Book picks similar to
Let Sleeping Gods Lie by Dianne F. Gray


fiction
mystery
aussie-authors
summer-challenge

The Hostage Takers


M.A. Comley - 2018
     They enter wearing vests... Packed full of explosives. Screams and shouts fill the venue until they are silenced by gunfire. A rescue attempt ensues from an unexpected source inside the nightclub. DI Kayli Bright looks on in horror as the terrorist’s plan unfolds. Will Kayli be able to work with the inspector in charge of the rescue? Or will she be tempted to go it alone?

Shallow Breath


Sara Foster - 2012
     Now, she is coming home to make amends: to her daughter Maya, who’s nurturing her own dangerous plan; to her brother Jackson, who blames himself; and to her close friend Pete, who has spent years shielding her from a devastating truth. But as Desi returns to her beloved house by the ocean, there is a stranger waiting for her. Someone who needs her help. Someone whose arrival will reveal a chain of secrets hidden for over twenty years. And one by one the family will be forced to confront the possibility that they have somehow got things terribly, tragically wrong … Set across five continents, Shallow Breath is a compelling novel of dashed dreams and second chances. But most of all it is a story about love, and what it really means to be free. Praise for Shallow Breath 'Gripping, touching and close to my heart. I was hooked from start to finish.' Favel Parrett, author of Past the Shallows 'The narrative burden shifts between characters, all of whom have winning strengths and credible frailties, and the action emanates from these qualities with effortless suspense and dramatic power' Sydney Morning Herald 'There is a vitality and urgency to the pace of Shallow Breath that catapults the reader right into the heart of the action.' Australian Women's Weekly 'Beautifully researched and written with enormous passion ... the perfect holiday companion for those wanting to lose themselves in a good story.' The West Australian 'Well-crafted psychological suspense' Saturday Age 'An absorbing novel about the loneliness of secrets and how love yearns to be free of them.' Canberra Times 'another taut, suspenseful read bursting with family secrets and hope...Shallow Breath is one of those books you want to dive into and not come back out of until it's finished.' Monique Mulligan, Write Note Reviews

King Death


Toby Litt - 2010
    A heart - a human heart - slithering down outside the window of a train travelling between London Bridge and Blackfriars. Someone must have thrown it out from a carriage in front. Kumiko is determined to find out who - and why. But Skelton was sitting next to Kumiko on the train and he saw it too, so he also wants to get to the bottom of the mystery. Or he says he does, but really he just wants Kumiko back, because she's walked out on him, just like that, and left him heartbroken. Each for their own reasons, Kumiko and Skelton set out - separately - on a bizarre trail of discovery. Darting between dingy student pubs, the roofs of Borough Market and the corridors and car-parks of Guy's Hospital, they become embroiled in the seedy world of young medical students, until eventually the gossip and the stories lead them both to the hospital's infamous dissection lecturer - known behind his back as 'King Death'...

99 Red Balloons


Elisabeth Carpenter - 2017
    What would you do if one was your daughter? When eight-year-old Grace goes missing from a sweetshop on the way home from school, her mother Emma is plunged into a nightmare. Her family rallies around, but as the police hunt begins, cracks begin to emerge.What are the secret emails sent between Emma’s husband and her sister? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is Emma really as innocent as she seems?Meanwhile, ageing widow Maggie Taylor sees Grace’s picture in the newspaper. It’s a photograph that jolts her from the pain of her existence into a spiralling obsession with another girl – the first girl who disappeared…

Closed For Winter


Georgia Blain - 1998
    And so she begins to unravel all that has been tying her up, picking through that day, piece by piece, from beginning to end. Over and over again. But sometimes what you uncover is not what you were searching for, and Elise finds herself face to face with a truth she had not expected.

Only Daughter


Anna Snoekstra - 2016
    Mysteriously ominous things began to happen—blood in the bed, periods of blackouts, a feeling of being watched—though Bec remained oblivious of what was to come.Eleven years later she is replaced.A young woman, desperate after being arrested, claims to be the decade-missing Bec.Soon the imposter is living Bec's life. Sleeping in her bed. Hugging her mother and father. Learning her best friends' names. Playing with her twin brothers.But Bec's welcoming family and enthusiastic friends are not quite as they seem. As the imposter dodges the detective investigating her case, she begins to delve into the life of the real Bec Winter—and soon realizes that whoever took Bec is still at large, and that she is in imminent danger.

Don't Try to Find Me


Holly Brown - 2014
    Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley's hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police have "limited resources." If they want their 14-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves. Desperation becomes determination when Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter, and launches FindMarley.com.But Marley isn't the only one with secrets.With public exposure comes scrutiny, and when Rachel blows a television interview, the dirty speculation begins. Now, the blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. It's not what they think; Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. But when it's discovered that she's lied, even to the police, the devoted mother becomes a suspect in Marley's disappearance.Is Marley out there somewhere, watching it all happen, or is the truth something far worse?

The Child Next Door


Shalini Boland - 2018
    Readers of The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl will love Shalini Boland.’ Red Adept ‘Don’t take my baby.’ Kirstie Rawlings is jolted awake by a child crying. Racing upstairs to check on her new-born, she is plunged into every parents’ worst nightmare. She hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor, saying: ‘Let’s take the child – and go.’ Is someone trying to steal her little girl? In the bedroom, her daughter is safe asleep in her cot. Is the voice coming from a nearby house? But there aren’t any other babies living on her quiet country road… The police don't believe her. And neither does her husband. Kirstie knows something isn’t right. She thought she could trust her neighbours, now she isn’t sure. As she unravels the secrets of the people living on her street, Kirstie’s perfect life begins to fall apart. Because someone is hiding a terrible lie. And they will do anything to stop Kirstie uncovering the truth. But is the danger closer to home than she thinks?

Anatomy of a Crime


Sibel Hodge - 2020
    She becomes convinced there's more to the flimsy witness testimony, sinister coincidences, and sensational press coverage and probes into the case. As prejudices are revealed, lies are uncovered, and secrets are blown wide open, a single question remains... is there really one truth about what happened that night? Or are there only different versions of the same story?From the No 1 bestselling author of Look Behind You, Untouchable, Duplicity, Into the Darkness, and Their Last Breath.

Beautiful Malice


Rebecca James - 2010
    To erase her past, Katherine has moved to a new city, enrolled in a new school, and even changed her name. She’s done the next best thing to disappearing altogether. Now, wary and alone, she seeks nothing more than anonymity. What she finds instead is the last thing she expected: a friend.Even more unlikely, Katherine’s new friend is the most popular and magnetic girl in school. Extroverted, gorgeous, flirtatious, and unpredictable, she is everything that Katherine is not and doesn’t want to be: the center of attention. Yet Alice’s enthusiasm is infectious, her candor sometimes unsettling, and Katherine, in spite of her guarded caution, finds herself drawn into Alice’s private circle. But Alice has secrets, too—darker than anyone can begin to imagine. And when she lets her guard down at last, Katherine discovers the darkest of them all. For there will be no escaping the past for Katherine Patterson—only a descent into a trap far more sinister . . . and infinitely more seductive.

The Stranger


Chris Martin - 2012
    Six high school girls were killed and dumped into the bay by a man named Lance Puckett. It was a crime which ripped apart a community and left emotional scars that time would never heal. A calm morning in Seal Bay is shattered by the appearance of a stranger who bears a striking resemblance to Lance. Has he come back to dig up memories from the past, or could this man be a drifter, just passing through? This suspenseful thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat with a twist that will leave you breathless. Who is The Stranger?

Ravenhill (Jackie Shaw, #1)


John Steele - 2017
    He treads a fine line keeping psychotic hard-man Rab Simpson in check while sleeping with gang leader Billy Tyrie’s beautiful wife on the side. When a bomb claims nine lives, he is given the role of the getaway driver in a planned reprisal killing, a key role in a major operation. But Jackie may not be who he seems... Twenty years later, Jackie returns to the city for his father’s funeral after disappearing in mysterious circumstances. He wants to mourn then leave, but when figures from his past emerge, he is left with no choice but to revisit his violent former life. The first in the Jackie Shaw series, RAVENHILL is a gripping début novel from a brilliant new voice in crime fiction. The second in the series, SEVEN SKINS, is coming soon. ‘Tense, unsparing, compassionate and exceptionally well-written, this brilliant thriller brings vividly to life East Belfast in war and peace, its self-appointed community defenders turned brutal predators, and the security forces who struggled to contain them.’ Ruth Dudley Edwards

Perfect Crime


Jack Parker - 2018
     The First Crime: Many people had reason to kill the victim, and they tried 'til they got it right. You'd think that would leave plenty of clues, but they don't add up right. Can a 16-yr-old. The Second Crime: A teacher was found dead and a lot of other students have had accidents, some serious. Gracie Greene's not so sure they were accidents, but can she find the pattern and motive before someone else dies? The Third Crime: At 18 years old Gracie Greene has already solved 2 murders. Now she finds herself a suspect in a 3rd murder and must solve it to clear herself.

The Peyton Brooks, FBI Box Set: Volume One: Books 1-5


M.L. Hamilton - 2018
    Over 1,000 pages of action and adventure from San Francisco’s top special agent. The Peyton Brooks, FBI series follows the career of Special Agent Peyton Brooks and her team, the Ghost Squad, as they tackle crimes around the world. This compilation includes titles: Zombies in the Delta, Mermaids in the Pacific, Werewolves in London, Vampires in Hollywood, and Mayan Gods in the Yucatan.

The Family that Lies


Lakisha Johnson - 2016
    With a father who thought the world of them, life was good. Until one day everything changed. While Grayce got love and attention, Merci got all the hell, forcing her to leave home. She never looks back, putting the past behind her until … her sister shows up over a decade later begging for help, bringing all of the forgotten past with her. Merci wasn't the least bit prepared for what was about to happen next. Merci realizes, she’s been a part of something much bigger than she'd ever imagined. Yea, every family has their secrets, hidden truths and ties but Merci had no idea she’d been born into the family that lies.