Book picks similar to
Mercy Killing by Kathryn Johnson


romantic-suspense
fiction
first-reads
mystery

The Invisible Heiress


Kathleen O'Donnell - 2019
     A psychiatric patient with a dark secret Preston Blair, a blogger with a dark sense of humor, is committed to a private psychiatric hospital, accused of a shocking crime. Her father Todd’s influence as a D.A. has kept her from prison, but her sanity remains on a knife-edge. A therapist with an agenda Preston’s therapist, Isabel, is too preoccupied working her latest con on a rich, married, sadomasochistic secret lover, to care about Preston’s problems, even when Preston tells her that her socialite mother, Harrison Blair, had committed an unthinkable crime herself years before—one that might help explain Preston’s own misdeeds. A shocking secret that begs to be told When Preston’s absent husband, Brendan, suddenly turns up and tries to prove her innocence, tragedy strikes. Preston’s convinced her parents were involved, but it turns out to be much more complicated. As Preston delves deeper into the mystery, her head clears and a devastating event that she had long erased from her muddled mind comes rushing back. A killer that cannot be stopped Stumbling onto video evidence, which exposes a killer’s greed and lust for power, Preston finds her own life is in danger from a surprising and once trusted source. She discovers that the truth hurts. It just might be the death of her. Fans of Gillian Flynn and Jessica Knoll will love Kathleen O’Donnell.

Tangled Web


Wendy Saunders - 2017
    There's only one thing missing... her sister.Cassandra hasn't seen her sister since the night their wealthy, prominent father died from a massive heart attack. She had only been five years old at the time and can barely recall the events of that night. All she can remember was that men came to the house and that it was the last time she saw her sister. Her alcoholic, emotionally unstable mother refuses to discuss her and will only say that she had been sent away to an exclusive boarding school in Europe. But, as the years pass by with no word from her, Cassandra begins to suspect there is more to her father's death and her sister's disappearance than she first thought.Desperate to find answers she hires a private investigator, but when he turns up dead it becomes clear someone doesn't want her looking into her family's past. When wealthy businessman Jackson Evans stumbles into her life, with problems of his own, they realize his family and hers are inexplicably entwined in a web of deceit and murder, which spans two decades.One by one, everyone who was in her home the night of her Father's death, begin to die under suspicious circumstances and it becomes a race against time to uncover the truth, before she becomes the next victim.

30 Days


K. Larsen - 2013
    Dealing with the loss of her only sister. A suicide attempt that doesn’t end in death and a husband who wants her inheritance. Elle’s life is a catastrophe. But she has a list and thirty things she’s determined to accomplish. Love isn't on that list but it comes crashing unexpectedly into her life. Boxing coach and personal trainer at the gym he co-owns, Colin’s content with his life. Until a chance meeting with a woman eating alone at a restaurant sets his heart in motion. As secrets unveil themselves his only goal becomes holding on to what he’s found.

A Cold Dark Place


Toni Anderson - 2014
    He’s an assassin who’ll die to keep her safe. His secret will destroy them both. Former CIA assassin Alex Parker works for a clandestine government organization hell-bent on taking out serial killers and pedophiles before they enter the justice system. Alex doesn't enjoy killing, but he's damn good at it. FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney has spent years hunting the lowlife who abducted her identical twin sister eighteen years ago. Now, during an on-going serial killer investigation, Mallory begins to suspect there's a vigilante operating outside the law. When Mallory starts asking questions, Alex is ordered to watch her. As soon as they meet, the two begin to fall in love. But the lies and betrayals that define Alex's life threaten to destroy them both—especially when the man who stole her sister all those years ago makes Mallory his next target. Start reading this award-winning Romantic Suspense series today! Winner of the New England Readers' Choice Award and the Aspen Gold. Available in digital, print, and audiobook format. From New York Times bestselling author Toni Anderson. This edition features a brand-new cover.

Out of the Mist


Lauren Giordano - 2017
    . .     Beaten and left for dead, Juliet awakens with no memory of how she ended up alone on an isolated road. After another attempt on her life, she's forced to rely on a man who's made it clear he doesn't trust her.   Hunting a ruthless drug deler, injured DEA agent Matt Barnes has seen just about everything in a decade battling the worst humanity has to offer. But he's never seen anything like Julie-- a beautiful blonde who reminds him more of sorority Barbie than a ruthless drug kingpin. But looks can be deceiving. He's got the bullet hole to prove it.    In a case going nowhere, Julie and her memory are all he has. To erase the worst mistake of his career, his team will use her to lure the most dangerous drug lord he's ever battled. But will the woman he's fallen in love with ever forgive him for making her the bait?

Trust No One


Debra Webb - 2020
    She’s locked in a bitter struggle with her ex-husband and teenage daughter, and her reckless new partner is anything but trustworthy.Still, she has a job to do: there’s a killer at large, and a pregnant woman has gone missing. Once Devlin and her partner get to work, they quickly unearth secrets involving Birmingham’s most esteemed citizens. Each new layer of the investigation brings Devlin closer to the killer and the missing woman, who starts looking more like a suspect than a victim.But just as answers come into view, the case twists, expands, and slithers into Devlin’s personal life. There’s a much more sinister game at work, one she doesn’t even know she’s playing—and she must unravel the truth once and for all to stop the killer before she loses everything.

A Cry in the Dark


Denise Grover Swank - 2019
    A woman on the run with no one to trust.With the ink barely dry on her new identity, Cary Moore just wants to disappear…but fate has other plans. Broken down car, next to nothing in her bank account, Carly is stuck in a Smoky Mountain town that time has forgotten. Drum is riddled with secrets and outsiders are eyed with distrust. Still, it isn’t until she witnesses a cold-blooded murder in a darkened parking lot, that she realizes she’s escaped one nightmare, only to land in another.As the clock ticks down and more bodies pile up, Carly doesn’t know who to trust. If she doesn’t stop the killers, they just might stop her…permanently.

Deadly Memories


P.M. Richter - 2012
     Andrea froze. His back was turned away from her. He didn't know she was there, listening. "It's been six months, for God's sake. If you harm one hair on her head, I’ll contact the authorities. My father would be disgraced, but that will not deter me." Now Andrea couldn't move. There was no doubt Rolph was talking about her. She wondered how his father, the French Ambassador, could be disgraced. His voice modulated to a threatening whisper. "This is the end. Otherwise she goes directly into protective custody, and I spill my guts. You've lied to me, made me into a damned traitor, and I'm angry enough to do it out of spite." Now Andrea knew there were secrets he was keeping from her. What did he mean about protective custody? Was she in danger? The one blank spot in her mind was a mysterious car crash six months ago. She didn't know how she had landed at the bottom of a cliff in the Santa Monica mountains of Los Angeles. She remembered the fabulous party in Beverly Hills that night, but try as she might, she couldn't remember the sequence of events leading to that accident. Rolph's last words chilled her, "I have nothing to lose. I'm a dead man."

IGNITE: 5 Romantic Suspense Books (Heroes In Love)


Glenna Sinclair - 2017
    No cliffhangers. COLT Lena’s brother has gone missing, and due to his past drug addictions the cops aren’t too willing to help find him. Lena’s only hope rests with the Black Dragons—her brother’s motorcycle gang. Can she convince their leader Colt to help her solve the mystery, or will she be left in the dust? PATRICK Pain has been with Kayla since the unfortunate death of her husband, a Navy SEAL killed overseas. Life begins to look up, however, when she meets the mysterious, gentlemanly Patrick, and she quickly finds herself longing for passion again. Will love and life spark for her again after her misfortunes? Or will the secrets between her and Patrick prove to be too sinister for love to conquer? DRAKE Drake and Charlotte couldn't be more different. He's a handsome, hardened ex-SEAL, she's a beautiful, globetrotting school teacher who does yoga and travels on her vacations. When Drake arrives in town to deliver a final letter from Charlotte's dead older brother, they're both inadvertently pulled into a word of international crime. The stakes are high, and their lives are on the line. Can these two come together in time to save themselves? Or will their pasts and prejudices be too much for them to overcome? WADE Kara McKay is a fast rising pop singer from Texas. She has sold out tours, money pouring in, and she is the idol of millions of teenage girls nationwide. She has it all. She never would have guessed that someone wanted her dead. JAMES James Ansley is a former cop with a massive chip on his shoulder. He’s made a habit out of destroying everything good in his life, and when he gets assigned to Celia as her bodyguard, it’s as a last chance from his last ditch effort job. He goes into it for nothing other than the money, but when he meets Celia he realizes that things won’t be as easy as he had hoped. For starters, Celia isn’t the meek ballerina she first appears to be.

Loving the Movie Star (Hawaii Billionaire Romance Book 6)


Jennifer Youngblood - 2017
    Too bad Blade’s having stress issues brought on by a longtime stalker who’s getting more aggressive. If Blade can’t find a way to loosen up on set and perform to the best of his ability, he’ll lose everything he’s worked so hard to achieve. Dani Fairchild, Samantha’s little sister (from Love Him or Lose Him) is trying hard to turn over a new leaf and transcend into adulthood. Yes, she may have been irresponsible in the past when she jilted billionaire Liam Barclay (from Love on the Rocks) and ran off with a surfer, but that’s all behind her. Dani has a food blog she wants to take to the next level, and she’s holding down a full-time job. Granted, being a receptionist isn’t her dream job by any means, but hey, it’s a start. Too bad she can’t keep her big mouth shut and gets fired when the boss acts like a jerk. An unlikely encounter on the public bus brings Blade and Dani together where sparks fly and attraction sizzles. But Dani isn’t having it. No matter how charismatic Blade is or how good he looks with his chiseled abs and piercing blue eyes she’s vowed to never again get involved with someone who doesn’t live on the island permanently. Long distance relationships are a kick in the pants, and she’s tired of being hurt. Home alone for Christmas while Samantha and her family go to the mainland, Dani settles in for a quiet, predictable holiday. But fate has other plans when Dani and Blade are unwittingly thrown into a cycle of events that lead to a heart-pounding climax. Can Dani and Blade find a strong enough love to sustain them in the face of danger? Or will the stalker win in the end? Like all the books in the Hawaii Billionaire Romance series, Loving the Movie Star is a standalone novel, but you’ll enjoy surprise appearances from many of your favorite characters from previous stories. Here are the other titles in the Hawaii Romance Series: Love Him or Lose Him Love on the Rocks Love on the Rebound Love at the Ocean Breeze Love Changes Everything Loving the Movie Star

Slow Burn


E.B. Walters - 2011
    She pretends to have moved on, is a successful artist and photographer, until the morning she opens her door to a stranger she assumes is a model and asks him to strip to his briefs . He wants to expose the truth.... Wealthy businessman Ron Noble has the body, the jet, the fast cars and the women, but he hides a deadly secret. His father started the fire that killed Ashley’s parents. Now someone is leaving him clues that could exonerate his father and they lead to Ashley’s door. Blindsided by the blazing attraction between them and a merciless killer silencing anyone who was there the night of the fire, Ron dare not tell Ashley the truth. Yet the answer he seeks may very well tear them apart. While a demented arsonist...SLOW BURN(s)...and plots his ultimate revenge.

Wake-Robin Ridge


Marcia Meara - 2013
    never means anything good. Calls at 2:00 A.M. are bad news . . . Someone has died. Someone is hurt. Or someone needs help."On a bitter cold January night in 1965, death came calling at an isolated little cabin on Wake-Robin Ridge. Now, nearly 50 years later, librarian Sarah Gray has quit her job and moved into the same cabin, hoping the peace and quiet of her woodland retreat will allow her to concentrate on writing her first novel. Instead she finds herself distracted by her only neighbor, the enigmatic and reclusive MacKenzie Cole, who lives on top of the mountain with his Irish wolfhound as his sole companion.As their tentative friendship grows, Sarah learns the truth about the heartbreaking secret causing Mac to hide from the world. But before the two can sort out their feelings for each other, they find themselves plunged into a night of terror neither could have anticipated. Now they must unravel the horrifying events of a murder committed decades earlier. In doing so, they discover that the only thing stronger than a hatred that will not die is a heart willing to sacrifice everything for another.A story of evil trumped by the power of love and redemption, Wake-Robin Ridge will transport you to the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and introduce you to characters you won't soon forget.

Sign Off


Patricia McLinn - 2012
     TV journalist Elizabeth “E. M.” Danniher will tell you she committed two sins — she didn’t stay young, and she made an enemy of a powerful news executive — her ex. She used to break national news. Now her top story as the “Helping Out!” reporter at dinky KWMT-TV in Sherman,Wyoming is getting a refund for a defective toaster. Tough, funny and determined, Elizabeth wrestles with isolation, keeping a professional edge, and an evolving self-image. Is Wyoming — the land of cattle, cowboys, tumbleweeds, and fewer than six people per square mile — her new home or a road to permanent obscurity? Soon she’s in a battle of wills with ex-football player turned journalist Mike Paycik, who sees her as a handy rung on his career ladder. And there’s the matter of a deputy sheriff—missing or murdered? Elizabeth finds herself investigating at the insistence of a girl who’s set on proving her father’s innocence. Not that enigmatic rancher Thomas David Burrell makes investigating easy. But Elizabeth won’t fade to black without a fight, no matter how final some might want to make her SIGN OFF. Don’t miss any of the Caught Dead in Wyoming series by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn:Sign OffLeft HangingShoot FirstLast DitchLook LiveBack StoryCold OpenHot Roll

Deadly Hunt


Margaret Daley - 2014
    But when a wounded stranger stumbles into her isolated cabin in the Arizona mountains, Tess becomes his lifeline. When Shane Burkhart opens his eyes, all he can focus on is his guardian angel leaning over him. And in the days to come he will need a guardian angel while being hunted by someone who wants him dead.

Waking Maya


Warren Goldie - 2008
    Inside it is an old journal. Its writer, she discovers, was her father, a man who vanished mysteriously when Maya was an infant.As she reads through the brittle pages, his story is revealed — as is hers — but there's far more to this treasure than meets the eye. The journal presents a spiritual teaching he has developed specifically for her. As Maya delves into its wisdom, her life begins to change in remarkable ways...Across a rapidly changing physical and psychological landscape, Maya's journey becomes a cross-country adventure, She is swept up into a world of psychic visions, energy vortexes, secret government programs, and a spiritual underground that has revived an ancient meditation practice that may literally change the world. Along the way, Maya unravels the secrets of her past as she encounters the awesome power of a global change in the making.Waking Maya is a thrilling, wisdom-packed quest to understand the deepest principles of our reality.