The Golden Child


Wendy James - 2017
    Two gorgeous children, a handsome husband, destiny under control. For her real-life alter-ego Beth, things are unravelling. Tensions are simmering with her husband, mother-in-law and even her own mother. Her teenage daughters, once the objects of her existence, have moved beyond her grasp and one of them has shown signs of, well, thoughtlessness ...Then a classmate of one daughter is callously bullied and the finger of blame is pointed at Beth's clever, beautiful child. Shattered, shamed and frightened, two families must negotiate worlds of cruelty they are totally ill-equipped for.This is a novel that grapples with modern-day spectres of selfies, selfishness and cyberbullying. It plays with our fears of parenting, social media and Queen Bees, and it asks the question: just how well do you know your child?

The Beautiful Dead


Belinda Bauer - 2016
    . . Eve Singer needs death. With her career as a TV crime reporter flagging, she’ll do anything to satisfy her ghoulish audience.The killer needs death too. He even advertises his macabre public performances, where he hopes to show the whole world the beauty of dying.When he contacts Eve, she welcomes the chance to be first with the news from every gory scene. Until she realizes that the killer has two obsessions.One is public murder. And the other one is her . . .

Murder in the One Percent


Saralyn Richard - 2018
    Set on a gentleman’s farm in Pennsylvania and in the tony areas of New York, the book shows what happens when someone comes to a party with murder in his heart and poison in his pocket.

Coastliners


Joanne Harris - 2002
    After ten years in Paris, she returns to the small island of Le Devin, the home that has haunted her since she left. Le Devin is shaped somewhat like a sleeping woman. At her head is the village of Les Salants, while its more prosperous rival, La Houssiniere, lies at her feet. Yet even though you can walk from one to the other in an hour, they are worlds apart. And now Mado is back in Les Salants hoping to reconcile with her estranged father. But what she doesn't realize is that it is not only her father whose trust she must regain.

All She Ever Wanted


Rosalind Noonan - 2012
    But after a difficult birth, her careful planning is shattered by exhaustion. Numbness replaces her connection to the people around her and the baby daughter who needs her. Her husband Leo Green, her sister Emma and friends keep telling her she’s not herself, but no one can seem to help her find her way back to the happiness that had warmed her life before little Annabelle came along. When Leo heads off for a business trip, Chelsea is overwhelmed by the endless duties of caring for a crying baby and the dark mood that pulls her down, immobilizing her. Her sister says it’s postpartum depression, but the doctor passes it off as the baby blues and encourages her to get exercise and eat right. Easy for him to say. He doesn’t have a soft, pink baby shrieking at the top of her lungs, eliciting looks of annoyance and horror at the park and the grocery store. Chelsea’s collapse is inevitable, but what’s the harm in letting a baby cry it out? She collapses in bed. Restored by sleep, Chelsea goes to the crib in the morning but finds it empty. Her baby is gone? Maybe she left her in the stroller…or the swing…or the bouncy chair? But her panicked search turns up no sign of Annabelle. Her baby is gone... And Chelsea doesn’t have a clue as to who would have taken her away. When the police respond with a thorough search and endless questions, Chelsea realizes she can’t clearly recall the details of that night. Why can’t she remember? Has she blocked it out? Could she have done something to make her own baby stop crying? Did she act on the dark visions that have paraded through her fractured mind? The race is on to find baby Annabelle. Time is of the essence in a case like this. Her baby is out there…somewhere…and Chelsea is determined to cooperate with the police, even if the evidence points right back to her.

Charles Fort and the Beast of Loch Ness (Charles Fort Historical Mysteries #2)


T.E. Scott - 2016
    Together they must investigate a strange murder at Boleskine House on the banks of Loch Ness. But what dark creature lurks at the heart of the Loch? And what do the murders have to do with Boleskine’s most infamous resident, Aleister Crowley? Second in the Charles Fort Historical Mysteries series by TE Scott, for fans of Golden Age style detectives and historical mysteries.

Bed and Breakfast and Murder


Patti Larsen - 2017
    Instead, I forced myself to smile and swallow and remind myself the elbow length yellow rubber gloves grasping the handle of the standard issue plunger were all that stood between me and Pooageddon.Suck it up, Fee. Big girl panties and adulting and all that."At what point," I waved the dripping plunger, wincing as droplets of yuck flew, "did I think owning a bed and breakfast was going to be glamorous and romantic?"Fiona Fleming hasn't lived in Reading, Vermont in over a decade, her escape from small town living leading her to New York City and a life of adventure. An adventure that has left her with no career, an ex who cheated on her and zero plans for the future. Her grandmother's death grants her a new chance--inheriting Petunia's, Iris Fleming's bed and breakfast, seems like the ideal fresh start. But when Fee finds out ownership of the property Iris willed her might be in question, she's drawn into the seedy underbelly of the cutest town in America after being singled out as the main suspect in a murder.

Because You're Mine


Rea Frey - 2019
    Ellison) with a “shocker of an ending you won’t see coming” (Michele Campbell), Because You're Mine by Rea Frey, the author who “brings to mind Jodi Picoult” (Booklist) and “will appeal to readers of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen” (Sally Hepworth) is a novel about how the truth will set you free.But it’s the lies that keep you safe. Single mother Lee has the daily routine down to a science: shower in six minutes. Cut food into perfect squares. Never leave her on-the-spectrum son Mason in someone else’s care. She’ll do anything—anything—to keep his carefully constructed world from falling apart. Do anything to keep him safe.But when her best friend Grace convinces her she needs a small break from motherhood to recharge her batteries, Lee gives in to a weekend trip. Surely a long weekend away from home won’t hurt?Noah, Mason’s handsome, bright, charismatic tutor—the first man in ages Lee’s even noticed—is more than happy to stay with him.Forty-eight hours later, someone is dead.But not all is as it seems. Noah may be more than who he claims to be. Grace has a secret—one that will destroy Lee. Lee has secrets of her own that she will do anything to keep hidden.As the dominoes begin to fall and the past comes to light, perhaps it's no mystery someone is gone after all…Because You're Mine is a breathtaking novel of domestic drama and suspense. Prepare to stay up all night.

The Library


Bella Osborne - 2021
    Two unusual people. Thrown together to save their local library.Tom is a teenager and blends into the background of life. After a row with his dad, and facing an unhappy future at the dog food factory, he escapes to the library. Tom unwittingly ends up with a bagful of romance novels and comes under the suspicion of Maggie.Maggie is a pensioner and has been happily alone for ten years, at least that's what she tells herself. When Tom comes to her rescue a friendship develops that could change her life. As Maggie helps Tom to stand up for himself, Tom helps Maggie realise the mistakes of her past don't have to define her future.They each set out to prove that the library isn't just about books – it's the heart of their community.Together they discover some things are worth fighting for.

The Lie of the Land


Amanda Craig - 2017
    Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can't afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon. Arrogant and adulterous, Quentin can't understand why Lottie is so angry; devastated and humiliated, Lottie feels herself to have been intolerably wounded.Mud, mice, and quarrels are one thing - but why is their rent so low? What is the mystery surrounding their unappealing new home? The beauty of the landscape is ravishing, yet it conceals a dark side involving poverty, revenge, abuse and violence which will rise up to threaten them.Sally Verity, happily married but unhappily childless knows a different side to country life, as both a Health Visitor and a sheep farmer's wife; and when Lottie's innocent teenage son Xan gets a zero-hours contract at a local pie factory, he sees yet another. At the end of their year, the lives of all will be changed for ever. A suspenseful black comedy, this is a rich, compassionate and enthralling novel in its depiction of the English countryside and the potentially lethal interplay between money and marriage. Although it stands alone, it continues Amanda Craig's sequence of novels featuring inter-connected characters which illuminate aspects of contemporary life. It is the work of a writer at the height of her powers.

A Not So Cozy Christmas / Mansion Mayhem / Boathouse Bedlam / Castle Chaos


Haley Harper - 2015
    Instead she finds herself smack in the middle of a centuries old feud that someone wants to settle once and for all....and they will stop at nothing to reclaim what they feel is rightfully theirs.When Shannon discovers an old diary she is suddenly pulled into all the mystery and legend of the Black Hills.As she deals with a mother who talks to ghosts, a grumpy old geezer who is up to no good, and a handsome colleague with revenge on his mind, Shannon tries desperately to help her friend hold onto her home, her dreams and the land that she loves.An extra bonus to this book includes yummy recipes from the Mid West!Mansion MayhemShannon Porter has always loved a good ghost story, so when her editor asks her to write a book about famous ghosts, she jumps at the chance. She loves the idea that the book will take her to various locations around the world, starting with a haunted mansion in England. Little does she know that instead of writing her book, she will spend most of her time trying to solve a murder. Eliminating suspects and finding the real killer among a group of strangers that include a ghost crazy matron, a mysterious maid that appears only to Shannon, and a creepy recluse professor, proves to be more of a challenge than Shannon expects.As a special bonus, this cozy mystery ghost story also includes some yummy authentic British recipes. Boathouse BedlamWith her loyal furry companion, Edgar by her side, Shannon travels to a small town in Maine to compile more research for her book on famous ghosts. Excited to be staying in a haunted boat house, and eager to experience all the culinary feasts that New England has to offer, Shannon is looking forward to doing a lot of work, a little relaxing and an enormous amount of eating.But when her dog Edgar makes a frightful discovery on the beach, her plans for work and relaxation are suddenly thrown into turmoil. Who is friend and who is foe?Only the resident ghosts can say for sure!Delicious recipes for the authentic New England dishes mentioned in the book are included at the end of this cozy mystery ghost story. Castle ChaosAlthough recent experience has taught her otherwise, Shannon is really hoping that this final research trip for her book will be all work, some play and no foul play. But you can never be sure what might happen at an ancient castle in Ireland that is reportedly haunted by a very nasty spirit!While Shannon prepares to deal with whatever may come her way during this final trip, she is also preparing for big changes in her personal life at home.You can share this final culinary adventure with the traditional Irish recipes included at the end of this cozy mystery ghost story.

The Outsider


Emily Hourican - 2019
    Emily Hourican has always been an insightful, astute writer but this may be her best novel yet.' Louise O'NeillTwo very different families ... One is loud, eccentric, rich and confident. The other is less sure of their place in life. On holidays in Portugal, a near-drowning brings the ten-year-old daughters, Jamie and Sarah, together and a friendship is formed. As the bond between the girls grows deeper, so too do the ties between their families and an unsettling closeness develops between two of the adults. Then, as Jamie begins to feel suffocated by the intensity of Sarah's friendship, cracks begin to show. What will it take to shatter the façade of friendship? The affair? The obsessive crush? And which family will be left whole? The Outsider is the compelling and unforgettable story of the complexity of friendship, marriage, hidden passions and teenage desire.

Murder is Medical: A Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mystery (Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mysteries Book 10)


Diane Weiner - 2019
    Louis to find out where Evan will be doing his residency, the Match Day celebration takes a deadly turn. The dean of the medical school dies at the reception. Was it a heart attack or was it murder? Kept in St. Louis due to a personal crisis, Susan teams up with the mother of the detective assigned to the case. It's double trouble as the duo uncovers secrets worthy of murder. Meanwhile, Susan confronts her biggest fear--losing someone close to her heart. Set in the biggest small town in the country, Murder is Medical takes you through a whirlwind of suspects and emotions as the mystery is unraveled.

Operation Trojan Horse: The true story behind the most shocking government cover-up of the last thirty years


Stephen Davis - 2021
    

The Girl On The Landing


Paul Torday - 2009
    Is Michael ill, or could the disturbing events he is witnessing possibly be real? A thrilling novel about identity and love from the author of 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'.