Book picks similar to
Unravelling by Helen Forbes


helen-forbes
noir
psychological-thrillers
scotland

The Real Top Boys: The True Story of London's Deadliest Street Gangs


Wensley Clarkson - 2020
    

The DCI Jack Logan Collection Books 1-3: A Scottish Crime Fiction Series


J.D. Kirk - 2020
    

Friends and Secrets


Grace Thompson - 2006
    Cynthia is happily married to her lifelong sweetheart, but not even their present wealth and security makes her willing to reveal the abuse and trauma they suffered as children. Meriel’s husband has abandoned her for another woman. And well meaning but snobbish Joanne can’t admit that behind her prosperous façade, she’s struggling for every penny. As new people enter their lives, these women must draw on all their resources to meet the challenges thrown at them. But can they learn to rely on each other, or will they stand alone?  Friends and Secrets is a heartwarming contemporary tale from Grace Thompson, the much-loved author of saga series including the Valley series, the Pendragon Island series, and the Badgers Brook series.

The Rose Well Files: A Tale of Woozles and UFOs


David Luddington - 2021
    

The Inspector McKay Series: books 1 - 3


Alex Walters - 2018
    Soon McKay and his team start to identify a disturbing pattern behind the killings.Why are candles and roses placed around the bodies?What is this twisted murderer trying to achieve?While the police follow their own leads, a young woman who discovered the first victim begins an investigation of her own.As the case unfolds McKay will be forced to face his own demons.To catch the killer McKay must discover the true motive and untangle the web of truth and lies.Candles and Roses is the first book in the explosive new DI McKay Series.  Death Parts Us: Twenty years ago, Jackie Galloway was a senior cop with a bad reputation. Then he ended up on the wrong side of the wrong people, and his career was ruined. Sacked and with no pension, he ends up eking out his last days on Scotland's Black Isle, his mind lost to dementia, supported only by his long-suffering wife, Bridie. Then Galloway is found dead. The police assume the death to be accidental until Bridie Galloway reveals that her husband has been receiving threatening letters containing only the phrase: 'NOT FORGOTTEN. NOT FORGIVEN.'DI Alec McKay is struggling to come to terms with life without his estranged wife Chrissie, and is living in isolation on the Black Isle. As a junior officer, McKay had been allocated to Galloway's team and has bad memories of the man and his methods. Now he finds himself investigating Galloway's death.But when suspicion falls on him and more police officers are murdered, the pressure is on for McKay to solve the case.Why would the killer seek revenge twenty years after Galloway left the force?As McKay fights to link the events of past and present, he realizes that time is rapidly running out… Their Final Act: Jimmy McGuire, a washed-up comic, is found dead on the streets of Inverness, his body garroted. Back in the 1990s, McGuire had been half of a promising double-act until his partner, Jack Dingwall, was convicted of rape.Soon after, a second corpse is found in an abandoned industrial site on the edge of the Moray Firth. The body has been there for some days and has also been garroted. The victim turns out to be a former musician turned record producer, who had also been the subject of rape allegations.Meanwhile, DI Alec McKay and DCI Helena Grant are still wrestling with the fallout from one of their recent cases following an acquittal.As the body count rises, the police think they have the killer in their sights. But McKay is concerned that the evidence is too neat so when he realises there will be a final victim, he fears that time is running out. The best-selling DI Alec McKay series are gripping serial killer thrillers set in the Scotish Black Isle. They will appeal to fans of authors like Ian Rankin, Helen Fields and Ann Cleeves.

The Mechanic Trilogy: the complete boxset


Rob Ashman - 2018
     THERE ARE THREE UNMISSABLE CRIME THRILLERS IN THIS SUPERB VALUE BOXSET: Those That Remain In Your Name Pay The Penance THOSE THAT REMAIN: Lucas is coasting towards retirement in a mundane Florida police precinct when a brutal serial killer, codenamed Mechanic, lands on his patch. Three years ago, they thought Mechanic was dead. But Mechanic is very much alive and no family is safe from the savage, ritualistic murders that the sadistic killer is compelled to commit.Mechanic is always one step ahead and Lucas is forced to operate outside of the law. But who can he trust and who is Mechanic? Soon Lucas will learn that the truth is more terrifying than he could ever imagine and in order to find the answers he needs, he might have to put his life on the line… IN YOUR NAME: Police detective Lucas has become consumed with tracking down the deranged killer, known as Mechanic, and bringing the murderer to justice. Nothing else matters, not even his wife. His marriage is falling apart.Mechanic has not killed for eight months and the trail has gone cold, then Lucas receives a terrifying letter. In a desperate bid to reignite the case, he tries to convince his boss to mount an operation in Baton Rouge where the letter was posted.But was the letter really sent by Mechanic?Not knowing where to turn, with his marriage in turmoil and his career on the rocks, Lucas begins to spiral out of control and when Mechanic meets the head of a drug smuggling cartel the situation takes a grave turn. Meanwhile, a bizarre set of murders are taking place in Vegas and Detective Rebecca Moran is put on the case. She will stop at nothing to make a name for herself.Is there a link between the murders and Mechanic?Can Lucas apprehend the killer this time or will Mechanic remain one step ahead?   PAY THE PENANCE: Murder. Corruption. Revenge. Lucas has been tracking a killer, known as Mechanic, when his world is shattered. Unable to continue his hunt for the murderer he is forced to rely on his friend and colleague Dick Harper. But Harper has a knack for not playing by the rules. And he doesn’t disappoint.Meanwhile Detective Moran is trying to piece her life back together. The police stumble upon new evidence without grasping its significance and she must divert the investigation if she is to survive.The police are closer to Mechanic than they realise which puts Moran right in the firing line. Mechanic, as usual, has other plans and the consequences for Lucas and Harper are terrifying… The Mechanic books are fast-paced, gripping serial killer thrillers. They will appeal to fans of authors like Ed James, Michael Connelly and Mark Edwards.

The Rumor


Lori Lacefield - 2018
    A long-held secret. A couple coming undone.Beth McCallum and Nick Storvik are attending their twentieth high school reunion when they learn of a disturbing revelation. The bones of Missy Ferguson, a high school classmate who disappeared their Junior year, have been discovered in a Michigan wildlife reserve and an autopsy reveals she was murdered. Suspects are scarce, but when an old rumor resurfaces that Missy was pregnant before she disappeared and Nick was the father, Nick quickly becomes the prime suspect. Beth swears the allegations about her then-boyfriend and Missy were never true, promising she and Nick were together the entire autumn of that year, but the truth is, Beth can’t remember what occurred those last two weeks of October during their Junior year at all. As secrets and lies are exposed, Beth and Nick find their marriage tested as each begins to suspect the other has much to hide - including the possibility that one of them is capable of murder.

THE MUNRO & WEST MYSTERIES: four utterly gripping whodunits


Pete Brassett - 2021
    

The Last Crossing


Brian McGilloway - 2020
    Half a lifetime has passed and memories have been buried. But when they are asked to reunite - to lay ghosts to rest for the good of the future - they all have their own reasons to agree. As they take the ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland the past is brought in to terrible focus - some things are impossible to leave behind.In The Last Crossing memory is unreliable, truth shifts and slips and the lingering legacy of the Troubles threatens the present once again.

Secrets of a Serial Killer


Rosie Walker - 2020
    It’s crawling all over her face and in her eyes, like a swarm of insects, and it’s all because of him.A serial killer has been terrorising Lancaster for decades, longer than should ever have been possible. The police are baffled, eluded at every turn by the killer whose victims span generations. Speculation is rife among the true crime forums; is someone passing on their gruesome trade?Every local mother's worst nightmare has become Helen Summerton's reality; he’s taken her daughter, Zoe. As the clock runs down so do her chances of survival. Can Helen unearth the secrets of the killer before it’s too late?A gripping serial killer thriller that you won’t be able to put down. Perfect for fans of The Whisper Man, What You Did and Don’t Even Breathe.

Dark Tide


Elizabeth Haynes - 2012
    She’s found the perfect vessel: Revenge of the Tide. She already feels less lonely; as if the boat is looking after her.But the night of her boat-warming party, a body washes up, and to Genevieve’s horror, she recognizes the victim. She isn’t about to tell the police, though; hardly anyone knows about her past as a dancer at a private members’ club, The Barclay. The death can’t have anything to do with her. Or so she thinks...Soon, the lull of the waves against Revenge feels anything but soothing, as Genevieve begins to receive strange calls and can’t reach the one person who links the present danger with her history at the club. Fearing for her safety, Genevieve recalls the moment when it all started to go wrong: the night she saw her daytime boss in the crowd at The Barclay...Dark, sexy, and exquisitely chilling, Dark Tide is another superb mystery from acclaimed rising star Elizabeth Haynes.

Valentina


S.E. Lynes - 2016
    Lynes.

Detective Sophie Allen: Books 1-3


Michael Hambling - 2018
     YOU GET THREE ENTHRALLING MYSTERIES IN THIS BOX SET BOOK 1: DARK CRIMES A young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart. It seems like a simple crime for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning. The case grows more complex as Sophie Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation. There’s an obvious suspect but Detective Allen isn't convinced. Could someone else be lurking in the shadows, someone savagely violent, looking for a warped revenge? BOOK 2: DEADLY CRIMES A young man’s mutilated body is found on top of the Agglestone, a well-known local landmark on Studland Heath. It seems that he was involved in a human trafficking and prostitution gang. But why is DCI Sophie Allen keeping something back from her team? Is it linked to the extraordinary discovery of her own father's body at the bottom of a disused mineshaft, more than forty years after he disappeared? BOOK 3: SECRET CRIMES Two women go away for the weekend, but only one comes back alive.Was it just the music they were into? And who was the man the victim met at the festival? DCI Sophie Allen is back in charge after the emotional upheavals she suffered in 'Deadly Crimes,' but is she really in control? And Detective Constable Rae Gregson joins the team and immediately faces challenges that put her life in peril. IF YOU LIKE ANGELA MARSONS, RACHEL ABBOTT, COLIN DEXTER, RUTH RENDELL, OR MARK BILLINGHAM you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer. THE DETECTIVE DCI Sopie Allen is head of the recently formed Violent Crime Unit in Dorset. A beautiful English county which includes a stunning section of the coastline, but whose beauty belies darkness beneath the surface. She is 42 as the series starts, and lives with her husband and younger daughter in Wareham. Her elder daughter is studying in London. Sophie has a law degree and a master’s in criminal psychology. Her brilliant mind conceals some dark secrets from her past.

Nelson's Wake: Under Admiralty Orders - The Oliver Quintrell Series - Book 6


M.C. Muir - 2020
    

Sinful Heartthrobs


Scarlett Avery - 2021
    One Disillusioned Curvy BBW Texan. One Unforgettable British Romance Filled With Unspeakable Naughty Pleasures! ***POV from all 3 main characters.*** This alpha male ménage has been revised and re-released. It was first released as British Rendezvous. British Temptation Part 1: Enticed When twenty-four-year-old Delilah Belle Babcock is selected for a summer internship in London, England, she’s excited at the prospective of a fresh-start. Leaving her relationship woes behind in New York City, she sets off to the other side of the pond. Her only goal is to perfect her skills as a curator. She never expected to meet the likes of Ethan Gordimer... or his best friend Xander Emerson. One chance encounter places all three of them in the same spot at the same time. Will Delilah succumb to their magnetic and irresistible charm or will her straight-laced Southern upbringing keep her on the straight and narrow? British Temptation Part 2: Enraptured Once Ethan and Xander have Delilah behind closed doors, they rock her world in such a mind-blowing way, she’s afraid she might never recover. She can’t thank her lucky stars enough to have not one, but two delicious pieces of ‘man candy’ shower her with so much attention. That said, she never expected them to want to see her again. After setting aside her good-girl beliefs (aka her straight-laced Southern upbringing) and embracing the naughty girl inside who’s been dying to come out and play, Delilah willingly succumbs to the bewildering charm of her two sexy and strapping Alpha Brits... and boy, is the ride ever worth it. Part 1 is sexy as hell. Part 2 is smoking hot. Yeah, it’s very possible your e-reader will melt! This is a captivating alpha male ménage and British Romance all wrapped into one saucy package. British Temptation Part 3: Entranced Sometimes in life your past comes colliding with the present with such brutal and unrepentant force, it knocks you off of your feet. It destabilizes you to the point where you start questioning everything. That's exactly what happens to Ethan Gordimer on a rainy London afternoon. Once he's able to wrap his head around this unsettling encounter, he has to decide if he's really ready to put the past behind him or if certain relationships are so haunting they keep a firm grip on your heart and soul forever. British Temptation Part 4: Enamored Do good things come in threes? Does it even make sense to fall in love with two men? And if so, what does the future looks like? Those are just some of the questions clouding Delilah Babcock’s mind as she faces the real possibility of having to leave behind the most perfect relationship she's ever had in her entire life. If you're looking for an uneventful ending to this already smoldering hot series, Part 4 isn't it. Just when you think Scarlett can’t add any more twists and surprises to this story… she does...