Book picks similar to
The Sapphire Cove by Sophie Anderson
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Missing, Presumed
Susie Steiner - 2016
Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw tries to sleep after yet another soul-destroying Internet date – the low murmuring of her police radio her only solace.Over the airwaves come reports of a missing woman – door ajar, keys and phone left behind, a spatter of blood on the kitchen floor. Manon knows the first 72 hours are critical: you find her, or you look for a body. And as soon as she sees a picture of Edith Hind, a Cambridge post-graduate from a well-connected family, she knows this case will be big.Is Edith alive or dead? Was her ‘complex love life’ at the heart of her disappearance, as a senior officer tells the increasingly hungry press? And when a body is found, is it the end or only the beginning?
Too Good to Be True
Carola Lovering - 2021
TWO MARRIAGES. THREE VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH.Skye Starling is overjoyed when her boyfriend, Burke Michaels, proposes after a whirlwind courtship. Though Skye seems to have the world at her fingertips―she’s smart, beautiful, and from a well-off family―she’s also battled crippling OCD ever since her mother’s death when she was eleven, and her romantic relationships have suffered as a result.But now Burke―handsome, older, and more emotionally mature than any man she’s met before―says he wants her. Forever. Except, Burke isn’t who he claims to be. And interspersed letters to his therapist reveal the truth: he’s happily married, and using Skye for his own, deceptive ends.In a third perspective, set thirty years earlier, a scrappy seventeen-year-old named Heather is determined to end things with Burke, a local bad boy, and make a better life for herself in New York City. But can her adolescent love stay firmly in her past―or will he find his way into her future?On a collision course she doesn’t see coming, Skye throws herself into wedding planning, as Burke’s scheme grows ever more twisted. But of course, even the best laid plans can go astray. And just when you think you know where this story is going, you’ll discover that there’s more than one way to spin the truth.
The Doll House
Phoebe Morgan - 2017
And when she finds a tiny part of a doll house outside her flat, it feels as if it’s a sign.But as more pieces begin to turn up, Corinne realises that they are far too familiar. Someone knows about the miniature rocking horse and the little doll with its red velvet dress. Someone has been inside her house…How does the stranger know so much about her life? How long have they been watching? And what are they waiting for…?
The Silent Sister
Diane Chamberlain - 2014
Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now? As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound reality, in this engrossing New York Times bestselling mystery from Diane Chamberlain.
The Good Goodbye
Carla Buckley - 2016
The second thing is that it matters.On her way to her nineteenth wedding anniversary celebration, Natalie Falcone leaves the struggling restaurant she owns with her brother-in-law Vince. She doesn’t speak to him on her way out; they haven’t spoken in months. Out on the sidewalk, she gets a phone call every mother dreads: It’s from a hospital emergency room in the town where her daughter, Arden, attends college. Arden’s been in a fire, along with Natalie’s niece, Rory—Vince’s daughter and Arden’s best friend.Natalie rushes to the hospital and learns that both Arden and Rory lie unconscious, and that another student has died in the blaze. The police suspect arson.As the investigation mounts, Natalie struggles to piece together the elusive details of Arden’s and Rory’s freshman year. Growing up, Rory was charming, popular, and charismatic, while Arden was artistic, perceptive, and reserved. They were different yet inseparable, more like sisters than cousins. But the case unearths a different portrait—of a complex friendship, a love triangle, a fight, and a girl who was struggling more than anyone realized. To discover what really happened that tragic night, Natalie’s and Vince’s families must confront the one truth that ultimately emerges: Nothing is ever exactly what it seems.
The Perfect Neighbour
Susanna Beard - 2021
She wishes she could make friends with her beautiful neighbour Oksana. She longs for a new group of friends. Welcoming neighbours to visit. Coffee dates and dinner parties.But life here feels so closed. Then Beth runs into Oksana’s garden one day to fetch her runaway dog, and she sees something shocking that makes her wonder who her new neighbours really are.A girl in the window.A pale desperate face.A hastily scribbled sign bearing only two words.HELP ME.Who is the girl? What are the neighbours hiding?Sometimes, it’s the most perfect neighbours that hide the most terrible secrets.
After the Crash
Emma Davies - 2021
But each morning she wakes to find his side of the bed cold is more painful than the last, and she’s struggling to make ends meet as a writer. She must admit defeat and move into the crumbling seaside guest house her daughter just bought. Perhaps it might help put what’s left of their broken family back together…There, Louisa is offered a final chance to save her career by writing an article on a local sand artist, Isaac. Except, when he turns to greet her – tall, handsome and weather-worn – something about him feels disturbingly familiar. Why, when he looks into her eyes, does she feel like he knows exactly who she is and everything she’s been through?As they explore the rugged coastline’s hidden coves together – living and laughing like she never thought she would again – Louisa is fascinated by this man who creates beautiful sculptures on the shoreline, but deep down she knows he’s keeping a secret from her. The discovery of a charcoal scribble in one of his sketchbooks linking him to the death of her husband, confirms her deepest fear. Is she ready for what he will tell her, and will letting him in tear her family and her heart apart all over again?A heartbreaking, page-turning and completely unforgettable family drama you will read in one sitting. Perfect for anyone who loves Amanda Prowse, Kerry Fisher and Jodi Picoult.
The Perfect Family
Robyn Harding - 2021
It’s a prank, Thomas insists; the work of a few out-of-control kids. But when a smoke bomb is tossed on their front lawn, and their car’s tires are punctured, the family begins to worry. Surveillance cameras show nothing but grainy images of shadowy figures in hoodies. And the police dismiss the attacks, insisting they’re just the work of bored teenagers. Unable to identify the perpetrators, the Adlers are helpless as the assaults escalate into violence, and worse. And each new violation brings with it a growing fear. Because everyone in the Adler family is keeping a secret—not just from the outside world, but from each other. And secrets can be very dangerous….This twisty, addictively page-turning suspense novel about a perfect family’s perfect façade will keep you turning pages until its explosive ending.
Rain Will Come
Thomas Holgate - 2020
Ruthless and riddled with vices, Czarcik always gets his man. And fast. Until now…A double slaying isn’t the open-and-shut case of urban crime he’s used to. Connecting it to a high-profile Texas judge, Czarcik realizes something bigger is going on. It’s the work of a serial killer for whom Chicago is just the beginning. Now he’s inviting Czarcik to play catch-me-if-you-can on a cross-country murder spree.Going rogue, Czarcik accepts the challenge. But as the bodies pile up, he must come to grips with the fact that nothing—not the killer, the victims, or the rules—is what it seems in this bloody game of cat and mouse.
First One Missing
Tammy Cohen - 2015
It'll keep you guessing until the last chapter.' JANE FALLON)'Head and shoulders above the rest. Gripping' DAILY MAIL
The Perfect Daughter
D.J. PalmerD.J. Palmer - 2021
Palmer, the author of The New Husband.Grace never dreamt she’d visit her teenaged daughter Penny in the locked ward of a decaying state psychiatric hospital, charged with the murder of a stranger. There was not much question of her daughter’s guilt. Police had her fingerprints on the murder weapon and the victim’s blood on her body and clothes. But they didn’t have a motive.Grace blames herself, because that’s what mothers do—they look at their choices and wonder, what if? But hindsight offers little more than the chance for regret.None of this was conceivable the day Penny came into her life. Then, it seemed like a miracle. Penny was found abandoned, with a mysterious past, and it felt like fate brought Penny to her, and her husband Arthur. But as she grew, Penny's actions grew more disturbing, and different "personalities" emerged.Arthur and Grace took Penny to different psychiatrists, many of whom believed she was putting on a show to help manage her trauma. But Grace didn’t buy it. The personas were too real, too consistent. It had to be a severe multiple personality disorder. One determined psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh, helped discover someone new inside Penny—a young girl named Abigail. Is this the nameless girl who was abandoned in the park years ago? Mitch thinks Abigail is the key to Penny’s past and to the murder. But as Grace and Mitch dig deeper, they uncover dark and shocking secrets that put all their lives in grave danger.
It Could Never Happen Here
Eithne Shortall - 2022
Their school is about to be taught a lesson...Beverley Franklin will do whatever it takes to protect her local school's reputation.So when a scandal involving her own daughter threatens to derail the annual school musical's appearance on national television, Beverley goes into overdrive.But in her efforts to protect her daughter and keep the musical on track, she misses what's really going, both in her own house and in the insular Glass Lake community - with dramatic consequences.Glass Lake primary school's reputation is about to be shattered...
Dead Ernest
Frances Garrood - 2007
But when he suddenly dies of a heart attack his wife Annie refuses to have the words ‘beloved husband’ added to his gravestone. Their son, Billy, is exasperated with his mother and worries about how she will cope on her own. Unwilling to take time out of his own busy schedule to take care of her, he enlists the services of the local vicar, Andrew, to keep an eye on her.Before she knows what is happening, Annie finds herself telling the vicar things she has kept hidden for years. Dark secrets that had plagued her sixty-year marriage to Ernest.When Annie’s estranged granddaughter, Ophelia, turns up for a visit, the two bond over their mutual contempt for Billy and his controlling behaviour. But when Ophelia meets Andrew, the unhappily married vicar, things start to get very complicated…What is the truth about Ernest? Why is Annie behaving so strangely now that he is dead? And how can Andrew reconcile his growing feelings for Ophelia with his respect for his marriage and his religion?Spanning from the Second World War to the present day, Dead Ernest is a poignant, moving and, at times, very funny look at what really goes on behind closed doors in the ordinary lives of ordinary people."Beautifully written, deceptively simple, with convincingly drawn and endearing characters...a delightful read" Andrew Davies“Witty, original and engaging. A wonderful read from the classic opening line to the deeply moving conclusion” L C Tyler, author of the John Grey historical series and the Herring Mysteries."shot through with a sense of human sympathy transcending its situations; and that in itself is a considerable achievement" Church Times"Garrood's debut is assured and thought provoking" Kelly Salter, Big Issue Cymru"Remarkably well written and well constructed" Michael Allen, Grumpy Old Bookman
Summer Island Book Club
Ciara Knight - 2021
The arrival of her wildly successful, buttinski friends, overwhelms Julie when her life goes from peaceful to melodrama, makeovers, and matchmaking. Especially when they make her believe there is still life to be lived with one handsome sailor who’s just moved to town. Trevor Ashford retreats from big city life to sunny Florida after a failed marriage and damaged reputation. His only wish is to open a small boat charter company in peace, but when Houdini-a mischievous pet ferret-steals an engine part and leads him on a merry chase into the arms of Julie Boone, he has to choose between being a recluse or embracing a new love.
The Good Son
Jacquelyn Mitchard - 2022
Three years later, he’s released to a world that refuses to let him move on. Belinda’s mother, once Thea’s good friend, galvanizes the community to rally against him to protest in her daughter’s memory. The media paints Stefan as a symbol of white privilege and indifferent justice. Neighbors, employers, even some members of Thea's own family turn away.Meanwhile Thea struggles to understand her son. At times, he is still the sweet boy he has always been; at others, he is a young man tormented by guilt and almost broken by his time in prison. But as his efforts to make amends meet escalating resistance and threats, Thea suspects more forces are at play than just community outrage. And if there is so much she never knew about her own son, what other secrets has she yet to uncover—especially about the night Belinda died?