometimes a very fine line.

Agnes Barton Paranormal Mysteries 1-3


Madison Johns - 2014
    Included: Haunted Hijinks, Ghostly Hijinks, and Spooky Hijinks.Haunted HijinksEver since Agnes’ car accident, things have changed drastically for her. When she wakes up in the hospital, not only is her son Stuart there, who she hasn't seen in years, but a ghostly apparition!Instead of getting ready for the loony bin, Agnes and Eleanor help ready the Butler Mansion for a grand opening as a bed and breakfast on Halloween, except they find the body of Katherine Clark. It’s game on, as usual, for Agnes, except she now has a new partner, one who has remained silent and is—well—a ghost. Agnes now struggles to keep her wits, keeping her ghostly companion a secret from Eleanor, not such an easy feat since Eleanor is sharp as a tack. Not only that, but where has Stuart been all of these years, and what is he up to? Ghostly HijinksDriving up Highway 50 through Nevada, said to be the loneliest road in America, sure would make a body nervous. Unless, of course, you’re Agnes Barton, who welcomes the challenge and the chance to check out a real ghost town. But before she even arrives in Silver, Nevada, a mystery has unfolded in the form of a lost little girl, Rebecca, who has become separated from her family who are searching for the elusive Leister’s gold. The real kicker is that Agnes saw it all in a dream, but when they arrive at the Goldberg Hotel & Saloon, she realizes so many things about her dream are real, like the details of the inside of the hotel. It isn’t long before she learns that the hotel is haunted by various spirits from the past, further making for an interesting vacation.Agnes is determined to find the missing family, insisting that it simply wasn’t just a dream as she learns that a family with a young daughter had indeed disappeared in the middle of the night just before they had arrived. Will Agnes and Eleanor find the missing family before they perish from the elements, or will the knife-wielding spirit called “The Cutter,” shorten their chances?Spooky HijinksIt’s December in the neighboring cities of Tawas City and East Tawas, and they have one thing in common—Christmas is drawing nearer. The only problem is that homes are being broken into in alarming numbers, with guns stolen. Even local militia members Curt and Curtis Hill are victims. That is, until Agnes Barton and Eleanor Mason are on the case, launching an investigation even after the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) comes to town, taking an interest in the recent thefts. Agnes’s own son, Stuart, who works for the FBI, tells her to back off, but Agnes isn’t about to stand down. It’s not something she does, even after a threat of arrest.Life for Agnes and Eleanor is good, they’re planning their weddings to their respective fiancés, Andrew and Mr. Wilson, who still refuses to tell anyone his first name. With their hearts set on having their wedding at the lighthouse at the point, Agnes yet again is up to her elbows with ghost sightings, but that’s something that she’s grown accustomed to since her paranormal gift appeared.As Agnes tries to figure out who the female ghost at the lighthouse is, she finally acquaints herself with the ghosts that live in the attic of the Butler Mansion. The deeper she gets, the more she learns about not only who they are, but the dark history of the Tawas area. It gets down to the wire.

Her Last Breath


Hilary Davidson - 2021
    However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident. Long used to being a pariah to her family, Deirdre covers her tattoos and heads to Manhattan for her sister’s funeral.The message claimed Caroline’s husband, Theo, killed his first wife and got away with it. Reeling from the news, Deirdre confronts Theo on the way to the cemetery, and he reveals both his temper and his suspicion that Deirdre’s “perfect” sister was having an affair.Paranoid and armed with just enough information to make her dangerous, Deirdre digs into the disturbing secrets buried with Caroline. But as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her own life may be at risk…and that there may be more than one killer in the family.

Find Me


Anne Frasier - 2020
    One catch: he’ll only do it if FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, accompanies them. As hard as it is to exhume her traumatic childhood, Reni can’t say no. She still feels complicit in her father’s crimes.Perfect to play a lost little girl, Reni was the bait to lure unsuspecting women to their deaths. It’s time for closure. For her. For the families. And for Daniel. He shares Reni’s obsession with the past. Ever since he was a boy, he’s been convinced that his mother was one of Fisher’s victims.A five-hundred-mile road trip lies ahead. Thirty years of bad memories are flooding back. A master manipulator has gained their trust. For Reni and Daniel, this isn’t the end of a nightmare. It’s only the beginning.