Book picks similar to
Poker Face by Jess Sturman-Coombs
detective
drama
fiction
unread-stack
The Mother Keeper
Paula Scott - 2017
Shawn Klein has it all. The beautiful girlfriend. The scholarship to play football at Vanderbilt after he graduates high school. At eighteen, he leads worship at his father’s prosperous megachurch. His life is perfect. So why isn’t he happy? Everything changes when Shawn’s parents bring Ellie into their home to care for her until she gives birth. It’s the life with a real family that Ellie has always dreamed about, and the kind of future Shawn never knew he wanted, until Ellie’s past threatens to destroy everything. Jenny McBride has lost her faith and her reason to live in a terrible accident in Colorado Springs, but meeting the pregnant teenager, Ellie just might turn things around. When Jenny arrives in Tennessee to adopt Ellie's baby, only one thing is certain. A baby will be born, along with a crime of passion, and a desperate struggle to bury the truth.
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.
Classic Robert B. Parker: Looking for Rachel Wallace; Promised Land
Robert B. Parker - 2011
Parker. In the first novel, Promised Land, Harvey Shepard's wife has run away. Spenser has been hired to find her. A seemingly easy mission: go to Cape Cod, find the missing woman, then sit back and enjoy the sun. But it seems there is more to this case than meets the eye. Who are the shady figures Pam Shepard has been seen with? And why does Harvey keep showing up with bruises? Both Pam and Harvey are in over their heads, and soon Spenser will be too. In the second novel, Looking for Rachel Wallace, Spenser is hired to protect Rachel Wallace, the outspoken feminist. Left-wing lesbian meets muscles and machismo. Chalk meets cheese. It is not long before Rachel fires him. Then she disappears. Spenser feels it is his duty to save her. And once he has made up his mind then no bigot, Klansman, or family will get in his way. He will not stop until he finds Rachel Wallace.
Pack Up Your Troubles
Anne Bennett - 2000
Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Annie Groves.Maeve Brannigan is only eighteen when she leaves her rural home in County Donegal and moves to Birmingham, where she falls in love with handsome Brendan Hogan. But married life isn’t as idyllic as she’d imagined, and when Maeve falls pregnant with their first child, she soon realises that Brendan isn’t the man she thought he was.Saddled with a violent husband and with two young’uns needing her protection, Maeve bears her life as best she can. After a particularly vicious attack, she is forced to flee back to Ireland – but her presence is greeted with open hostility by the close-knit catholic community that she was once so eager to escape. Driven away to face her abusive husband, Maeve’s future looks bleak. Will she find the strength to break free and make the prospect of a better life a reality rather than a distant dream?
The Sovereign Order of Monte Cristo: Newly Discovered Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Special Edition) (The Count of Monte Cristo)
Holy Ghost Writer - 2013
It includes exhilarating new adventures, characters, and ideas, carrying the reader through books I and II and into book III of an ever-expanding new series based on the classic. The author consulted the original French as well as the oldest English translations of The Count of Monte Cristo, but the style of the retelling, in the distinctive voice of Sherlock Holmes, constitutes a new work. Books II and III, incorporated herein, are wholly original sequels although they include characters from the original classic. The author of The Sovereign Order of Monte Cristo also consulted a more current 2003 translation by Robin Buss of the The Count of Monte Cristo, which helped to inspire both this work and the first sequel in this series, The Sultan of Monte Cristo. The most recent (2003) unabridged translation by Buss is indispensable to fully appreciate the original story. Those who have already had the pleasure of reading The Sultan of Monte Cristo will certainly appreciate the unique way in which the Holy Ghost Writer has expanded the original story without the help of anyone (except perhaps from the ghost of Dumas himself). While The Sultan of Monte Cristo has been enjoyed by thousands as a stand-alone work, this work is an even easier read of the original classic, as it has a condensed version of the original story retold in the voice of Sherlock Holmes.
Tiaras & Teacups (Berry Lake Cupcake Posse Book 2)
Melissa McClone - 2021
She’s struggling to leave her trophy wife identity behind and make ends meet as a full-time event planner. When her handsome new neighbor needs to throw the perfect birthday party for his niece, Juliet offers her services. If she pulls this off, maybe she can get her life back on track. But to do so, she’ll need the help of the Cupcake Posse. Too bad her friends are grappling with problems of their own:Missy’s recovering from injuries; Nell’s trying to thwart her mother’s matchmaking efforts; Selena’s husband wants her to work less when she needs to do more; and Bria’s facing obstacles she never anticipated trying to save her late aunt’s bakery.Join the Cupcake Posse as they work together to navigate the difficulties of life, loss, and love. They continue to rely on each other, never losing sight of the importance of friendship and family, but will that be enough to save the Berry Lake Cupcake Shop?
The Lover: A heartwarming novel of love and courage
Amanda Brookfield - 2000
With no career to fall back on and her son and daughter leaving home, the solitude of bereavement hits particularly hard. When new love beckons, in the form of a handsome young man fifteen years her junior, Frances is torn. She longs to open her heart again but does not dare to trust her feelings. Turning to her closest friends for help, she is met by a wall of judgemental attitudes and envy. Distracted by the predicament, her fragile confidence wavering, she fails to observe the crises spiralling out of control in the lives of her two children. A sudden tragic accident brings her to her senses, but it may already be too late. Not even the strongest love cannot sit around for ever.
Out of Breath
Susan Salluce - 2011
Her mother, Alyssa Buchanan, is wild with rage and regret for placing her trust in her husband Seth, a former pro surfer who has a drug problem. Seth is adamant that he was clean the night of Nevaeh’sdeath, yet a dirty drug test contradicts his story. His parental rights ripped and criminal charges looming, he battles to prove his innocence, love, and family devotion. Adding to the couple’s grief, their five-year-old daughter Daisy hasn’t uttered a word since her sister’s death. Alyssa turns to childhood friends and local police officer, Greg Wallace, for comfort and support. Although Greg portrays heroic devotion and justice, inwardly he swims with loss, narcissism, and explosive rage. He has long despised Seth and is more than willingto meet Alyssa’s needs that reach far beyond friendship.Into this fragile scene steps therapist Katherine Middlebrook. Her practice consumes nearly all her time–time that is even more precious now that her mother’s cancer has returned. She hesitantly accepts three new clients–Greg Wallace, and Seth & Alyssa Buchanan, unaware oftheir intertwined history. Buried deep in Katherine’s past is the loss of her own child. She’s sure she can keep the boundaries of her past and her clients’ lives clear until their intersecting tragedies awaken old demons.An award winner in the South West Writer’s Contest for literary and mainstream novel, Out of Breath is an exploration of parental grief, addiction, compassion fatigue, and suicide; it’s the prodigal story of grace undeserved. Salluce’s expertise as a psychotherapist and grief specialist enables her to create dynamic characters that will leave you breathless as you jeer their shadow sides and cheer their heroic journeys.
Touchfeather (Touchfeather Thriller #1)
Jimmy Sangster - 1968
She’s lethal, seductive, and as ruthless as any double-O. Her latest assignment is to track down a scientist suspected of selling secrets to the Russians. It’s a high-stakes, global escapade that takes an unexpected violent turn that shatters her life…and ultimately pits her against a billionaire industrialist with terrifying intentions. “Jolly & Preposterous Intrigue.” New York Times “A clever, high-spirited story.” Times Literary Supplement (London) “Exhilarating…it’s a winner!” Irish Times
Pohutukawa Highway
Tammy Robinson - 2015
For Jess, the campground holds bittersweet memories. It’s where she passed a childhood of carefree summers, but it’s also the scene of her first heartbreak at the hands of Hunter Aarden. The summer she turned seventeen he promised her he’d love her for always, then he drove out of camp never to be heard from again. Until now. After almost two decades, Jess is finally about to find out why. Both romantic and humorous, Pohutukawa Highway is a story that reminds us about the importance of family, and the magic of second chances.
Rory's Fortune
Catherine Cookson - 1972
Whatever happens, nobody must know what you are carrying…’Life changes overnight for fifteen-year-old Rory McAlister, an apprentice wheelwright, when his master, John Cornwallis, who had been kind to Rory and his poverty-stricken family, is injured in an accident and asks Rory to take his place on a vital errand.With a secret letter hidden under a patch on his shirt, Rory travels south to meet the sinister Miss Bluett – who sends him off on a terrifying voyage across the seas to Jersey. But what is the mysterious ‘blue baccy’ he is to carry home? And why is it so important that they can only come for it by night? Plunged into terrible danger, Rory’s very life is suddenly at stake as he finds himself caught up in the dangerous world of smuggling.Set in the mid-nineteenth century, Rory’s Fortune is a dramatic and action-packed tale of one young man remaining loyal to his master only to find his life changed forever.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS HOUSE
ALEIA LATAY - 2017
Joy, Jasmine and Jackson all endured some of the most twisted and wickedest things inside of their home. Growing up in a small town in the south by the name of Canton, Mississippi. There was a saying that kept the secrets hidden for years. When sudden death comes upon their father Jack. The three siblings reunite and all of the dark secrets finally comes to the light. The old saying goes What happens in this house stays in this house.