Book picks similar to
The Girlfriend Experience by Charles O'Donnell
first-reads
fiction
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Archaea
Dain White - 2011
Captain Dak Smith saw in her something special, an opportunity to burn for the far horizon as an independent, free from the gloms that hold known space in thrall – but he had to get her running first.Armed with a standard-issue captain's eyebrow and an infectious grin, Captain Smith and his hand-picked crew embark on an adventure through deep space filled with scoundrels, pirates, and some incredibly unfortunate peace-loving rocks that happened to be at the wrong place, at the worst time.
The Burning
S.O. Esposito - 2018
She’s happily married, has two beautiful children, a close knit group of friends, and a cause she cares deeply about. But beneath the surface, her world of safety and comfort is unraveling. The periods of lost time she’s kept secret—even from her husband—are happening more frequently. She certainly doesn’t remember leaving her Sarasota home at three-thirty in the morning to burn someone alive. Now she sits in a Florida state mental institution, awaiting judgement on whether she’s fit to stand trial on charges of murder and arson. While a psychologist works to help Alice face her past, her future depends on the answer to one question: How far did she go for justice?*This book is recommended for mature audiences. While there are no explicit scenes of graphic or explicit violence, it does touch on themes of trafficking and sexual assault.
Bitten
Dan O'Brien - 2010
There is talk of wolves walking on two legs and attacking people in the deep woods. Lauren Westlake, resourceful and determined F.B.I Agent, has found a connection between the strange murders in the north and a case file almost a hundred years old. Traveling to the cold north, she begins an investigation that spirals deep into the darkness of mythology and nightmares. Filled with creatures of the night and an ancient romance, the revelation of who hunts beneath the moon is more grisly than anyone could have imagined.
Beautiful Tears
David Duane Kummer - 2016
The bridge holds many secrets.Two hurting women face each other on this night, destinies merging. Mistakes have been made, people have been hurt, and these two are the victims. After the many years, they are ready to give up, ready to end it all. But one thing keeps them from giving up.The bridge holds many secrets, and the city breeds scum. But together, they can heal and help.This passionate, emotional story about the power of forgiveness takes you far away, to a city you'll always remember and never forget. Follow me to the place where mercy and grace mingle, where love and pain go hand-in-hand. Follow me to the bridge.
Footprints
Rosen Trevithick - 2010
However, cracks start to form, causing Jenna to ask some startling questions and she sets off to Cornwall to find answers.At first the people of Bosdower are welcoming and friendly, but Jenna slowly finds herself drawn into a web of unrequited passions, abduction and perhaps, even murder.
Shadow Agenda
Sam Powers - 2015
In Europe, two diplomats are slain. In America, a deadly game is unfolding that may yet engulf the world in flames... Enter Joe Brennan, a man fighting for the right reasons who may be on the wrong team. He's on the trail of a sniper, even as rumors surface of a much deadlier plot. With help from reporter Alex Malone, Brennan must stay on the run and under fire, as he tries to save countless lives and uncover the Shadow Agenda. NOTE: This novel was previously serialized in three-parts as "Betrayer of Kings", "Deadman Switch", and "Fallout Zone."
Across the Street
Laurie Lisa - 2013
For Sam, years of infertility, followed by an unthinkable tragedy, have left her despairing of ever having a child. Money is tight, and IVF is expensive. Sam’s only hope may be to ask her sister to be a surrogate. Alex will do anything for Sam, but when the sisters embark upon an unorthodox route to surrogacy, jealousy, guilt, and legal complications soon follow.As the limits of sisterly devotion are tested, the family’s hidden wounds and secret addictions come to light, shaking the foundation of their marriages and their lives.An emotional story of a woman’s struggle with infertility and a riveting book about the complexities of family, Across the Street makes an excellent selection for book clubs.
Mother Be The Judge
Sally O'Brien - 2014
Elsewhere Jocasta Brown suspects it could be her very own son who has committed the terrible crimes. When faced with the decision of how to deal with her situation Jocasta faces one of her biggest challenges as a mother. Mother Be the Judge is a psychological thriller with a truly chilling protagonist. As chilling as it is thought provoking, you don't want to miss this read. Warning - this book contains scenes of a graphic nature covering the topic of rape and murder. Not suitable for children or people of a sensitive nature
A Patriot's Act
Kenneth Eade - 2014
Government's Patriot Act. Santa Barbara accountant Ahmed Khury responds to the plea of his brother, Sabeen, a suspected money launderer in Iraq. Before Ahmed realizes what has happened to him, he is sent to Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp as a suspected terrorist, and is subjected to torture to extract information that he doesn't have. The courtroom drama mounts as the drama outside the courtroom explodes, and when murder, corruption and cover-up enters the picture, nobody, including Brent, is safe.
Dark Side of Sunset Pointe (Lance Underphal Mystery #1)
Michael Allan Scott - 2012
A hardnosed homicide detective who won’t give up. A Trump-wannabe real estate developer – murdered. A freelance photographer who saw it all in his head.Dark. Different. Inspired by true events. Devastated by his wife’s death, the down and out crime scene photographer wakes plagued with visions – the double shooting of a commercial real estate developer and his mistress.The hard-boiled homicide detective does his best to blow off the photographer’s “visions,” but dead bodies are piling up. The photographer comes to realize his visions will either kill him or lead to the murderer. His only hope is the voice in his head, the voice of his dead wife.
No Greater Sacrifice
John C. Stipa - 2009
Her challenge: solve a 100-year-old mystery originating from a sinister church where nothing is as it seems. Renée joins forces with David Arturo, an ex-helicopter pilot with a troubled past, to interpret clues cleverly hidden in tombstones and classic works of literature to find artifacts scattered across Europe. Racing against time, Renée and David must overcome their inner demons to outmaneuver a network of evil bent on destroying them. What they find in each other just might provide answers to some of mankind's oldest myths.
Rooked
Caitlin Sara - 2018
. . Despite her desire for control, Ara Hopkins has always felt like a pawn—constantly being maneuvered by those surrounding her. Carrying a riddled past of abandonment by her mother, a jealous step-sister and exploitation by men she was supposed to be able to trust, Ara craves a social media certified life. So, when she meets her husband, a New York congressman’s son, she believes she’s finally won her game. Secure in a life her mother would approve of—and having firmly shut the door on her chaotic and miscalculated past—Ara feels she’s thriving. Until the night her husband is murdered. Thrust into a game of deceit and lies, Ara realizes that nothing is as it seems and that the past can quickly return to the present. The facade crumbles as relationships are tested and family boundaries crossed. Faced with losing it all, she discovers what a person is really capable of. Because in this game of life, it's either rook or be rooked. An intricately braided plot with unforeseeable twists and a sucker-punch ending, Rooked is a captivating thriller that shatters all perceptions.
The Deserter
Nelson DeMille - 2019
But circumstances were murky: Did Mercer desert before he was captured? Then a second video sent to Mercer’s Army commanders leaves no doubt: the trained assassin and keeper of classified Army intelligence has willfully disappeared. When Mercer is spotted a year later in Caracas, Venezuela by an old army buddy, top military brass task Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Criminal Investigation Division to fly to Venezuela and bring Mercer back to America—dead or alive. Brodie knows this is a difficult mission, made more difficult by his new partner’s inexperience and by his suspicion that Maggie Taylor is reporting to the CIA. With ripped-from-the-headlines appeal, an exotic and dangerous locale, and the hairpin twists and inimitable humor that are signature DeMille, The Deserter is the first in a timely and thrilling new series from an unbeatable team of True Masters: the #1 New York Times bestseller Nelson DeMille and his son, award-winning screenwriter Alex DeMille.
The Folks at Fifty-Eight
Michael Patrick Clark - 2012
With the war in Europe at an end, Hammond returns to Washington only to find his unit disbanded and his wife moved out of the marital home.Ostracized by the Washington elite, publicly humiliated by an unfaithful wife, and scorned by former friends and colleagues, he is forced to take a mundane job with an insurance company. . . But then comes the call.The State Department wants him to rescue a young woman, trapped in Soviet East Germany. Should he succeed a plum job at The State Department awaits. Desperate for deliverance from his humdrum existence, Hammond accepts the assignment.He heads into enemy territory, unaware of the sinister force that sponsored his mission or of the unseen dangers that lie in wait. He only knows that he must somehow save the girl to save himself, but as his enemies close in, and ever-more disturbing revelations come to light, Gerald Hammond begins to wonder which poses the greatest threat. . . The enemy he runs from, the friend he runs to, or the girl he was sent to save?"Fast paced thriller with lots of action - I couldn't put it down!!" - Amazon Reviewer "Delicious spy novel, bold and graphic." - Amazon Reviewer "A tremendous book - a definite page turner"- Amazon Reviewer "This is the best spy novel I have read in quite some time" - Amazon Reviewer "I purchased this based on the reviews, and it exceeded expectations" - Amazon Reviewer "And be warned, there's bad language, sex, sadistic murders, regular murders, etc. in this book. It's a spy novel...stay out of the kitchen if you don't like this kind of heat." - Amazon Reviewer
Bleak Harbor
Bryan Gruley - 2018
Deep down, they think they’re to blame.
Summertime in Bleak Harbor means tourists, overpriced restaurants, and the Dragonfly Festival. One day before the much-awaited and equally chaotic celebration, Danny Peters, the youngest member of the family that founded the town five generations ago, disappears. When Danny’s mother, Carey, and stepfather, Pete, receive a photo of their brilliant, autistic, and socially withdrawn son tied to a chair, they fear the worst. But there’s also more to the story. Someone is sending them ominous texts and emails filled with information no one else should have. Could the secrets they’ve kept hidden—even from one another—have led to Danny’s abduction?As pressure from the kidnapper mounts, Carey and Pete must face their own ugly mistakes to find their son before he’s taken from them forever.