Book picks similar to
The Birthday Weekend by Lesley Sanderson


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All Eyes on Her


Laurie Elizabeth Flynn - 2020
    Flynn is a gripping young adult thriller told from the perspective of everyone except the alleged killer—a seventeen-year-old girl.You heard the story on the news. A girl and a boy went into the woods. The girl carried a picnic basket. The boy wore bright yellow running shoes. The girl found her way out, but the boy never did…. Everyone thinks they know what happened. Some say Tabby pushed him off that cliff— she didn’t even like hiking. She was jealous. She had more than her share of demons. Others think he fell accidentally—she loved Mark. She would never hurt him…even if he hurt her. But what’s the real story? All Eyes On Her is told from everyone but Tabby herself as the people in her life string together the events that led Tabby to that cliff. Her best friend. Her sister. Her enemy. Her ex-boyfriend. Because everybody thinks they know a girl better than she knows herself. What do you think is the truth?

The One Who Got Away


L.A. Detwiler - 2019
    You’ll die here…”Adeline Evans has recently moved into a home for the elderly. A safe space, where she can be cared for.When she begins to receive cryptic and threatening notes, she is certain that someone is out to get her.But the residents are warned against listening to a woman who is losing her memory. It would seem Adeline is tormented by the secrets in her past, and that the menace is all in her mind.Until danger comes down the corridor and starts knocking in the night…A compelling serial killer thriller from the bestselling author of THE WIDOW NEXT DOOR, perfect for fans of A.J Finn, K.L. Slater and Teresa Driscoll.

The Pretty One


Clare Boyd - 2021
    If my pretty little sister never came home again, I’d finally be free from the terrible secret we share…Anna is a wonderful mother. She gave up a career she loved to stay home with her children and her kind, polite daughters, Nell and Ivy, are a credit to her. As is Bay, her stepdaughter, whom Anna adores as much as her own two girls. But everything changes the day Anna’s middle daughter’s beauty catches the eye of a stranger in a café…Quiet, sensitive Nell doesn’t want to have her face on a billboard for all to see. But she knows her family desperately needs the money, and perhaps it would be nice to have her mother’s full attention for the first time since Bay arrived? Could this be the escape from her stepsister’s twisted games Nell has been longing for?But the moment Nell steps in front of a camera, the devastating secret she and Bay have been keeping breaks the surface – and the bonds of this close-knit family forever. But with both Nell and Bay insisting they’re innocent, can either girl really be trusted?As Anna’s perfect blended family unravels around her, she is forced to pick a side. To save one daughter, Anna must betray another. Choosing the wrong girl will be more dangerous than anyone could ever have imagined…An unputdownable read-all-night family drama that explores the dark consequences of sibling rivalry and the heart-wrenching emotional cost of keeping secrets from those you love. Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere and My Dark Vanessa.

The Perfect Stranger


Megan Miranda - 2017
    Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?

The First Wife's Secret


Addison Moore - 2019
    Someone is lying. Someone will not survive. Aubree Van Lullen is smitten by Peter Woodley despite the fact he’s accused of killing his former wife, despite the fact he’s accused of killing his two children.Peter Woodley is smitten by Aubree Van Lullen despite the fact she is accused of fleecing half of the country by way of faking an illness for the better part of her life, despite the fact she’s had a psychologically damaging childhood. Peter is so smitten by Aubree, he changes his identity for her and whisks her away to build a brand new life.One day a mysterious package arrives containing dozens of journals from Peter’s first wife, and Aubree is riveted by them.She’ll tell Peter about the journals soon enough.Just one more page and then he can have them.And then there are the bodies. One after another, wherever Peter seems to go, a grisly homicide takes place. Something is amiss. Aubree untangles one dark secret after another, only to have her own past come back to haunt her. But it’s far from the end of her story. It’s just the horrible beginning.Sometimes when a supposed serial killer and a supposed psychopath come together, things can end very very badly.And they do—one bloody body at a time.Someone is guilty. Someone is lying. Someone will not survive.

The Best of Friends


Lucinda Berry - 2020
    Reeling from the worst night of their lives, the three mothers plunge into a desperate investigation of the bizarre incident. How could something so horrible happen in their wealthy Southern California suburb? They soon discover that the accident was just the beginning, and troubling discoveries lead to chilling questions: Do they really know their children? Do they even know each other? As more secrets surface, a fog of doubt and suspicion threatens to poison their families, their friendships, and the whole community. With the illusion of happiness and safety long gone, these women must now confront the hazards of heartbreak, the consequences of jealousy, and the dangers of living double lives.

The Secrets She Keeps


Michael Robotham - 2017
    As the hours of her shifts creep by in increasing discomfort, the one thing she looks forward to at work is catching a glimpse of Meghan, the effortlessly chic customer whose elegant lifestyle dazzles her. Meghan has it all: two perfect children, a handsome husband, a happy marriage, a stylish group of friends, and she writes perfectly droll confessional posts on her popular parenting blog—posts that Agatha reads with devotion each night as she waits for her absent boyfriend, the father of her baby, to maybe return her calls. When Agatha learns that Meghan is pregnant again, and that their due dates fall within the same month, she finally musters up the courage to speak to her, thrilled that they now have the ordeal of childbearing in common. Little does Meghan know that the mundane exchange she has with a grocery store employee during a hurried afternoon shopping trip is about to change the course of her not-so-perfect life forever… With its brilliant rendering of the secrets some women hold close and a shocking act that cannot be undone, The Secrets She Keeps delivers a dark and twisted page-turner that is absolutely impossible to put down.

The Dead Girls Club


Damien Angelica Walters - 2019
    Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real--and she could prove it.That belief got Becca killed.It's been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night--that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She's done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn't seen since the night Becca died.The night Heather killed her.Now, someone else knows what she did...and they're determined to make Heather pay.

The Innocent Wife


Amy Lloyd - 2018
    You Trust Him. So Why Are You So Scared?Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was arrested and imprisoned for the brutal murder of a young girl. Now he’s the subject of a true-crime documentary that’s whipping up a frenzy online to uncover the truth and free a man who has been wrongly convicted.A thousand miles away in England, Samantha is obsessed with Dennis’s case. She exchanges letters with him, and is quickly won over by his apparent charm and kindness to her. Soon she has left her old life behind to marry him and campaign for his release.When the campaign is successful and Dennis is freed, however, Sam begins to discover new details that suggest he may not be quite so innocent after all. But how do you confront your husband when you don’t want to know the truth?

Things We Have in Common


Tasha Kavanagh - 2015
    You were looking down at your brown straggly dog, your mouth going slack as your eyes clocked her. Alice Taylor.I was no different. I’d catch myself gazing at the back of her head in class, at her thick fair hair swaying between her shoulder blades.If you’d glanced just once across the field, you’d have seen me standing in the middle on my own looking straight at you, and you’d have gone back through the trees to the path quick, tugging your dog after you. You’d have known you’d given yourself away, even if only to me.But you didn’t. You only had eyes for Alice.

The Assistant


Cathryn Grant - 2020
    One office. A fight to the death.Laura has sacrificed a lot for her high-powered career – her marriage, the chance to have kids. Now, finally, she’s in line for a big jump up the corporate ladder – all the way to the boardroom.But there’s a fly in the ointment in the shape of beautiful Vanessa, a lowly assistant who seems to have it in for Laura. Vanessa is PA to Hank, the most powerful executive in the company, a man whose support Laura desperately needs if she is to secure the job of her dreams. Repelled by Laura’s naked ambition, fiercely possessive of her boss, Vanessa deliberately sabotages Laura’s every attempt to make a good impression on Hank. Laura threatens and cajoles but Vanessa just won’t play fair. Soon their mutual dislike escalates to an all-out war. But career-obsessed Laura has always been willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. And if Vanessa stands in her way… she’s going to pay the ultimate price. The stunning psychological thriller from the best-selling author of The Guest.

Since She Went Away


David Bell - 2016
    But when Jenna arrived late, she found that Celia had disappeared—and hasn’t been seen again. Jenna has blamed herself for her friend’s disappearance every single day since then.The only piece of evidence is a lone diamond earring found where Celia and Jenna were planning to meet, leading the national media to dub Celia “The Diamond Mom.” And even though Jenna has obsessively surfed message boards devoted to missing persons cases, she is no closer to finding any answers—or easing her guilt.But when her son’s new girlfriend—who suddenly arrived in town without a past—disappears, a stricken Jenna begins to unwind the tangled truth behind Celia’s tragedy. And as long-buried secrets finally come to light, she discovers how completely lives can be shattered by a few simple lies.

The Other People


C.J. Tudor - 2020
    She mouths one word: 'Daddy.' It's his five-year-old daughter, Izzy.He never sees her again.Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights travelling up and down the motorway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe that Izzy is dead.Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the motorway. Not searching. But running. Trying to keep one step ahead of the people who want to hurt them. Because Fran knows the truth. She knows what really happened to Gabe's daughter.Then, the car that Gabe saw driving away that night is found, in a lake, with a body inside and Gabe is forced to confront events, not just from the night his daughter disappeared, but from far deeper in his past.His search leads him to a group called The Other People.If you have lost a loved one, The Other People want to help. Because they know what loss is like. They know what pain is like. They know what death is like.There's just one problem . . . they want other people to know it too.

Close My Eyes


Beverley Harvey - 2021
    I couldn’t breathe – something was crushing my chest – all I could see was darkness. A terrible fear, pulling me under. And all because of a glimpse of a face I hadn’t seen in years.Since then I’ve realised: this is a memory of an attack. Something vicious happened to me years ago – a night that changed my life, without me even knowing. My family and friends don’t believe me – they say I’m imagining things, but I know I’m right. What I don’t know is who was responsible. And I won’t stop until I find out.Wherever the truth leads me. Whatever betrayals are uncovered. Whatever the risk.A heart-stopping psychological suspense novel that asks: who do you trust the most? Your friends? Your family? Or your own mind? Fans of T.M. Logan, Claire McGowan and Lisa Jewell will be gripped by Close My Eyes.

One In Three


Tess Stimson - 2020
    One of them killed him . . .Louise has had to watch her husband, Andrew, start a new family in the four years since he left her. The ‘other woman’ is now his wife – but Louise isn’t ready to let Caz enjoy the life that was once hers, or to let go of the man she still loves.As Louise starts to dig into Caz’s past, the two women’s pretence of civility starts to slip. But in trying to undermine each other, they discover more about the man they both married.And when Andrew is murdered at a family party, both women are found standing over the body.And when Andrew is murdered during the anniversary celebrations, both women are found standing over the body.It’s always the wife. But which one?