Book picks similar to
Don't Tell by Paul Williams
adult
psychological-thriller
w-authors
book-club
When I Find You
R.A. Casey - 2021
A deadly secret.In the stifling summer heat of 2018, Sarah Evatt suffered every parent's worst nightmare: her six-year-old son, Charlie, let go of her hand and disappeared into a crowd.He never returned.Three years later, Sarah's life is back on track. She has met a loving new boyfriend. She has just moved to a gorgeous new home. She is finally beginning to conquer her grief and trauma, and accept Charlie is gone, once and for all.Until she gets a visit.A visit from a man she is convinced is involved in Charlie's disappearance.A visit that makes her wonder whether Charlie might still be out there, after all.And a suspicious message that threatens to unearth dark truths about Sarah's past.Truths only someone closest to her could know.As events continue to spiral, Sarah must unmask the person psychologically torturing her, and find out exactly who they are, what they want, and what they know about her son.But who can she trust?And will she be able to discover their identity before she loses control completely?When I Find You is a dark psychological domestic thriller packed with twists and turns. You won't be able to put this page-turner of a novel down, right up to the staggering final page.
Exquisite
Sarah Stovell - 2017
She loves me not. Bo Luxton has it all – a loving family, a beautiful home in the Lake District, and a clutch of bestselling books to her name. Enter Alice Dark, an aspiring writer who is drifting through life, with a series of dead-end jobs and a freeloading boyfriend. When they meet at a writers’ retreat, the chemistry is instant, and a sinister relationship develops… Or does it? Breathlessly pacey, taut and terrifying, Exquisite is a startlingly original and unbalancing psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page. ‘The characters are so untrustworthy you wont know what to believe, but you won’t put it down till you’ve found out. A superb debut’ Sunday Mirror 'Cunningly constructed and gorgeously written, this is outstanding’ Express 'It’s a remarkable debut in the crowded psychological thriller field, written with great sureness of touch and tone' Times Crime Club ‘Slickly claustrophobic, this arch story of obsessive, forbidden love taken to the extreme will have you squirming in your seat’ Sarah Pinsborough ‘Whip-smart, lushly written and truly page-turning … Sarah Stovell is a thrilling talent’ Holly Seddon ‘A moving, gripping story … twists keep coming till the very last page. I loved it’ Erin Kelly ‘Addictive, terrifying and beautifully written, Exquisite is up there with the best psychological thrillers I’ve ever read. Fucking awesome’ Chris Whittaker
Dear Daughter
Elizabeth Little - 2014
A change of clothes. A wig. An inconspicuous sedan. We doubled back once, twice, then drove south when we were really headed east. In San Francisco we had a girl who looked like me board a plane to Hawaii.Oh, I thought I was so clever.But you probably already know that I'm not.LA IT girl Janie Jenkins has it all. The looks, the brains, the connections. The criminal record.Ten years ago, in a trial that transfixed America, Janie was convicted of murdering her mother. Now she's been released on a technicality she's determined to unravel the mystery of her mother's last words, words that send her to a tiny town in the very back of beyond. But with the whole of America's media on her tail, convinced she's literally got away with murder, she has to do everything she can to throw her pursuers off the scent.She knows she really didn't like her mother. Could she have killed her?
The Ex-Wife
Jess Ryder - 2018
She’d have it all if it wasn’t for Jen, her husband’s ex-wife who just won’t leave them alone …Then Natasha returns home one day to find her husband and Emily gone without trace. Desperate to get her daughter back, Natasha will do anything even if it means accepting an offer of help from Jen. But can she trust her? And do either of them really know the man they married?If you loved The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl or The Couple Next Door then this dark, twisting psychological thriller from Amazon chart bestseller Jess Ryder is guaranteed to have you gripped.
The Wife Between Us
Greer Hendricks - 2018
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.Assume nothing. Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.Read between the lies.
Every Last Fear
Alex Finlay - 2021
The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain—and they won’t tell Matt why.The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison—putting his own life in peril—and forcing him to confront his every last fear.Told through multiple points-of-view and alternating between past and present, Alex Finlay's Every Last Fear is not only a page-turning thriller, it’s also a poignant story about a family managing heartbreak and tragedy, and living through a fame they never wanted.
Whisper Cottage
Anne Wyn Clark - 2021
Their new home is run-down compared to their neighbour’s, but generous Mrs Barley quickly becomes a friend. Until Stina sees a mysterious figure in the widow’s garden, and her happy new life begins to unravel. And when she hears strange noises in the night, she is forced to question if Mrs Barley is what she seems. Why do the other villagers whisper about her? Why is she so eager to help the couple? And what is she hiding in her picture-perfect home? A haunting, twisty story about the power of secrets and rumours, perfect for fans of Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key and Lucy Atkins’s Magpie Lane.
Trauma
Dylan Young - 2020
He’ll wish he could forget.Who do you trust, when you don't know who you are?Cameron Todd is recovering from a serious brain injury. A trauma suffered the same night his girlfriend Emma plunged to her death from a clifftop. The damage erases all memory of the incident and his previous life. Both the police and Emma’s relatives are hunting for someone to blame and question whether his amnesia is a convenient fabrication. Desperate to understand what happened that fateful day, self-doubt creeps in when Cameron learns his relationship with Emma might not have been picture-perfect. Is he a victim, or the perpetrator? Can he trust his injured brain’s version of events? Or will unearthing the truth reveal something far more sinister?
Where I Lost Her
T. Greenwood - 2016
Greenwood follows one woman's journey through heartbreak and loss to courage and resolve, as she searches for the truth about a missing child. Eight years ago, Tess and Jake were considered a power couple of the New York publishing world--happy, in love, planning a family. Failed fertility treatments and a heartbreaking attempt at adoption have fractured their marriage and left Tess edgy and adrift. A visit to friends in rural Vermont throws Tess's world into further chaos when she sees a young, half-dressed child in the middle of the road, who then runs into the woods like a frightened deer. The entire town begins searching for the little girl. But there are no sightings, no other witnesses, no reports of missing children. As local police and Jake point out, Tess's imagination has played her false before. And yet Tess is compelled to keep looking, not only to save the little girl she can't forget but to salvage her broken heart as well. Blending her trademark lyrical prose with a superbly crafted and suspenseful narrative, Where I Lost Her is a gripping, haunting novel from a remarkable storyteller.
I'll Never Tell
Casey Kelleher - 2021
Now, just when I thought no one from my old life would ever find me, the note slides under my door: I haven’t forgotten. I haven’t forgiven. FOUND YOU.When we were young, Sarah and I spent all our time in a place we called the Doll House. It was just an old, abandoned cottage in the woods behind our house but it was heaven to us. Until one of our games went wrong. And someone ended up dead.It was an accident, or at least Sarah told me it was. But when I tried to tell the police that I wasn’t involved, they didn’t believe me. When the Doll House Girls were splashed across the newspapers, it was my face they showed under the headlines. I’m the one who stood trial.Now, twenty years on, I’ve made a new life with a new identity. I have a wonderful husband, Carl, and Jacob, our adorable son. Despite everything in my past, I’m happy.Then the first note arrives. FOUND YOU. Soon other threats start coming, and the person behind them is clear they’d be willing to hurt my family – to hurt Jacob – to get to me. I know who they are. And I know what they’re capable of. The other doll… The girl who got away with murder.A totally addictive page-turner packed with heart-stopping twists, if you love Lisa Jewell, Rachel Abbott and The Silent Patient you’ll love I’ll Never Tell.
Lie With Me
Sabine Durrant - 2016
The kind we've all told - to a former acquaintance we can't quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.And the next thing you know, you're having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday - swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of...Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you're trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you - by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it's the lies that cause the real damage...... well, by then, it could just be too late.
Longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year
Sincerely, Yours
Charlotte Barnes - 2021
As the weeks and months passed, Sarah gradually moved on from the horror of that night and managed to settle into her changed family life. After the police confirm that her mother was one of three similar victims the case goes cold. Until Sarah receives a letter: “I didn’t know you were there, or I would never have done that. Sincerely, Yours.”And, so begins a terrifying game of cat and mouse as the killer collects more victims and continues to elude police, all the while, sending Sarah letters. As the killer gets closer, Sarah wonders if she comes face to face with him, will she opt for mercy or murder?
The Stepmother
Claire Seeber - 2016
A fairytale family. Don’t believe your eyes…Jeanie and Matthew are a happily married couple who both have teenage children from previous relationships.No one said it would be easy to raise a blended family under one roof but Jeanie and Matthew are strong. They will make it work.And whilst Jeanie’s step-daughter Scarlett rejects her, Jeanie will just have to try harder to win her over.But Jeanie has a past. A terrible secret she thought she’d buried a long time ago. And now, it’s coming to the surface, threatening to destroy her new marriage.Someone is playing a terrifying game on Jeanie and she must put a stop to it once and for all.After all, a fairytale needs a happy ending … doesn’t it?A compelling, dark and twisty psychological thriller that will grip fans of Behind Closed Doors, Between You and Me and The Teacher.
I Found You
Lisa Jewell - 2016
He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement she invites him in to her home.Surrey: Twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.Two women, twenty years of secrets and a man who can't remember lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell's brilliant new novel.
Nine Lives
Anita Waller - 2021
The police realise this new death is linked to a spate of cold case murders and the killer is back. Five years earlier, four young women were found murdered, their bodies left in woody areas, and the new victim shares similar hallmarks. But why did the killer stop killing for all that time and what has inspired them to start again? As more young women fall victim to a vicious and calculating murderer, Erica and Beth find themselves chasing their tails. But when a witness is identified the case takes an unexpected and macabre turn. Can Erica and Beth bring the killer to justice, or will this case prove too much?