Book picks similar to
It Was Always You by Sarah K. Stephens


thriller
fiction
mystery
psychological-thriller

A Simple Lie


Mary Bush - 2019
    With foreclosure looming she acts in desperation, lying to get a position as an assistant to the county medical examiner. Val’s relieved. She won’t be homeless. But Val didn’t count on the lie trapping her in a dangerous game with a killer. Val quickly becomes involved in the case of Francine Donohue, who disappeared from her neighbourhood and is discovered dead six months later. The bizarre circumstances surrounding the murder are not the first of their kind. With the evidence pointing to a serial killer, and a calling card Val understands, she quickly gets sucked into the case.   As Val is pulled in further, the situation takes a darker turn. Someone is aware of the lie she told. Someone who is prepared to kill…

4 Riverside Close


Diana Wilkinson - 2020
    But when the cracks start to appear the residents of Riverside Close are drawn into a dangerous game.When Jason’s body is discovered in a house on the close, everyone becomes a suspect. Could his lovely wife be responsible for his murder?Or do the neighbours have a motive for wanting him dead?As the secret lives of those living on the Close are gradually revealed, it becomes clear that someone is hiding something they will stop at nothing to protect…

The Pupil


Dawn Goodwin - 2018
    Four shattered lives. Psychological suspense that explores a labyrinth of lies, manipulation and revenge. Perfect for fans of Louise Jenson and Katerina Diamond. Literary agent Viola Matthews is sure she's met Katherine Baxter before. So when her husband and bestselling novelist Samuel Morton introduces Viola to the quiet, unassuming woman he has offered to mentor, she knows their paths have crossed before. The question is where? As their worlds collide and the bond between Samuel and Katherine deepens, Viola realises she must take control. If Viola is right, then Katherine needs to pay for something that happened twelve years ago.

Girl, Lost


Vikki Patis - 2020
    Patis is proving herself to be the queen of page turning reads.' - Tiffany McDaniel, author of The Summer That Melted EverythingI was never missing. I just didn't want to be found.On a bright summer's day in 2013, Freya Rivers disappears, leaving twin sister Imogen behind. Did Freya leave to travel alone without telling anyone?When friend Emily also disappears three days later, Imogen knows there's something dark lurking beneath the surface.Five years later, Imogen is living in Australia, having searched the world for her sister. So, when her mother calls, she knows it's time to return home. Because Emily is back. And she has a child with her. Where has Emily been and why did she disappear?Does she know Freya’s whereabouts?Imogen is desperate to uncover the truth about her twin and the truth is closer to home than she ever imagined…A gripping and suspenseful psychological thriller by bestselling author Vikki Patis. Girl, Lost will appeal to fans of domestic noir, as well as to readers of authors like C.L. Taylor, Claire McGowan and B A Paris. Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize 2020. 'Enthralling and emotional, the story twists and turns right up to the very satisfying conclusion. A cracking read!'- Rona Halsall, author of One Mistake'Beautifully written, perfectly paced, a story that drags you in and doesn't let you go... Without a doubt, one of the best books I've read in quite a while.'- Valerie Keogh, author of The Three Women'Girl, Lost, is so well written and captures the youth of the main characters with such authenticity. They were well rounded and deep. The mystery of where Freya went kept me totally glued, sneaking moments I didn’t have spare to carry on reading... Fab read!'- Carla Kovach, author of The Next Girl

The Last One To See Her


Mark Tilbury - 2020
    So why did he lie?Mathew Hillock was the last person to see eleven-year-old Jodie Willis alive. When her dead body turns up four days later in his garden shed, the police think he’s guilty of her murder. So do most people in the town. But there’s no DNA evidence to link him to the crime. Battling the weight of public opinion and mental illness due to a childhood head trauma, he sinks into a deep depression. Can Mathew do what the police failed to do and find evidence linking the real killer to the crime?The Last One to See Her is a terrifying story of what happens when you’re accused of a crime and no one believes you are innocent

Damaged


Dan Scottow - 2020
    Emily takes the assignment willingly as the case echoes the disappearance of her childhood friend, Alice Abbott, twenty-five years earlier.Returning to the village, Emily renews old acquaintances and rivalries. She reconnects with her estranged brother Adam, who has never quite recovered from tragic events from their past.While she looks into the disappearance of Becky Clarke, Emily revisits Alice’s case but not everyone welcomes her investigation. As lies that have been told for twenty-five years surrounding Alice’s disappearance begin to unravel, Emily is drawn deeper into the mystery. What happened to Alice? Will Becky ever be found?  And do the answers lie closer to home than anyone ever imagined? Damaged is Dan Scottow's unmissable debut. A twisty psychological thriller which will keep you guessing until the very end. It will appeal to fans of authors like Mark Edwards, Cara Hunter and Rachel Abbott.

The Wife Lie


Anya Mora - 2020
    the more I find.Ledger Stone is not the man I thought I knew.What I'd thought was a whirlwind romance has turned out to be a hurricane laced with lies.It started with one.Will it end with another? The Wife Lie is a domestic suspense novel where secrets are buried deep.Penny Stone gave up everything for the husband she thought she knew -- and now she must uncover the truth: just how much of her marriage was a lie?And is their love worth fighting for?

The Locked Door


Freida McFadden - 2021
    Nobody knows her father was a notorious serial killer. And she intends to keep it that way.Then Nora discovers one of her young female patients has been murdered. In the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims.Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she’s not a killer like her father. The police can’t pin anything on her.As long as they don’t look in her basement.

The Picture on the Fridge


Ian W. Sainsbury - 2019
     She knows her husband loves her. She knows he would never do anything to hurt her, or their daughter. But what if the voice in her head, the one she’s pushed away with therapy and anti-depressants, is telling the truth? What if it’s all a lie? When Tam, their daughter, draws an uncannily detailed picture of a place she’s never been, Mags’ life starts to unravel. But even in her most paranoid moment, Mags could never have guessed the secret she is destined to uncover. The debut psychological thriller from the Amazon and Audible bestselling science fiction author, Ian Sainsbury.

Trust Me


Sheryl Browne - 2020
    Or so everyone says. But Emily just read a letter that has shattered her perfect world. Now she only has one thing on her mind… which one of her friends is sleeping with her husband?Emily watches Jake as he makes small talk with their children, still the perfect man she married years ago. But when the phone rings and he answers before quickly putting it down again, she sees the look on her husband’s face – guilt. She knows the signs – after all, she’s been lying to him for years.Working with Jake at the local doctor’s surgery, Emily starts to listen at closed doors and read things she shouldn’t, hoping to find the truth about her husband. Soon she learns that hers isn’t the only family telling lies to each other. Is there anyone Emily can trust? And who is behind the letter to Jake?When a second letter, revealing a wife’s hidden pregnancy, is sent to the woman’s husband, it has disastrous consequences. And as more angry letters revealing people’s biggest secrets begin to appear, fingers point at Emily. After all, she’s the one with access to everyone’s private history, and she’s the one with a score to settle. Emily says she didn’t do it. But this isn’t the first time Emily has lied. What happens next will have you questioning everything…You might have already decided that Emily is guilty, but as each twist is revealed, you’ll begin to doubt everyone in this quiet little town. This is a psychological thriller that will keep you up all night!

Anything For You


Marissa Finch - 2020
    Now eighteen years old, Ella is bright, kind and a cello prodigy headed for Juilliard. Nicolette can’t help but feel proud of the young woman her daughter’s become.Then Ella calls home one night. There’s been an accident. A classmate is dead. And Ella is the only one on the scene. To protect her daughter, Nicolette makes an unthinkable decision: hide the body, and ensure her daughter is kept out of the ensuing scandal.There’s only one problem. Someone knows what she did.And that person is going to make sure Nicolette pays.

Never Tell Them


N.L. Hinkens - 2021
    Ray’s young son, Henry—traumatized from the recent loss of his mother—acts like he barely knows his father.But things soon take a turn for the worse when Ray is involved in a multi-vehicle wreck, and suffers a brain injury and subsequent memory loss. Sonia steps in to care for Henry, but soon becomes alarmed at the disturbing things he tells her. Determined to get to the bottom of who her neighbor really is, she snoops around in his house. The shocking clues she uncovers shake her to the core. Her own life is in danger from the deadly lie he is living.The more she digs, the more she finds that some lies are best left buried.- A gripping tale of explosive secrets with a jaw-dropping twist! -Will you enjoy Never Tell Them? If you read any of my favorite psychological and domestic suspense thriller authors including K.L. Slater, Shalini Boland, Adam Croft, Kathryn Croft, Kiersten Modglin, Mark Edwards, Lisa Gardner, Louise Jensen, or Rachel Caine, the answer is a resounding yes!

She's Missing


Cole Baxter - 2019
    She shouldn’t have trusted a stranger… When Ellen arrives at the Land’s Edge Bed and Breakfast with her baby and the man pretending to be her husband, she thinks she’s escaped her tortured past. But when her baby disappears two days later, a desperate search quickly involves the police, who become suspicious about her strained relationship with her “husband.” Daniel thought he was doing the right thing by helping the frantic woman and her baby and pretending she was his wife. The fact that he had ulterior motives was irrelevant, but the missing baby draws him into a deepening mystery with so many twists and turns, it makes his head spin. Who is Ellen and what is she running from? Did a monster from her past finally catch up with her and her child, or is there another suspect lurking in the shadows? When the truth finally surfaces, no one will be safe from the fall-out… A thrilling psychological thriller that you won't be able to put down!

Distress Signals


Catherine Ryan Howard - 2016
    Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads "I'm sorry--S" sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her. Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate--and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before. To get answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground ...

Open House


Katie Sise - 2020
    A town still held in the grip of an unsolved mystery. A breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by the bestselling author of We Were Mothers.A decade ago in upstate New York, art student Emma McCullough walked into the woods and was never seen again. It’s a mystery that still haunts her bucolic university town and her broken family, especially her sister Haley, whose need for closure has become an obsession. But now, finally, the first piece of evidence in the vanishing has been found: Emma’s bracelet, lodged in a frozen piece of earth at the bottom of a gorge. For Emma’s three best college friends, for a beloved former teacher, and for Haley, the chilling trinket is more than a clue in a resurrected cold case. It’s a trigger.Then a woman is attacked during an open house, and the connections between the two crimes, ten winters apart, begin to surface. So do the secrets that run as deep and dark as the currents in this quiet river town.