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The Cuban Affair
Nelson DeMille - 2017
At age thirty-five he’s living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine. Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghanistan. He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don’t tan, and a boat with a big bank loan. Truth be told, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups. Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down. The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos’s clients—a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega, and a mysterious older Cuban exile, Eduardo Valazquez.What Mac learns is that there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara’s grandfather when he fled Castro’s revolution. With the “Cuban Thaw” underway between Havana and Washington, Carlos, Eduardo, and Sara know it’s only a matter of time before someone finds the stash—by accident or on purpose. And Mac knows if he accepts this job, he’ll walk away rich…or not at all.Brilliantly written, with his signature humor, fascinating authenticity from his research trip to Cuba, and heart-pounding pace, Nelson DeMille is a true master of the genre.
Beside Myself
Ann Morgan - 2016
At first it is just a game, but then Ellie refuses to swap back. Forced into her new identity, Helen develops a host of behavioural problems, delinquency and chronic instability. With their lives diverging sharply, one twin headed for stardom and the other locked in a spiral of addiction and mental illness, how will the deception ever be uncovered? Exploring questions of identity, selfhood, and how other people's expectations affect human behaviour, this novel is as gripping as it is psychologically complex.
The Vacancy
Elisabeth Carpenter - 2021
But behind the closed doors of Dorothy's house, she quickly discovers that nothing is as it seems.When Dorothy's manuscript throws up striking similarities to events in Rachel's own life, she becomes convinced that the past she's tried to hide is catching up with her.Then the phone calls start. The parcel arrives. The blood shows up in the bathroom.And Dorothy's friend disappears.Terrified of being blamed for murder, Rachel has nobody left to turn to.Because who can she believe when she doesn't even trust herself...?
The Long Weekend
Gilly Macmillan
Two bodies. One secret.Dark Fell Barn is a “perfectly isolated” retreat, or so says its website when Jayne books a reservation for her friends. A quiet place, far removed from the rest of the world, is exactly what they need.The women arrive for a girls’ night ahead of their husbands. There’s ex-Army Jayne, hardened and serious, but also damaged. Ruth, the driven doctor and new mother who is battling demons of her own. Young Emily, just wed and insecure, the newest addition of this tight-knit band. Missing this year is Edie, who was the glue holding them together until her husband died suddenly.But what they hoped would be a relaxing break soon turns to horror. Upon arrival at Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered. There are no phones, no cell service to check on their men. Friendships fracture as the situation spins wildly out of control. Betrayal can come in many forms.This group has kept each other’s secrets for far too long.
The Perfect Girlfriend
Karen Hamilton - 2018
She’s even become a flight attendant for his airline so she can keep a closer eye on him.They are meant to be.The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to win him back.She is the perfect girlfriend. And she’ll make sure no one stops her from getting exactly what she wants.True love hurts, but Juliette knows it’s worth all the pain...
You Let Me In
Lucy Clarke - 2018
. .
I’M IN YOUR HOUSE
There’s a new coldness. A shift in the atmosphere. The prickling feeling that someone is watching her every move from the shadows.
I’M IN YOUR HEAD
Maybe it’s all in Elle’s mind? She’s a writer – her imagination, after all, is her strength. And yet every threat seems personal. As if someone has discovered the secrets that keep her awake at night.
AND NOW I KNOW YOUR SECRET
As fear and paranoia close in, Elle’s own home becomes a prison. Someone is unlocking her past – and she’s given them the key…
The Last Door
M.M. Boulder - 2020
Because Amy Harrison's perfect life is a LIE. She has the perfect adoptive parents, perfect job, perfect friends, and she's about to marry the perfect man. There's only one problem. She can't remember the first twelve years of her life, and she's terrified something horrible happened, something she should have never forgotten. Amy starts taking an experimental drug in an effort to recover her lost past before her wedding, and all she can see is blood.Can her chaotic flashes of memory be real? Bloody halos. Doors and a car and chocolates. Whiskey. Pink. A voice. Someone who loved her. Someone she loved. And death. So much death. Determined to protect her fiancée and her unborn children from her past, she keeps pushing forward; but the memories take over more and more of her, pushing Amy away and replacing her with someone else.Will Amy be able to recover her past, learn the terrible secret that made her forget it all, and save her own life before she loses everything?
The Perfect Stranger
Megan Miranda - 2017
Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan, a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend’s life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah’s credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey—and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide—including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?
While You Sleep
Stephanie Merritt - 2018
A century ago, a young widow and her son died mysteriously there; just last year a local boy, visiting for a dare, disappeared without a trace.For Zoe Adams, newly arrived from America, the house offers a refuge from her failing marriage. But her peaceful retreat is disrupted by strange and disturbing events: night-time intrusions; unknown voices; a constant sense of being watched.The locals want her to believe that these incidents are echoes of the McBrides' dark past. Zoe is convinced the danger is closer at hand, and all-too-real – but can she uncover the truth before she is silenced?
Close to You
Kerry Wilkinson - 2019
A man with very short hair, staring directly at the camera with piercing brown eyes. He is as he was when I last saw him: wrinkles around the corners of the eyes and a knowing smirk. That’s the expression I see when I can’t sleep. My body tenses. It can’t be him. It’s not my ex-husband. It’s not David. I know that better than anyone because he didn’t walk out on me. He didn’t disappear two years ago and he’s not a missing person. I know that for a fact because I’m the one who killed him. A brilliantly twisty thriller which will have fans of The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl absolutely gripped. Read what everyone is saying about Close to You: ‘A fast paced, deeply thought out and written thriller/mystery! The type of book to grab your attention quickly and pull you into the “what happens next” reading hole! I absolutely loved this one!’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another gripping thriller from an author who has very quickly become a must read for me. This one will grab you immediately and will not let go until the final heart-stopping twist… This is a twisty, edge of your seat thriller that kept me guessing.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow…What an amazing book. Plenty of twists and turns and suspense. Had my attention from the first page to the last page. Just when I thought i had it figured out i was proven wrong. Can't wait for more from this author.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yesssss a great big satisfied sigh as this was a superb read that kept me guessing throughout and I loved the book. The writing is just sensational… this is going to come in my top reads for this year. This really is one book you shouldn’t miss.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What an absolutely amazing story. This was an extremely suspenseful and thrilling story. Fast paced and really imaginative. I really liked the characters, especially Morgan who was a feisty heroine. Brilliant.’ NetGalley Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Kerry Wilkinson does it again, another belter of a read…What a way to start a book! I read this in a few hours in one sitting. Gripping easy read that kept me turning the pages.’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Girl Before You
Nicola Rayner - 2019
As a politician and now a TV personality, George Bell’s reputation as a ladies’ man precedes him. But when Alice falls pregnant, her unease becomes an obsession.And there’s one ex in particular she can’t get out of her head, a beautiful student who went missing before they finished university: Ruth.When Alice thinks she see Ruth on a train, she can’t shake the feeling there’s more to the disappearance than George has told her. But does she really want to know what her husband has been up to behind her back all these years?
The Bones of You
Debbie Howells - 2015
Soft‑petalled flowers that go to seed. The resolute passage of the seasons. Swallows that fly thousands of miles to follow the eternal summer.Children who don’t die before their parents.When Kate receives a phone call with news that Rosie Anderson is missing, she’s stunned and disturbed. Rosie is eighteen, the same age as Kate’s daughter, and a beautiful, quiet, and kind young woman. Though the locals are optimistic—girls like Rosie don’t get into real trouble—Kate’s sense of foreboding is confirmed when Rosie is found fatally beaten and stabbed.Who would kill the perfect daughter, from the perfect family? Yet the more Kate entwines herself with the Andersons—graceful mother Jo, renowned journalist father Neal, watchful younger sister Delphine—the more she is convinced that not everything is as it seems. Anonymous notes arrive, urging Kate to unravel the tangled threads of Rosie’s life and death, though she has no idea where they will lead.Weaving flashbacks from Rosie’s perspective into a tautly plotted narrative, The Bones of You is a gripping, haunting novel of sacrifices and lies, desperation and love.
Luckiest Girl Alive
Jessica Knoll - 2015
Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.But Ani has a secret.There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?
When I Was You
Amber Garza - 2020
It's a cruel mistake; her son left for college a year ago, and Kelly has never felt so alone. The receptionist quickly apologizes: there's another mother in town named Kelly Medina, and she must have gotten their numbers switched.But Kelly can't stop thinking about the woman who shares her name. Lives in her same town. Has a son she can still hold, and her whole life ahead of her. She can't help looking for her: at the grocery store, at the gym, on social media. When Kelly just happens to bump into the single mother outside that pediatrician's office, it's simple curiosity getting the better of her.Their unlikely friendship brings Kelly a renewed sense of purpose, taking care of this young woman and her adorable baby boy. But that friendship quickly turns to obsession, and when one Kelly disappears, well, the other one may know why.
The Affair: Escape to Lake Como this summer
Hilary Boyd - 2021
Forty years on they are the couple their whole village envies. Life isn't quite so rosy just now with Devan struggling to adjust to early retirement, but Connie hopes that getting away for a few weeks through her job as a European tour manager will help. But on one of her favourite tours, to Lake Como, it is clear one of her guests is falling for her. She resists, but Jared somehow gets under her skin, until she's intoxicated and doing the unthinkable: breaking the marriage vows she's always held so dear. But she tells herself the affair is not serious, it will end when the season does. And Devan will never find out. But when Connie returns home, Jared follows. He isn't going to give her up so easily. And as he grows ever more embroiled in her life, Connie begins to wonder if more than her marriage is in danger . . .
Praise for Hilary Boyd
'Boyd is as canny as Joanna Trollope at observing family life - and better than Trollope at jokes' Daily Mail'Poignant, well observed and wonderfully written, this is a bit of a heart-string puller' Closer'I was ripping through this book . . . addictive' Evening Standard