Book picks similar to
Mother May I by S.E. Green


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The Girl on the Porch


Richard Chizmar - 2019
    She anxiously pressed the doorbell again and again, glancing over her shoulder as if someone was coming for her, before giving up and taking off into the dark. Almost overnight, she becomes known as The Girl on the Porch—and she’s everywhere. There are updates on all the local networks, national coverage on CNN and Fox News, and the video goes viral on social media. Before long, everyone has seen the harrowing security camera footage. Kenny and Sarah figure it’s only a matter of time before someone recognizes the woman, but as the days pass and no one comes forward, odd things begin to transpire around the Tucker family: a man intensely watches them at a restaurant and then vanishes, fresh footprints appear in the garden next to their house where no one should have been, a neighbor’s pet is viciously killed and mutilated, and a mysterious man has started following their daughter Natalie...A rollercoaster ride of compelling twists and turns, The Girl on the Porch demonstrates why Stephen King says Richard Chizmar’s writing is “powerful” and Robert McCammon calls his work “hard-hitting, spooky, suspenseful, harrowing, and heartbreaking.”

The Woman Downstairs


Elisabeth Carpenter - 2019
    Can you ever really know your neighbours?When human remains are found in a ground floor flat, the residents of Nelson Heights are shocked to learn that there was a dead body in their building for over three years.Sarah lives at the flat above and after the remains are found, she feels threatened by a stranger hanging around the building.Laura has lived in the building for as long as she can remember, caring for her elderly father, though there is more to her story than she is letting on.As the investigation starts to heat up, and the two women become more involved, it's clear that someone isn't telling the truth about what went on all those years ago...

Best Kept Secrets


Tracey S. Phillips - 2019
    Even their deepest, darkest secrets--pinky promise. Right?Morgan Jewell and Fay Ramsey are enjoying their last summer together before college. Fay is shy, with a controlling mother, and Morgan is the perfect, wild, loud-mouthed yang to Fay's ying. But when Fay is found dead, Morgan's entire world crumbles.Years later, Morgan is still haunted by the abrupt end to her best friend's life. She knew Fay held a secret in those final days, but Morgan, now a homicide detective, has failed to make a picture out of the crooked puzzle pieces she left behind. Nothing makes sense. The leads have run dry. Until she's called to the scene of a murder: a woman whose body is left mangled, too similar to Fay's to ignore.Could it be? Morgan vowed to do right by Fay. This is the case she's been waiting for to set her back on the killer's trail. But the closer she gets, the harder it forces her to confront the memories of herself and her best friend. What was her secret? What got her killed? Maybe Morgan didn't know her at all.

A Ruined Girl


Kate Simants - 2020
    But which one killed her?Two years ago, teenagers Rob and Paige broke into the house of Paige's school counsellor and stole only a necklace, but traumatised their victims in the process. No one knows why. And Paige hasn't been seen since that night. Having spent her life in children's homes and the foster system, no one cared enough to look for her.Now Rob is out of prison, and probation officer Wren Reynolds has been tasked with his rehabilitation. But Wren has her own reasons for taking on Rob as a client. Convinced that Rob knows what happened to Paige, and hiding a lifetime of secrets from her heavily pregnant wife, Wren's obsession with finding a missing girl may tear her family apart...

The Lies They Tell


Gillian French - 2018
    How an unexplained fire ravaged their house, killing four of the five family members. But what people don’t know is who did it. All fingers point at Pearl Haskins’s father, the town drunk, who was the caretaker of the property, but she just can’t believe it. Leave it to a town of rich people to blame “the help.”With her disgraced father now trying to find work in between booze benders, Pearl’s future doesn’t hold much more than waiting tables at the local country club, where the wealthy come to flaunt their money and spread their gossip. This year, Tristan, the last surviving Garrison, and his group of affluent and arrogant friends have made a point of sitting in Pearl’s section. Though she’s repulsed by most of them, Tristan’s quiet sadness and somber demeanor have her rethinking her judgments. Befriending the boys could mean getting closer to the truth, clearing her father’s name, and giving Tristan the closure he seems to be searching for. But it could also trap Pearl in a sinister web of secrets, lies, and betrayals that, once untangled, will leave no life unchanged . . . if it doesn’t take hers first.

Looking for Leo


J.A. Baker - 2021
    Lynda, a stern secondary school teacher who unwillingly gave evidence against him, recognizes her tutor as the troubled boy from all those years ago, bringing him the unwelcome attention he fears.When Sarah, a bored housewife, hears about Ashton’s return, she convinces herself he is responsible for Leo’s disappearance and reports him to the police.Terrified, the boy remains locked in a soundproof room, growing ever more scared of his unpredictable captor.But just who took Leo and why?And will he be found before it’s too late?

The Beauty of the End


Debbie Howells - 2016
    "I was fourteen when I fell in love with a goddess. . ."So begins the testimony of Noah Calaway, an ex-lawyer with a sideline in armchair criminal psychology. Now living an aimless life in an inherited cottage in the English countryside, Noah is haunted by the memory of the beguiling young woman who left him at the altar sixteen years earlier. Then one day he receives a troubling phone call. April, the woman he once loved, lies in a coma, the victim of an apparent overdose--and the lead suspect in a brutal murder. Deep in his bones, Noah believes that April is innocent. Then again, he also believed they would spend the rest of their lives together. While Noah searches for evidence that will clear April's name, a teenager named Ella begins to sift through the secrets of her own painful family history. The same age as April was when Noah first met her, Ella harbors a revelation that could be the key to solving the murder. As the two stories converge, there are shocking consequences when at last, the truth emerges. Or so everyone believes. . .Set in a borderland where the past casts its shadow on the present, with a time-shifting narrative that will mesmerize and surprise, The Beauty of the End is both a masterpiece of suspense and a powerful rumination on lost love.

The Stepmother


Ros Carne - 2021
    When her husband Michael tells her he has shocking news, at first, she thinks the worst – he’s been having an affair. It would explain why he’s been so distant. Instead, he reveals that the daughter he abandoned twenty years ago is coming to stay.Kate is blindsided by the sudden arrival of Imogen mere hours later. Her new stepdaughter is beautiful but troubled and seems wary of her own father. All the same, Kate is pleased to find herself connecting with Imogen, until one day, Imogen reveals a disturbing secret to her stepmother, making her swear never to tell a soul.With Kate already keeping secrets of her own, she worries her marriage will crumble under the weight of another. But perhaps it’s not Imogen’s intrusion Kate should be worried about. Perhaps it’s Michael’s past she should have been looking at all along…A completely addictive thriller that will keep you guessing into the early hours of the morning. Perfect for fans of The Stepdaughter, Shalini Boland and K.L. Slater.

Pretty Ugly Lies


Pamela Crane - 2018
    Until one day her daughter is abducted and the only way to find her is to unravel her dark past.Ellie is a devoted wife... until she discovers the pain of betrayal. Now vengeance is all she can think about.Party-girl Shayla knows how to hide her demons. But when she's confronted with a life-shattering choice, it will cost her everything.June knows suffering intimately, though the smile she wears keeps it hidden.Soon the lives of these four women intersect and one of them is about to snap…From USA TODAY best-selling author Pamela Crane comes "a thought-provoking domestic noir novel perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and B.A. Paris ... A chilling look at the secrets mothers will hide for the sake of their families, and the gruesome reality of what can break an everyday woman."

Mom of the Year


Denise Pischinger - 2013
    You'll laugh, cry and phone a friend about Mom of the Year--the debut title from the new literary genre, Script Lit. Janie Parker rules the school at Parkside Elementary, though she’s not even a student. She’s a volunteer room mother, tirelessly pouring her blood, sweat and tears into every perfect detail of every party or project for her daughter’s class. And she does it all for…GASP…the glory. Her over-the-top antics alienate her daughter, Kelsey, who isn’t anything like her mother. So when Janie’s husband, Greg, announces the family must relocate to Houston in the middle of the school year, Kelsey sees the opportunity to start over. Janie, however, sees the end of her legacy as the most fabulous, glorified volunteer in the history of public schools. As if that isn’t horrifying enough, the family’s move to Houston forces Janie to live in the same town as her own mother, Helen, whom she despises. When they arrive at Kelsey’s new school, Bear Branch Elementary, Janie discovers some silver lining – their new school district annually crowns a “Mom of the Year.” Janie soon meets her match in Lanette Middleton, the class room mother and reigning Mom of the Year. Lanette makes it clear there is no room for Janie at Bear Branch. After one too many insults, Janie fights back...and the competition is ON!

The House Of York


Terry Tyler - 2015
    A recipe for happiness? But Lisa is marrying into a complicated family. Her new sister-in-law doesn't want to know her. Middle brother Gabriel's marriage suffers under a cloud of infidelity and gambling debts, while the youngest, Richard, keeps his dark secrets well hidden—and his wife suffers in silence.Lisa and her mother are bonded by their powerful intuition, but dare not voice their fears about York Towers—or certain members of the family...Love and loss, abduction, incestuous desires and murderous intent form the basis of this compelling saga in which horrors float just beneath the surface, to bring forth a shocking outcome.History lovers may be interested to know that The House of York is loosely based on events during the era of the Wars of the Roses.

Paper Dolls


Lisa Bradley - 2020
    Someone else hasn't either - and they're going to make you pay. When Leah was editor of her local paper, two teenage girl went missing. One, Hope, was middle-class and white, from a perfect nuclear family. The other, Tilly, was a black girl from a council estate - and a habitual runaway. Leah made the decision to put Hope on the front page, and she was found the next day. Tilly got a small mention on page 18, and was never seen again.Sixteen years on Leah still blames herself for the consequences of her decision. And now strange things are happening to her. She finds herself being stalked by an unknown stranger who starts leaving paper dolls for her, cut from the newspapers she used to edit, and lit candles in her house and garden. These are the same candles Leah lights for Tilly in church every year as way of seeking some kind of redemption.Her husband, son and friend, Bunty, believe the struggle of no longer working and the ongoing guilt over Tilly's murder are making her delusional. They think Leah is making the dolls and lighting the candles herself. Is is all in Leah's head? Or is there a far more real danger lurking nearby...

Her First Mistake


Carey Baldwin - 2021
    She hated the dark, but her mother had made her promise. But what was the point of being a good little girl if she couldn’t help her mother? She’d promised her mother not to scream, but she hadn’t promised not to escape…To the world, Mia Thornton is invisible—a quiet, timid preschool teacher. People would never guess that she found the will to dig her way out of a locked shed when she was just six years old. That she never saw her mother again.Now, all Mia longs for is a normal life and friends to call her own. But when she runs into a group of colleagues one evening, she discovers that, once again, she’s been excluded. Stung at the rejection, she pockets the keys of one of the women in a petty act of revenge. Celeste Cooper is fearless, pretty, popular—everything Mia wishes she could be.The next day, Celeste is reported missing. And Mia realizes that it might have been her fault. Wracked with guilt, she joins the search, determined to make up for her mistake. But as she grows closer to Celeste’s family, Mia can’t help but feel she’s being watched…What if Celeste’s disappearance has more to do with Mia than she realizes? And if she keeps digging, does she risk being dragged back into the dark forever?Prepare to be gripped by the pulse-pounding new psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Carey Baldwin. Fans of The Wife Between Us, The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl will be totally addicted to Her First Mistake.

The Viscount Besieged


Elizabeth Bailey - 1996
    Will Isadora follow her dreams, or save her family…?1798, EnglandIsadora Alvescot has always dreamed of becoming a famous actress on the stage.But when her beloved papa suddenly dies, her family’s future is thrown into turmoil.With no immediate male heir, the family estate has been bequeathed to a distant relative – a viscount named Lord Roborough.And now Isadora is being pressured to consider matrimony.When Lord Roborough arrives, Isadora is desperate to do all she can to find out his intentions and determine whether he is a friend or a foe…Will he allow her family to remain living on the estate? Will Isadora still be free to pursue her dreams of acting?Or will she be forced to bend her will to another and become a wife?