Book picks similar to
Walk Into My Parlor by Rona Randall


gothic
gothic-romance
contemporary-mid-century
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Expecting the SEAL’s Baby


Katie Knight - 2021
    So when her brother goes missing, Jeremy’s the first person Gina turns to for answers and comfort. But what begins as a little emotional support soon leads to a scorching night of passion. A night neither of them can forget…Weeks later, Gina shows up at Jeremy’s door with clues about her brother’s disappearance… and disturbing proof that she’s being followed. As his squad mate's sister, Jeremy knows Gina should be off limits. But now that she's a target, there’s no way he’s letting her out of his sight.Gina swore she'd never date another military man. Still, Jeremy’s the only guy she trusts to help find her brother. She's determined to resist his smoking good looks and masculine charm. But as their search leads deep into a dangerous South American jungle, life throws another surprise at Gina — she’s pregnant. And Jeremy's the father.Surrounded by danger and intrigue, it doesn’t take long for Gina to succumb to temptation. But the biggest danger of all may be losing her heart to a Navy SEAL…

Ammie, Come Home


Barbara Michaels - 1968
    But the séance conducted in Ruth's elegant Georgetown home calls something back; something unwelcome ... and palpably evil. Suddenly Sara is speaking in a voice not her own, transformed into a miserable, whimpering creature so unlike her normal, sensible self. No tricks or talismans will dispel the malevolence that now plagues the inhabitants of this haunted place -- until a dark history of treachery, lust, and violence is exposed. But the cost might well be the sanity and the lives of the living.

Texas Kidnapping


Barb Han - 2020
    Then US marshal Cash O’Connor offers her a safe haven at his Texas ranch and she knows it’s best to accept his protection. Cash recognizes that Renee’s incident is eerily similar to his own infant sister’s unsolved kidnapping thirty years ago. This time, Cash vows to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. USA TODAY Bestselling Author

In Picardy's Fields


Hannah Byron - 2020
    She follows the attractive—but married—Dr. Alan Bell to the front lines at the Château de Dragoncourt in Picardy, where they help battle the horrors of the trench war. When the castle is captured by German soldiers, the war turns personal as Agnès’s secret becomes both a terrible liability—and a mighty weapon. Until Alan is severely injured and her world falls apart.Countess Madeleine, the young go-getter of the Dragoncourt family, is furious that she’s been sidelined to a Swiss finishing school. Knowing her place is in the thick of the action, she runs away to join her siblings who are working as medics at the Château. Upon learning that it’s fallen to the Germans, Madeleine is determined to effect a rescue of the French doctors and nurses held prisoner within. But what can a mere teenager do against the German army?Told from Agnès’s and Madeleine’s perspectives, In Picardy’s Fields is a tribute to the brave young women of WW1. Through their work and courage, they set in motion the true liberation of 20th century women.

Maulever Hall


Jane Aiken Hodge - 1963
    Convinced she’s being followed, she pleads for help at the nearest village and is offered refuge by a lonely widow at her grand country home, Maulever Hall.Marianne settles into life at the Hall, finding fast companionship with Mrs Mauleverer. The days pass and no hint of memory returns, but Marianne’s need for answers is growing urgent. An unexpected visit from Mrs Mauleverer’s aloof son, Mark and his soon-to-be-betrothed, Lady Heverdon has thrown life at the Hall into disarray. They suspect Marianne has come into their lives under false pretences. But the longer she spends with Lady Heverdon, the more Marianne becomes convinced the opposite may be true.As tensions within the family rise and Marianne finds herself growing closer to Mark, she begins to wonder whether her arrival at Maulever Hall has more to do with fate than chance.

Bryson's Treasure


Linzi Baxter - 2019
    He barely got out alive with the help of a young Afghan girl he refused to leave behind. His boots barely touch Montana soil before he and his brother Noah rescue an unconscious woman trapped in a wrecked truck. A truck whose brakes were clearly tampered with. Though still wounded himself, his instincts scream to keep her safe until they find out who wants her dead. A heart she dares not trust…her own. All Lynn remembers from the accident is a pair of crystal-blue eyes she never thought to see again. Until those eyes show up a few days later, attached to a tall, sandy-haired cowboy who takes all of five minutes to get under her skin. He wants her to stay put? She just got away from a dangerous cult. No one tells her what to do or where she can and can’t go. Especially not a sexy ex-Marine with a rescue complex. But when more near-misses leave her shaken, she has no choice but to surrender to Bryce’s protection…and try like hell not to surrender her heart.

Secrets of Seacliff House


Stacey Coverstone - 2012
    A mysterious email sends Kayla to a Maryland beach town and her grandmother’s home, Seacliff House. There, Kayla hopes to discover who she is and why her past has been shrouded in mystery.When Tanner Bishop discovers an old diary among his grandfather’s possessions, his interest is piqued. Some of the entries speak of Pearl, a young woman who abandoned her son and fled Maine for Maryland in 1958. The journalist in Tanner wants to know what became of Pearl once she found her way to Seacliff House. But as the woman’s great-grandson, he needs to know.Kayla quickly learns the whereabouts of her father and meets her formidable grandmother, while Tanner investigates his own connection to Seacliff House.Through a mutual interest in searching out their roots, romance blossoms. But events that cannot be stopped are quickly set in motion—including murder—to reveal secrets of the past that threaten the couple’s hopeful future.

The Long Masquerade


Madeleine Brent - 1981
    She is without pretext and assumes that a bright future awaits her as the bride of the wealthy Oliver Foy. Too soon she discovers that her life is a masquerade and pretense her only salvation. No one is whom he or she appears to be.Brushing against the concealed identities and hidden motives of others, Emma quickly acquires secrets of her own. When murder compels Emma to flee her husband's Jamaican plantation, she and her faithful friend find sanctuary wandering the Caribbean. Tragedy cuts short their ocean idyll and delivers Emma from her sea roamings. Once again, she adopts another name, another home, another appearance.

Mistress of Misfortune: A Gothic Romance


Hazel Hunter - 2020
    But Meredith Starling will hear none of it. Instead she finds it enchanting. Though prone to accidents and mishaps, Meredith rides by the Hall at every opportunity. For her the rundown manor evokes a grander time. She looks past the broken gate and moss covered statues and sees the imposing facade’s elegant lines and graceful charm. In fact, she is determined to see inside. But Colonel Alistair Thorne rebuffs all callers without exception—and not for the sake of being a recluse. He avoids women because of his family curse. The master of Dredthorne is doomed to fall in love with a lady who spends a night at the Hall. Though love would be welcome, its consequences would not. All of the mistresses of Dredthorne have vanished, gone mad, or suddenly died.

Deadly First Day


Emily Kazmierski - 2019
    Girls who are timid wallflowers.It was made for bold, outspoken, cultured kids of the political elite. Rich. Privileged. Condescending.Except for Ricardo, who looks at me like I'm a new flavor of ice cream he'd like to try, despite my cute bodyguard's disapproving stare. If only bratty girls and cute boys were my biggest problem.When the academy's resident mean girl is killed on my very first day, their shimmering oasis becomes a pool of blood. The whispering gets louder. Quick glances become hard stares.They’re looking for someone to blame. They’re looking at me.

Moura


Virginia Coffman - 1959
    Once there, Anne found herself fascinated by Edmond, the brooding surly master of Moura.

Tyler


Regan Black - 2020
    After escaping her captors, her sole purpose is to destroy the gangs that prey on Native American women and make sure no one else suffers like she did. But she doesn't know the gangs are closing in and about to spring a trap.Can a helpful stranger save her from herself?A former airman, Tyler Vidro now works as behind-the-scenes support for the Guardian Agency bodyguards. He's been privately searching for Autumn since she disappeared after delivering testimony in an important trial against the violent gangs operating on tribal lands.After months of analysis Tyler knows the gangs are determined to stop Autumn permanently. To save her life, he must step out of his comfort zone and into the field. If he can't earn her trust, she'll never have a chance to truly heal.When hope is lost, truth is blurred, and your life is on the line, it’s time to call in the Guardian Agency.

Fallen


Mia Sheridan - 2020
    But between the nearby town with the strange, disconcerting feel, the deputy sheriff who is equal parts intriguing and suspicious, and the discovery that their new home holds a dark and violent past, Scarlett soon begins to question her rash decision. She is shaken and afraid by the screams that echo in the walls and the drumbeat that arises from the surrounding woods where the ghost of an indigenous man is said to roam, seeking vengeance. Her fear is also personal, because Scarlett knew one of the girls who attended the school, a friend who escaped into those woods and was never seen again. They all thought she was a rebellious runaway who later encountered foul play, but perhaps the truth is far more sinister. As Scarlett’s extraordinary daughter Haddie becomes consumed by the eerie figure who weaves and beckons through the forest fog, and a legacy of secrets reveal themselves, it becomes clear both Scarlett and Haddie are in grave danger. When the past intersects with the present, they will come face to face with the true evil of Lilith House. An evil that has lasted for more than a century.

My Protector


Ashlee Price - 2017
    People in town say that my reputation is too hot to handle.What the fu#k do they know? All they see is a chiseled firefighter with a heart of ash and a Texas-sized trail of women left behind.What they don't see are my feelings for Jenna.It was her that I always wanted.Not on the on-again, off-again fake a$$ plastic blonde that I can't seem to shake.Beautiful. Smart. S#xy. It was Jenna all along.This time, I won't let anything get in the way of us.Not my ego.Not my immature fu#k-ups that cost our relationship the first time.It would be so easy for her to skip town.She could leave the family's debt and bull$hit for good.I'll stop at nothing to change her mind though.  I'll prove my love for her and our baby. My Protector is s stand-alone second chance, secret baby romance with a guaranteed HEA.

In the Shadow of Lakecrest


Elizabeth Blackwell - 2017
    Kate Moore is looking for a way out of the poverty and violence of her childhood. When a chance encounter on a transatlantic ocean liner brings her face-to-face with the handsome heir to a Chicago fortune, she thinks she may have found her escape—as long as she can keep her past concealed.After exchanging wedding vows, Kate quickly discovers that something isn’t quite right with her husband—or her new family. As Mrs. Matthew Lemont, she must contend with her husband’s disturbing past, his domineering mother, and his overly close sister. Isolated at Lakecrest, the sprawling, secluded Lemont estate, she searches desperately for clues to Matthew’s terrors, which she suspects stem from the mysterious disappearance of his aunt years before. As Kate stumbles deeper into a maze of family secrets, she begins to question everyone’s sanity—especially her own. But just how far will she go to break free of this family’s twisted past?