Book picks similar to
Knowing You by Samantha Tonge


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The Secret


Debbie Howells - 2022
    And now, one of mine is yours…’As the only two teenagers in a small village, Hollie and Niamh tell each other everything. Behind Abingworth’s closed doors, every family has its secrets – and theirs might hide the worst ones of all.One day Hollie tells Niamh about a devastating discovery, swears her to secrecy … then vanishes. All the villagers claim to know nothing. Until Hollie’s body is found, and the police know one of their number isn’t just a liar, but a killer…What did Hollie tell Niamh before she died? And who would kill to keep the secret?A completely unputdownable suspense which will leave you reeling at the final twist…

No Looking Back


Alex Kane - 2017
     Kat Denton is a woman running away from her past. For the past sixteen years, her life has been a living hell as Jimmy, the man she fell in love with as a teenager, becomes ever more cruel and abusive. Following the fire that killed her parents, leaving her an orphan when she was just a teenager, Kat is utterly alone and can’t see a way out. Until the day she finds out that she’s pregnant. Vowing to protect her child from Jimmy’s violence, Kat decides to fight for survival – for her and her unborn baby. Fleeing the traveller camp that has been her lifelong home isn’t easy. But along with her sister in law, Kat escapes with just the clothes on her back and the one photograph she has of her parents. Kat, along with her baby girl Lucia, starts to build a better life. But when she looks into what really happened in her parents’ death Kat uncovers dark secrets - including a revelation that will lead Kat back to the place she had been so desperate to run away from. Is she strong enough to uncover the truth and save everything that she loves most, or will Jimmy Denton have his revenge? Previously published as Chasing the Traveller A fast-paced, totally unputdownable crime thriller that fans of Mel Sherratt, Mandasue Heller and Kimberley Chambers will absolutely love. Praise for No Looking Back: ‘definitely going on my favourites list, it was a compulsive, gritty, unputdownable domestic thriller which I highly recommend!’ (5 stars) Dash Fan Book Reviews ‘The start of the book already sent chills down my spine… I loved this book and the writing style and the author has gained a fan. (5 stars) B for Book Review ‘a fabulous thriller packed with tension and emotion… If you like a tense thriller with strong characters, you can’t go wrong’ A Knight’s Reads ‘dramatic, gritty, suspenseful and oh so addictive!... I am SO looking forward to reading more from this author’ The Writing Garnet ‘A brilliantly written story, fast paced and a page turner of a read.’ Between the Pages Book Club ‘Jam-packed with emotion and suspense… If you are looking for something to get your teeth into, then this is the book for you.’ Baker’s Not So Secret Blog ‘a corker of a read that held me captive throughout. I loved that danger could be on every page, which has you racing through to see how it will all end.’ (5 stars) By The Letter Book Reviews ‘I finished it in one night!...Jealousy, trauma, power and control are all explored in this taut and nail-biting read… kept me hooked all the way through’ (5 stars) Chapter In My Life ‘had me gripped from the early chapters and I read it in two straight sittings…an amazing book w

The Sisters Chase


Sarah Healy - 2017
    Her much younger sister, Hannah, whom Mary affectionately calls “Bunny,” is imaginative, her head full of the stories of princesses and adventures that Mary tells to give her a safe emotional place in the middle of their troubled world. But when Diane dies in a car accident, Mary discovers the motel is worth less than the back taxes they owe. With few options, Mary’s finely tuned instincts for survival kick in. As the sisters begin a cross-country journey in search of a better life, she will stop at nothing to protect Hannah. But Mary wants to protect herself, too, for the secrets she promised she would never tell—but now may be forced to reveal—hold the weight of unbearable loss. Vivid and suspenseful, The Sisters Chase is a whirlwind page-turner about the extreme lengths one family will go to find—and hold onto—love.

Willow's Wedding Vows


Debbie Viggiano - 2020
    Wedding vows have never been this personal…Willow has been living with marriage-shy Charlie for more years than she cares to remember and is old-fashioned enough to want a wedding band and a loads-of-sex honeymoon before stretchmarks and nipple shields.So when the once-wary Charlie surprisingly goes down on one knee, Willow doesn’t question why her boyfriend is suddenly so keen to rush her into saying “I do”.The first clue comes as Willow is zipped into her Cinderella dress, the second as she bobs into the wedding car, and the third as the Roller swings towards its fairy-tale destination… leaving a shell-shocked Willow desperately trying to figure out what to do next.

The Girl Who Came Back


Kerry Wilkinson - 2017
    Now she’s back… or is she?When six-year-old Olivia Adams disappeared from her back garden, the small community of Stoneridge was thrown into turmoil. How could a child vanish in the middle of a cosy English village?Thirteen years on and Olivia is back. Her mother is convinced it’s her but not everyone is sure. If this is the missing girl, then where has she been - and what happened to her on that sunny afternoon?If she's an imposter, then who would be bold enough to try to fool a child’s own mother – and why?Then there are those who would rather Olivia stayed missing. The past is the past and some secrets must remain buried.

Tea for Two at the Little Cornish Kitchen (The Little Cornish Kitchen, Book 2)


Jane Linfoot - 2022
    Soon her quiet weeks in Cornwall are filled with chasing sheep, saving the local retirement village, taking The Little Cornish Kitchen into people’s homes for baking nights…and keeping vigilant guard against romance.The one and only time Cressy lost her head to love was over a decade ago while in St Aidan, and she won’t be making the same mistake again – a feat easier said than done when Ross Bradbury looks even better a decade on…and every step she takes seems to put him in her path!

See How They Run


Tom Bale - 2016
    Men ruthless enough to threaten their baby daughter, Evie. This is no burglary gone wrong. The intruders know who they’re looking for – a man called Edward Renshaw. And they are prepared to kill to get to him. When the men leave empty handed, little do Alice and Harry realise that their nightmare is just beginning. Is it a case of mistaken identity? Who is Renshaw? And what is he hiding? One thing is clear – they already know too much. As Alice and Harry are separated in the run for their lives, there is no time to breathe in their fight to be reunited. And with their attackers closing in, there is only one choice: STAY ALIVE. OR DON’T. Terrifying, unputdownable and full of twists and turns, this stunning thriller will have you on the edge of your seat right to the very last page.

The Second Wife


Sheryl Browne - 2019
    You’ll lie in it. Rebecca and Nicole swore to be best friends forever. But three years after they last met up, Rebecca receives a phone call from Nicole’s devoted husband, Richard. Nicole is dead, a tragic suicide. Drowned in a river close to her family home, Richard was the one who pulled her body from the water. Now he can’t even speak about what happened. While Rebecca reels from the news, she reads her friend’s last letters to her and begins to wonder if she knew Nicole at all. What secrets was she keeping from all the people who knew and loved her? As Rebecca gets closer and closer to Richard, things go too far and she begins to slip into Nicole’s old life – staying in her home, sleeping in her bed… But if she’s going to become the wife Nicole never was, can she keep herself safe?

The Things We Wish Were True


Marybeth Mayhew Whalen - 2016
    But behind the white picket fences lies a web of secrets that reach from house to house.Up and down the streets, neighbors quietly bear the weight of their own pasts—until an accident at the community pool upsets the delicate equilibrium. And when tragic circumstances compel a woman to return to Sycamore Glen after years of self-imposed banishment, the tangle of the neighbors’ intertwined lives begins to unravel.During the course of a sweltering summer, long-buried secrets are revealed, and the neighbors learn that it’s impossible to really know those closest to us. But is it impossible to love and forgive them?

Annie Beaton's Year of Positive Thinking


Mink Elliott - 2020
    Get a new man. Get a new LIFE!It’s Annie Beaton’s 50th birthday! But instead of getting roses and perfume, she gets sacked, her son, Ben, tells her she’s growing a beard and her husband Joe tells her he wants a divorce.Moving to the countryside to stay in her eccentric aunt’s house, Annie must find her mojo again – and fast. So when she discovers a stack of self-help books, Annie vows to use their advice – from Chicken Soup for the Soul to The Secret – to get her life back on track. Never mind that her 9-going-on-19-year-old daughter, Izzy, is currently engaging Annie in psychological warfare and her adorable 6-year-old son, Ben, spends more time wetting the bed than making friends at his new school…But now, armed with a load of affirmations/inspirational quotes/positive vibes, Annie’s determined to kick her Crappy Old Year to the kerb and have a brilliantly Happy New Year. Just as soon as she’s had her chin waxed…

Sun, Sea and Sangria


Victoria Cooke - 2020
    Having moved to the Canary Islands for a fresh start, she has never had much time for romance, channelling all her energy into managing all-male dance troupe – the Heavenly Hunks.With golden beaches, sparkling blue water and relaxing after work with a glass of sangria – or three – for Kat, it’s summer all year round. But despite life being postcard perfect, Kat can’t help but wonder if she is missing out on the most important thing of all… love.The dancers are all well-known for their flirtatious antics and aren’t looking for anything serious… except Jay. Sitting by the pool, watching the sun reflecting in the water, Kat feels like she can tell him anything.Handsome, caring and a good listener, he ignites a fire in Kat’s heart that scares her witless. But her relationship with Jay should stay strictly professional… right? There is absolutely no way that she can be his boss and his date.As the temperature rises, will Kat be able to take the plunge, let go of her past and find romance in paradise?

Everything She Forgot


Lisa Ballantyne - 2015
    Driving home, Margaret Holloway has her mind elsewhere—on a troubled student, her daughter’s acting class, the next day’s meeting—when she’s rear-ended and trapped in the wreckage. Just as she begins to panic, a disfigured stranger pulls her from the car just seconds before it’s engulfed in flames. Then he simply disappears.Though she escapes with minor injuries, Margaret feels that something’s wrong. She’s having trouble concentrating. Her emotions are running wild. More than that, flashbacks to the crash are also dredging up lost associations from her childhood, fragments of events that were wiped from her memory. Whatever happened, she didn’t merely forget—she chose to forget. And somehow, Margaret knows deep down that it’s got something to do with the man who saved her life.As Margaret uncovers a mystery with chilling implications for her family and her very identity, Everything She Forgot winds through a riveting dual narrative and asks the question: How far would you go to hide the truth—from yourself…?

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.

Another Us


Kirsten Hesketh - 2020
    Emma realises it’s not them – it’s her. But if she’s not who she thought she was, can her old life fit in with the new Emma?Compassionate, funny and poignant, Another Us is perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Fiona Gibson.

The Brighton Guest House Girls


Lesley Eames - 2019
    Thea, Anna and Daisy forge an unbreakable friendship through adversity. Thea's loathsome stepbrother is trying to trick her out of her inheritance of her parents' beautiful house in the seaside town of Brighton by means of a Will which Thea believes to be forged. He gives her three months in which to leave. Afterwards she will face destitution. Anna is pregnant and grieving, her explorer fiancé lost at sea. Her violent father drives her from the family home in the back streets of London's Bermondsey and her fiancé's upper-class relatives cruelly reject her. Daisy is in search of independence, running from a man she doesn't want to marry. Together the three girls set up Thea's home as a guest house and embark on a mission to outwit her stepbrother by proving his fraud. In a race against time, nothing will turn out to be quite as it seems.