Book picks similar to
The New Mother by Julia Crouch


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The Liar's Child


Sheryl Browne - 2021
    With the same heart-shaped face, long brown hair and dark eyes, the two girls look identical. In fact, they look like sisters.Is the secret I’ve been holding on to for so long about to be revealed?That night, I cuddle Poppy even harder, desperately trying to decide what to do. And then my husband’s phone vibrates. A message. And then another. And another. All from a number I don’t recognise.Is someone going to tell my husband what I did? Could I be about to lose everything I have worked so hard to protect?But I’ve spent so long hiding the truth, I never stopped to wonder if I was the only liar in the family… The only thing I’m sure of is that nobody is going to take my child away from me.If you can’t get enough of addictive psychological thrillers like Gone Girl, The Wife Between Us and The Marriage, you’ll love The Liar’s Child. With nail-biting suspense and an ending that will make your heart pound, this is one book you simply won’t be able to put down.

The Parents


Claire Seeber - 2021
    But it’s not long before I realise: I should have never made friends with them…I knew it wouldn’t be easy for my kids to adjust when we moved to a tiny village where they didn’t know a soul. But after the death of my husband, we needed a fresh start.Suddenly, we’re outsiders. I know the only way we’ll be accepted is if I throw myself into my new life, so when my son joins a local club, I volunteer to help along with the other parents.Before moving here, I didn’t know people like this really existed; their lives seem too perfect to be real. Although my own life couldn’t be more different, they welcome me into the fold. For the first time since my husband died, I feel like I made the right decision for my family…That is until I overhear something that tells me these other parents aren’t as perfect as they seem. Something that turns my world upside down again.My secret has already ruined my life once. I thought the truth had died with my husband… I should have known that it wouldn’t be buried for long.A completely addictive page-turner about the secrets and lies hiding beneath seemingly perfect lives. Fans of Big Little Lies, Lisa Jewell and Louise Candlish will be absolutely hooked by this pacey read with a jaw-dropping twist you just won’t see coming.

The Party at No. 12


Kerry Wilkinson - 2022
    In this grand house rented specially for the evening, everyone admires the sparkling chandelier and raises a glass to say goodbye before Hannah moves away from this little town for good. But the next day, one of them lies cold and lifeless in their bed…The day of her leaving party, Hannah Ford is nervous. With so many secrets and lies over the years between her friends, and arguments between her sisters, is it really a good idea to gather everyone together? But her mother insists that, after Hannah’s divorce and job struggles, she deserves a send-off to remember. So they all plaster on fake smiles and put aside their rifts for an evening of celebrations.In the morning, one of the guests is found dead.Hannah is desperate to tell the police. But every single guest has something to hide, or someone to protect. The group insists: they will deal with this themselves.After all, it must have been an accident. Perhaps too much wine, on a night where emotions were running high.But what if it wasn’t?And what if this was just the first victim?An absolutely unputdownable thriller that won’t let you sleep until you’ve reached the final page! Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, The Hunting Party and Shari Lapena.

The Silent Mother


Liz Lawler - 2021
    But your son is dead.’As I hear the words every mother dreads my pulse races and I go cold. But even as my world turns upside down I know the things I’m being told just don’t add up. I have to find out what really happened the night my beautiful boy died…The police tell me it was a tragedy no one could have prevented. But then they reveal the terrible things Tom was keeping from me. The person they describe is nothing like the decent, honest man I raised. Newly qualified as a doctor, Tom had such a bright future ahead of him.A mother knows her own child. And I’m determined to prove my son’s innocence.It’s the last thing I will ever be able to do for him. So I have come to the city where he lived and moved into his empty flat under a different name.When I discover his diary, it becomes clear his death wasn’t an accident.And as I get to know Tom’s friends and neighbours I realise they’re all keeping secrets.But as I get closer to the truth, I realise my life is in danger too…

The Guilty Sister


Arianne Richmonde - 2021
    And the police think I’m to blame.We haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I do love my sister Cece. She’s confident and free-spirited in a way I never am. And while she’s living her life to the full and posting it all over social media, I’m having early nights in my tiny New York apartment.I didn’t mean to keep her a secret from my boyfriend, Bradley. But when he found out about her and I caught him scrolling through her pictures online, I knew I had to act before she ruined my life once again.When the police come knocking at my door, I instantly regret wishing Cece would leave my life for good.I didn’t want her to vanish forever, did I?If you enjoy gripping psychological thrillers like The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Wife Between Us, you will love this totally addictive novel from a USA Today bestselling author.(Previously titled: One Happy Family)

The Guest Room


Rona Halsall - 2022
    You’re wrong.Ever since Steph’s husband walked out after a thirty-year marriage, home hasn’t felt like a safe haven. Her daughter Bea thinks she’s imagining things. But Steph knows that the noises in the night, the open windows she knows she left closed, the strange smell in the kitchen – none of it feels right.Then her house is broken into, and a young man named Noah helps her fix the front window. He’s fallen on hard times and Steph impulsively offers him a place to stay. At least if he is there, she won’t be home alone.Before long Noah is living in Bea’s old bedroom, paying rent, and getting his life back on track. Steph’s ex-husband and Bea are furious. But Steph feels secure at last.Until the strange things start happening once more.Until it becomes clear someone will stop at nothing to make her never, ever feel safe again.The most twisty and unputdownable thriller of the year – perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Mark Edwards and Gone Girl.

Every Little Lie


Lesley Sanderson - 2021
    My daughter Evie finally had a proper dad, and I had found the husband of my dreams – and what Seb didn’t know about my past wouldn’t hurt him.But lately he’s been acting strangely. He won’t look me in the eye, he keeps coming home late and the other day at the school fair I saw him arguing with an unknown woman – the same woman I’ve seen hanging around outside our house.And just as I start wondering whether I’m not the only one with a secret, Evie goes missing…An edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist, perfect for fans of K.L. Slater, T.M. Logan and Lisa Jewell.

The Perfect Family Man


M.M. DeLuca - 2021
    Now my husband’s vanished, too.I wish I could say that the tragedy of little Jack disappearing brought me and Nate closer together. But my husband is more distant from me now than he’s ever been. Perhaps that’s why I don’t ask him exactly where he’s going when he sets off on another business trip.Or perhaps I was too distracted by the woman moving in across the street with bouncing blonde hair and a cherubic toddler boy. He reminds me so much of the child I lost. But his mother doesn’t seem to properly watch him. And I can’t be sure, but I’m sure Nate and this woman share a look of recognition before he leaves.The first day Nate’s away, things feel okay, even though I know when he returns we’re going to have to discuss what I found in his coat pocket. But one day turns into two, and then three. I don’t want to seem like the crazy wife, but I have to call his work and ask what’s going on. And that’s when they tell me the shocking truth.Nate hasn’t worked for the company in six months.Once I’ve found this lie, it’s hard not to pick at the scab of our marriage, see what other secrets lie beneath his apparent love for me. By the end of the week, I hope I might finally learn the truth about my husband, about the woman across the street, and about what really happened to my little boy.

The Mother's Fault


Nicole Trope - 2021
    But when I look up, he’s gone. I call the police, my hands shaking so much that I hit the wrong digits twice. ‘My son is missing.’When the police turn up, I’m trapped in the web of my lies.I have hidden the truth from eight-year-old Riley, my little boy who loves climbing trees and always has scraped knees. I have hidden my secret from everyone.Riley knows his father is dead but he has no idea why. He doesn’t know his dad’s real name, and there are no pictures in the house. Not a single person knows what happened eight years ago.I love my son more than anything but the truth is, I have always feared for him. When the first gift arrived in our mailbox, wrapped in blue paper with silver stars, I realised I was right to be afraid.Now, I can see the question in the detectives’ eyes. Am I a mother with a missing child or a mother with a lot to hide? I need them to save my son – but how much can I tell them without losing him forever?

The Break


Daniel Hurst - 2022
    But someone was watching.Karen is a busy wife and mother. Between work, her husband Peter, and their two children, Oscar and Noah, she doesn’t have a minute to herself.So when it all begins to feel too much, Karen knows just what she needs - to get away for a little while. Nothing big. Just a short break.Her friend, Eve, tells her about a quaint little holiday home, and Karen books herself a short stay. She’ll have time to read, take bubble baths, unwind. Perfect.But this is no ordinary holiday home – it contains a dark and disturbing secret. Because Karen isn’t alone here – someone is watching her. Waiting for the right moment to spring the trap and plunge her into a nightmare she’ll never forget.The Break – the stunning psychological thriller from the author of The Passenger and The New Friends.

We Live Next Door


Laura Wolfe - 2021
    I wish it had happened under different circumstances, but now I’m here I feel safe and ready for a fresh start with my little family.The first thing I do every morning is pick up my phone and check The Neighbor List—our local message board. Maybe the people next door know a little too much about where their neighbors are and what they’re doing, but it’s safer that way, isn’t it? And my husband—he wouldn’t dare sneak behind my back with so many eyes watching.Just when I’m beginning to relax, a woman I’ve known since I was small is found dead on the white tiles of her bathroom floor. I watch messages of condolence flood my screen. No one else suspects a thing.But I know that among all these friendly people, watching out for one another, someone knows more than they’re sharing. And I wonder—how far back do they remember, and who’s next?An utterly gripping psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of The Couple Next Door, The Woman in the Window and Behind Closed Doors.

A Good Mother


Sam Hepburn - 2021
    Time stands still. Where is he? Deafened by my own heartbeat, I keep looking but I can’t see him. This is all my fault. My punishment for the things I did, and the things I should have done.All I ever wanted was to keep my son safe. I married the perfect husband, built the perfect home. I’ve tried to give Finn the life I never had.Everything was going so well. Until now.It’s just small things at first – a punctured tyre, an open gate that I'm sure I locked. But then I see the photograph of two young girls, and a night I’ve tried to forget.I know I have to stop pretending that nothing is happening. I can’t escape the truth.Someone knows my secret. But what do they want from me?

His Loving Wife


Miranda Smith - 2021
    It’s my fault they’re in danger…A year ago, someone broke into our home. He stood outside our bedroom, with our children asleep down the corridor, and knocked on the door.But the worst moment came later, when I found out who had nearly destroyed my family, and why.Now my husband has booked us a surprise vacation. In a beautiful cabin on the shore we will rest, talk, recover.But I can’t relax. When I drive to the store, or stroll down the beach, I am always looking over my shoulder, my heart racing.Because no matter how hard my husband tries to pretend, we both know it’s not over.And I know he still doesn’t trust me…An absolutely compelling psychological thriller that will make you question how well you know those around you—and how safe you ever are. Fans of The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors and Gillian Flynn will be completely hooked by His Loving Wife.

I Let Him In


Jill Childs - 2021
    I thought I was over it. I thought I’d finally learned to block it out. But I’m right back there, all over again, inside the house, and I’m afraid...When Louise Taylor is hit by a car as she cycles home in the rain following a fight with her boyfriend, she’s left hurt, confused, and housebound in her cramped apartment while she recovers. And worse, something tells her it wasn’t an accident.Desperate to keep busy and distract herself from the flashbacks to her childhood that are beginning to resurface, she hires Edward – a friend of a friend – to repaint her shabby living room and, hopefully, keep the past at bay.But when Edward arrives – quiet, considerate and handsome – Lou instantly feels like they’ve met before, that she can trust him. Tired of carrying the guilt alone after all these years, Lou tells Edward her secret. And to her surprise, he doesn’t pull away. He doesn’t gasp, or grimace or preach about what she did. And Lou is so relieved to finally be free of this burden at last.Until she learns that Edward has a secret of his own. One he’s been waiting a very, very long time to tell...A gripping domestic drama from a USA Today bestselling author full of twists and turns, and with a very unexpected ending. Fans of Amanda Prowse, Kerry Fisher and Jodi Picoult won’t be able to stop turning the pages.

The Life She Wants


Mel Sherratt - 2021
    It would be strange seeing people in the property. She wondered how much it would change their lives. For now, she would bide her time and hopefully get to know them better. She needed to gain their trust.When I met Richard, I fell for him instantly. He was able to give me everything I had always wanted, the dream house, security and above all, love like I’d never known. We lived a quiet life in the middle of nowhere; we didn’t need anyone else.So, when the empty house next door is sold, I am wary. Will our neighbours invade the perfect life Richard has built for us? As soon as I meet Juliette and Danny, I am reassured. Overwhelmed by grief after the death of their young daughter, they have moved in search of a quiet life and a chance to start again. Over dinner one evening, we hit it off instantly and I know they are just the neighbours we need.All is well until Juliette spots a young girl in our garden. Richard convinces her that she is seeing things, that it’s the grief taking over. But Juliette won’t let it go. She is sure she saw a child. She believes that Richard is threatening her. She starts to think that I’m not safe.I need to convince Juliette that she’s imagining it. I need to keep Richard happy. If I am to protect everything I have built for myself, she must never find out the truth.That my perfect life is built on the deadliest lie.A heart-stopping psychological thriller with a truly brilliant twist, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, T.M. Logan and K.L. Slater.