Book picks similar to
Dust by Ann McMan


lgbt
lesbian
mystery
lesbian-fiction

The Beast That Never Was


Caren J. Werlinger - 2016
    She must now live a life of duty to her mother and sisters, helping them to cope in their altered circumstances. But where her mother would have her wed a childhood friend to secure their future, Lise knows that is not what she longs for.When she meets a mysterious woman in the forest, Lise feels the stirrings of emotions she cannot give voice to, but with this woman, she doesn’t have to say anything—Senna knows.Cursed, hunted, and feared, Senna has been forced to wander from place to place for more years than she cares to remember. She gave up hope long ago that there could ever be an end to her isolation.Odd sightings in the forest—monsters of legend come to life, old enemies back from the past, fearsome beasts on the prowl—begin to frighten the people of Lise’s village. Somehow, all of these things are connected to Senna. As the villagers’ fear grows, so does their hatred.Senna prepares to flee, accepting what has become her fate, but Lise isn’t ready to give up her one chance for happiness. Soon, only Lise stands between the villagers and the woman she has grown to love.

London Calling


Clare Lydon - 2014
    A mix-up. Will there be a make-up?Jess Sharp’s life hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. She’s 32, unemployed, and single after a devastating breakup. She’s also left Australia for London to live in her parents’ spare room. Her chaotic life seems to be spiraling until she meets someone who could be a game-changer. She’s optimistic after a wildly successful first date, but far too much tequila and the ghosts of girlfriends past may drag her far below her lowest point. Can she win the race for romance without tripping? London Calling is the first book in a series of lesbian romance novels. If you like punchy drama, wicked humor, and charming British characters, then you’ll love Clare Lydon’s hilarious debut novel. Buy London Calling today to see if Jess stands a chance!

Gray Matters


Dolores Arden - 2020
    At work, she’s embroiled in a months-long murder investigation that has yet to show any signs of breaking. At home, she’s on the skids with her soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, while nightmares of the gruesome murder scene keep her up at night.On the other side of the country, Giana Falco has just made the biggest change in her life. She’s ended her engagement and now she’s moving to the west coast to take a job as a forensic scientist in a town where she knows practically no one. It’s either the bravest or the stupidest thing she’s ever done.Sparks begin to fly the moment Remy and Giana meet. Remy has never seen a woman more intelligent or more beautiful than her new colleague, but she knows that allowing herself to fall for a straight woman would be a uniquely masochistic kind of folly. For her part, Giana is intrigued by the tall and reticent detective. She sees no reason why the two of them shouldn’t become the best of friends.The stakes couldn’t be higher as the two women put their heads together to work the case, drawing ever closer to finding the killer—and ever closer to finding each other. Try as they might to ignore it, the attraction they feel becomes something neither one of them can deny.

To Boldly Go


Em Stevens - 2018
     Taryn's trip of a lifetime is finally happening. She's saved money, researched, planned, and created an itinerary that will allow her to travel Italy...and finally tell her best friend that she's in love with her. But those plans are ruined when she wakes up alone, her crush gone. Her plans did not include being alone and stranded in Milan. Now Taryn's dream vacation is a nightmare. Enter Holly, a fellow traveler: young, full of life, and comfortable traipsing off the beaten path. Holly feels a connection with Taryn and wants to salvage her trip. After all, they're in freaking Italy! But their radically different travel styles and age differences make for rough terrain. Together, they boldly go into unexplored territories of the heart, and may just discover love.

The Amnesia Project


Barbara Winkes - 2018
    What happened behind these doors? In the summer of 2003, three young women and a teenage girl take a trip to New York City…Only three of them return. More than a decade later, one of them uncovers the shocking truth.

The Caphenon


Fletcher DeLancey - 2014
    Another decision to give it away. Captain Ekatya Serrado has spent her career fighting the Voloth, who view less advanced civilizations as fuel for their empire. The choice between saving her ship or a world under attack is easy. The choices that come after are harder. Lancer Andira Tal, the leader of Alsea, believes her people are alone in the universe until a gigantic spaceship crashes near her capital city. Now she is thrust into a struggle between two powerful forces, and her planet is the prize. With a civilization and the galactic balance of power at risk, friendships and alliances may not hold against betrayal. Honor is easy when the stakes are low.

Payback


Charlotte Mills - 2019
    But before she even has a chance to settle in, Kate finds herself in a situation there’s no coming back from. She’s reported as a troublemaker to her new boss, Detective Chief Inspector Helen Taylor, a no-nonsense veteran who once had an esteemed, high-profile career.The pair investigate a spate of arson attacks, a dead body found in a burnt out building, and a missing architect while fighting their growing attraction for each other. The discovery of a dumped vehicle in a quarry lake sparks a series of events that will change their lives forever.A thrilling lesbian mystery about trying to right a past wrong…despite the consequences.76,000 words

Mending Defects


Lynn Galli - 2011
    Laid-back Glory Eiben learned long ago that keeping personal information and opinions to herself goes a long way toward staying hassle free in her chosen home town. Much adored by the residents, she’s maintained the life she’s always wanted with good friends, close family, and a successful career. For someone with a rare congenital heart defect, this life is more than she could have hoped for. Leaving behind big city excitement, a demanding position, and a failed relationship, Lena Coleridge thinks this small ski town may be exactly what she needs to come back from her wit’s end. She didn’t think that job politics or social landmines would exist in such a small town. Keeping to herself won’t be an option with these nosy locals. It doesn’t help that she lives next door to one of the more popular residents who seems too easy going and nice to be true. Friendship is inevitable, but as she gets to know Glory, friendship isn’t the only thing on her mind. After her last relationship, Lena doesn’t want anything to do with another complication, and dating her neighbor could definitely get complicated.

Harmony


Karis Walsh - 2011
    She arranges her career as a violist, her relationships with family and friends, and even her love life so she can avoid strife at all costs. Everything is going according to plan until she meets Brooke Stanton the night before Brooke’s wedding rehearsal and her ordered existence falls apart.When Brooke hires a string quartet to play at her rehearsal dinner, she doesn’t expect to meet a woman who threatens the security of her already predetermined future. Suddenly she has doubts about the conventional path she has chosen and desires she can no longer ignore.In an eclectic neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, these two women face a life-altering decision—will they fight the attraction that threatens their carefully structured lives or take a chance on finding the harmony only love creates?

Telling Lies Online


Miranda MacLeod - 2016
    Tired of her impulsive streak leaving her heartbroken, she's determined to do everything right the next time she's in love. But her resolve crumbles when a technical glitch matches her with perfection in Claire, a woman who lives on the opposite side of the country. Who is straight. And under the impression that Jamie's a guy. But Jamie can't help being smitten. Would one tiny lie be so terrible if it gets her closer to the woman of her dreams?Claire Flores is a dreamer and a believer in signs, but she has a secret that keeps her cautious about love. All she wants is a picture-perfect family of her own, but she's never met a man who attracts her. Until now. Throwing caution to the wind, she goes from Portland to Boston to meet Jay, her online love. Instead she meets Jamie, his work colleague, who befriends her in Jay's unexpected absence. Claire's heart is aflutter. Jamie stirs up feelings Claire never knew possible, but how close can she get without having to admit that she's been lying to herself about her dreams all along?What starts as a simple fib soon snowballs as Jamie fabricates increasingly ridiculous tales to keep her identity as Jay under wraps, until a comedy of errors threatens to topple the whole charade to the ground. Can true love prevail when it's founded on a lie?

The Love Factor


Quinn Ivins - 2020
    It might be the nineties, and everything’s shoulder pads, Doc Martens, and The X-Files, but people won’t budge on gay rights. Molly decides to give a PhD a whirl but finds herself more interested in campus politics…and her strict and sexy statistics professor.Professor Carmen Vaughn is stuck in small-town Maryland with smarmy blowhards for colleagues and ungrateful students who can’t handle her high standards. She has no intention of coming out, least of all to Molly, a troublemaking grad student who can’t stop picking fights with the conservative faculty.But when Molly discovers evidence implicating a homophobic colleague in a scandal, Carmen can’t ignore it—even if the subject hits too close to home. As the two women work together to make their case, they grow closer than Carmen ever imagined. But she absolutely refuses to get involved with a student.The thing is, as the chemistry builds between them, Molly isn’t sure she wants to be a grad student anymore…if she ever did.75,000 words

Hell's Belle


Marie Castle - 2013
    She could have done without the guardian bit that put a bull’s eye on her back. Being a guardian comes with so many risks and rules that immortality ought to be a fringe benefit. Whenever the New Orleans Supernaturals’ Crime Unit calls for her help she’d like to tell them to go to Hell—but they’re already in that particularly unpleasant part of the netherworld. Even a guardian has to pay her bills, and Cate has no intention of following in her mother’s footsteps as an enforcer for the Council of Supernatural Beings. Opening the Darkmirror Agency was a great idea. Her clients are mostly human, and they pay for everything from bounty hunting to process serving. But one day it all goes to Hell, figuratively. Then literally.Because that’s the day the Council’s detective Jacqueline Sloan slinks her way into Cate’s life. Jacq. So alluring. So powerful. So immortal. And up to her sexy neck in a secret that will unleash Hell’s Belle.Marie Castle’s unpredictable Darkmirror world is unveiled in this romantic, sizzling debut.

Blue


Abigail Padgett - 1998
    But why is Muffin's brother Dan asking Blue for her help in getting Muffin to retract her confession? And why are Muffin's wealthy society friends clearly lying to protect her? Stalking the truth will lead Blue to a desperate, nationwide conspiracy -- and an unraveling mystery more dangerous than she bargained for.

Not Your Sidekick


C.B. Lee - 2016
    Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.

The Delicate Things We Make


Milena McKay - 2021
    The quest, however, proves to be difficult, as—so far—nobody has managed to discover who the legendary DeVor really is.As Jamie delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding the enigmatic artist, trying to salvage her stagnant career, she risks getting in over her head and losing her heart in the process.100,000 words