Book picks similar to
The Golden Lie by B.M. Hardin


suspense
mystery-thriller
african-american
cheating

Fool Me Once


Harlan Coben - 2016
    The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband—and herself.

House of Glass


Sophie Littlefield - 2014
    Jen Glass has worked hard to achieve the ideal life: a successful career, a beautiful home in an affluent suburb of Minneapolis, a seemingly perfect family. But inside the Glass house, everything is spinning out of Jen's control. Her marriage to her husband, Ted, is on the brink of collapse; her fifteen-year-old daughter grows more distant each day; and her five-year-old son barely speaks a word. Jen is on the verge of breaking, but nothing could have prepared her for what is to come. On an evening that was supposed to be like any other, two men force their way into the Glasses' home, but what begins as a common robbery takes an even more terrifying turn. Held hostage in the basement for more than forty-eight hours, Jen and Ted must put aside their differences if they have any hope of survival. They will stop at nothing to keep their family safe;even if it means risking their own lives. A taut and emotional tale of a family brought together by extraordinary forces, House of Glass is a harrowing exploration of the lengths a mother will go to protect her children, and the power of tragedy to teach us what truly matters. Sophie Littlefield shows considerable skills for delving into the depths of her characters and complex plotting. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Moonlight Child


Karen McQuestion - 2020
    Through her neighbor's kitchen window, she sees what appears to be a little girl washing dishes late at night. But the Fleming family doesn't have a child that age, and even if they did, why would she be doing housework at this late hour?It would be easy for Sharon to just let this go, but when eighteen-year-old Niki, a former foster child, comes to live with Sharon, she notices suspicious activity at the Flemings' house as well. When calling social services doesn't result in swift action, the two decide to investigate on their own.

Sometimes I'm In My Feelings: An Urban Romance


Anna Black - 2017
    Meet Anika, Mia and Legacy. Three friends going through the trials and tribulations of love and heartache. Young and deep in love, they can’t seem to let go of the men they’ve fallen madly in love with. When Anika is forced to face the truth she was so determined to find, her world comes crumbling down, and she has to decide whether to love herself first or stay in a relationship that could destroy her. Mia is given a reality check and quickly learns that looks don’t always keep a man, and that sometimes men make promises they can’t keep to get what they want. Legacy is tired of being put on the back-burner and finally realizes she deserves better. Unfortunately, her other half plays on her low self-esteem and uses it to his advantage, but Legacy has had enough. The women find themselves sacrificing their values, morals and standards over men who toy with their feelings and emotions. When the drama and secrets become deeper than one could imagine, this trio fights to find the love for themselves again while they struggle to let go of the men who are not quite right for them. Will these three overcome their insecurities, or will they stay in their feelings and keep holding on to the wrong damn man?

Dying For Christmas


Tammy Cohen - 2014
    Held captive by a blue-eyed stranger. To mark the twelve days of Christmas, he gives me a gift every day, each more horrible than the last. The twelfth day is getting closer. After that, there'll be no more Christmas cheer for me. No mince pies, no carols. No way out.But I have a secret. No-one has guessed it. Will you?

The Syndicate 2: Carl Weber Presents


Brick - 2017
    After finding out their beloved foster mother, Claudette McPhearson, was anything but the sweet old woman they thought her to be, Javon, Shanelle, and the rest of their siblings hit the ground running in order to keep the Syndicate operating and to keep themselves alive. That also means they have to lose some of the people they love the most.With the legacy of their mother and her plans for them in motion, the McPhearson children are operating on a broken foundation. Attacked on all fronts, Javon and Shanelle are struggling to keep the family normal, while following the criminal plans of their dead mother. The Syndicate is growing, and Javon is determined to bring in new blood while looking for those who killed Claudette. Not to mention, something odd is going on with all of his siblings that threatens to rock the family to the core. Will the McPhearson clan fall in order for the Syndicate to rise, or will the truth end the legacy before it can even begin?

Yolo: The Lovely Little Lunatic


Sa'id Salaam - 2014
    After being saved by a caring nurse she was given a new lease on life. Being born from death you would think there was nowhere for her life to go but up. However the sickly baby survived only to be placed into the dangerous New York state foster care system where she was passed along from one dysfunctional foster home to the next. Things quickly went from bad to worse when she was placed at the Brown's residence, which also happened to be the town's brothel. At the Brown's the impressionable young girl witnessed every scandalous sex act imaginable along with brutal acts of violence as her foster parents waited for her to become of a ripe age to be sold. As fate would have it Yolo was saved from a life of prostitution when her foster mother died an untimely death. Upon the woman's death Yolo was then placed in the care of an aging gentleman who just happened to be a hitman for the notorious Black Mob. The elderly man took the young girl under his wing and starts grooming her to one day be his replacement. All young girls develop crushes and Yolo was no different with the exception that her crush wasn't a rapper or an actor. Instead Yolo had fallen for a methodical killer by the name of Killa and vowed to claim him as her own. Knowing that one day their paths would cross and they would meet she embarks on a murderous journey to impress him. The two indeed meet and when they do all hell breaks loose. Yolo takes you on a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish and it's ending will leave you speechless. So buckle up and prepare to take the ride of a lifetime with Yolo, the LOVELY LITTLE LUNATIC.

The One


John Marrs - 2016
    Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner the one you are genetically made for.That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…A word-of-mouth hit in the United Kingdom, The One is a fascinating novel that shows how even the simplest discoveries can have complicated consequences.

The Night Olivia Fell


Christina McDonald - 2019
    And pregnant.A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?

If You're Out There


Katy Loutzenhiser - 2019
    Worse, Priya’s social media has turned into a stream of ungrammatical posts chronicling a sunny, vapid new life that doesn’t sound like her at all.Everyone tells Zan not to be an idiot: Let Priya do her reinvention thing and move on. But until Zan hears Priya say it, she won’t be able to admit that their friendship is finished.It’s only when she meets Logan, the compelling new guy in Spanish class, that Zan begins to open up about her sadness, her insecurity, her sense of total betrayal. And he’s just as willing as she is to throw himself into the investigation when everyone else thinks her suspicions are crazy.Then a clue hidden in Priya’s latest selfie introduces a new, deeply disturbing possibility:Maybe Priya isn’t just not answering Zan’s emails.Maybe she can’t.

The Silent Wife


A.S.A. Harrison - 2013
    Todd Gilbert and Jodie Brett are in a bad place in their relationship. They've been together for twenty-eight years, and with no children to worry about there has been little to disrupt their affluent Chicago lifestyle. But there has also been little to hold it together, and beneath the surface lie ever-widening cracks. HE is a committed cheater. SHE lives and breathes denial. HE exists in dual worlds. SHE likes to settle scores. HE decides to play for keeps. SHE has nothing left to lose. When it becomes clear that their precarious world could disintegrate at any moment, Jodie knows she stands to lose everything. It's only now she will discover just how much she's truly capable of...

Acceptable Losses


Nia Forrester - 2016
    The only respite either of them have is their regular coffee dates, while working on shared projects at a very demanding law firm. Sick of hearing about Lena’s semi-disastrous attempts to couple-up, Quentin decides to fix her up. With his brother. Seems like a perfect solution; after all, his brother is a decent enough guy and Lena deserves that. A perfect solution ... at least until it appears that the fix-up might actually work. ** THIS BOOK CONTAINS PREVIOUSLY-RELEASED CONTENT, FROM THE E-BOOK COMPILATION 'BECAUSE MY HEART SAID SO' co-authored with Jacinta Howard, Rae Lamar and Lily Java. **

The Neighbors


Hannah Mary McKinnon - 2018
    It is a sin she can never forgive herself for, so she pushes away the man she loves most, knowing that he would eventually hate her for what she’s done, the same way she hates herself.Twenty years later, Abby’s husband, Nate, is also living with a deep sense of guilt. He was the driver who first came upon the scene of Abby’s accident, the man who pulled her to safety before the car erupted in flames, the man who could not save her brother in time. It’s this guilt, this regret that binds them together. They understand each other. Or so Nate believes.In a strange twist of fate, Liam (her old lover—possibly her true soulmate) moves in with his own family next door, releasing a flood of memories that Abby has been trying to keep buried all these years. Abby and Liam, in a complicit agreement, pretend never to have met, yet cannot resist the pull of the past—nor the repercussions of the dark secrets they’ve both been carrying…

A Bittersweet Hood Dilemma: A Naptown Love Story


Natavia - 2015
    Tokyo is what you call an around the way girl. Life has not been easy for her since she ran away from home to be with, Darrion. Darrion was the love of Tokyo's life. She was his down chick until she finds out Darrion has another life.Tassana is the girl good that wants a taste of hood life. She does anything to live it. She too has another life. She has a craving for dope boys.Kauzie and Tokyo has been friends for thirteen years but he is secretly in love with her. Only problem is he can't get rid of Tassana who is Tokyo's sister.In this twisted hood triangle there is a lot of deceit, lies, and heartache. Two sisters and one man. Who can he choose? Tassana has a plan to conquer all.

What You Did


Claire McGowan - 2019
    A devastating accusation. Who should she trust, her husband or her best friend?It was supposed to be the perfect reunion: six university friends together again after twenty years. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again.When Karen staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatised, she claims that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike. Ali must make a split-second decision: who should she believe? Her horrified husband, or her best friend? With Mike offering a very different version of events, Ali knows one of them is lying—but which? And why?When the ensuing chaos forces her to re-examine the golden era the group shared at university, Ali realises there are darker memories too. Memories that have lain dormant for decades. Memories someone would kill to protect.