Book picks similar to
The Family Man by Anna Willett


crime
thriller
australian-thriller
crime-thriller

A Parent Apart


Gary Wright - 2021
    A momentary lapse in supervision. A parent's worst fears realised.--------------------------------------------------------------------Andrew Wicks would do anything for his family. When tragedy strikes, he is forced to make a split-second decision, one that is layered with deception, desperation and self-preservation. As a tenacious police officer unravels his web of lies and exposes the truth, worlds collide.There is no greater pain than losing a child. There is no greater torment than knowing it was avoidable.Gripping, haunting and totally compelling, this is a novel that will make you question how far you would go to preserve the sanctity of family life.

Why She Lied


Julie Coons - 2019
    His trial is set to begin the following day. She needs answers… To get them, she tricks her boyfriend into signing a release form, giving her full access to all of his legal documents. She uncovers the truth, he’s guilty. To save her unborn child from this monster, she gets an abortion. FIVE YEARS LATER and still rebuilding her life, Julie finds out her ex-boyfriend has just become the most wanted man in America, involved in human trafficking. When detectives ask for her help locating him, she gets drawn into a baffling mystery. What began as a seemingly simple search soon turns into a much darker reality. Someone from her past is watching… Bit by bit, the tapestry of her own secret childhood begins to unravel. What she learns about her past will haunt her forever: family isn’t always what it seems. Can she help bring this predator to justice, or will she die trying? WHY SHE LIED is a gripping psychological thriller full of mystery, intrigue, and buried secrets.

Be My Girl


Tony Hutchinson - 2018
     But no one works the evidence better than DCI Sam Parker and her team, determined to take down the monster using their streets as a hunting ground. A new voice in the field of contemporary, police procedural fiction, former murder squad head Tony Hutchinson takes us on a tense, thrilling and authentic journey across the dark tides of crime.

Across the Broken Line


Zoë Sharp - 2011
    Never before published, it features her ex-Special Forces soldier turned self-defence expert and bodyguard, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Fox.In Across The Broken Line, we follow Charlie through a fragmented timescale of cross and double-cross as she fights to keep her principal alive – whoever that might be.

Abyss


Sabarna Roy - 2011
    It is essentially a racy crime thriller full of gritty suspense. Act one builds up slowly to result in a crescendo of conflicts between personalities and ideas finally to end with an unnatural death before the interval. Is it a suicide or a murder? Act two evolves through a series of incisive interrogations to unravel the truth, which is deeply disturbing and affecting. As the play unfolds into a very well crafted situational thriller, underneath is the debate about using land for agriculture or for industry, the ethics of a working author and the nexus of a modern state all wonderfully enmeshed into its storyline and the personal lives of its subtly etched out characters. The highpoints of the play are its central conflict between a mother and her daughter and its female sleuth – Renuka.

Gabriel


Tracie Podger - 2016
     My wife had been murdered and I made it my mission to find out why and by whom. But when the ‘why’ and the ‘whom’ invaded my small town, my house, my life, and turned it upside down, it brought more death and devastation. When you don’t know your enemy it’s hard to know who to trust. I had the greatest religion on earth on one side and a mad man on the other. I was stuck in the middle. My name is Gabriel. I had a perfect life, a perfect wife, and now I am fighting for justice. A dark, epic thriller for readers over the age of 18.

The Devil You Know


Terry Tyler - 2016
    Is she the only person who can see through Gary's friendly, sensitive façade?Tamsin is besotted with her office crush, Jake. Then love turns to suspicion...Steve is used to his childhood friend, Dan, being a loud mouthed Lothario with little respect for the truth. But is a new influence in his life leading him down a more sinister path?Dorothy's beloved son, Orlando, is keeping a secret from her—a chilling discovery forces her to confront her worst fears.THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is a character-driven psychological drama that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Guarded by Mr Handsome


Dee James - 2020
    With beauty, brains, money, and a loving family, she seemingly had it all. All but love! Just when she'd given up on men, on love, Arjun Warrier, the ex-army man who broke her heart, re-entered her life. One look at him, and her walls threatened to crumble. Arjun vowed to protect her from danger, but who will save her heart from him?Arjun Warrier remembered Natasha as a beautiful teenager. He was unprepared for the stunning and confident entrepreneur who was facing threats from an unknown stalker. As the stalker raised the stakes, Arjun knew he had to keep close to Natasha. But, would he be able to keep his hands off her? Last time he'd walked away, it had almost destroyed them. Can he walk away unscathed this time around?

Sins of the Father


David Harrison - 2006
    If it comes out, the tabloids will have a field day: Eddie Randall was a popular comedy actor in the 1960s. Nick goes in search of the truth and unexpectedly finds it impacts on a major insurance scam he is investigating. Then his estranged wife is found dead - and Nick realises that an unknown enemy is stalking him..."Occasionally brutal, but very readable... this writer seems to me to have real potential. I look forward to his next book." Martin Edwards, TANGLED WEB"Sins of the Father is a wonderful, exciting read full of twists and turns... This is a sterling effort from a new face on the crime scene."Chris Simmons, CRIMESQUAD"Sins of the Father is a rattling good read... a writer to watch for sure."Sharon Wheeler, REVIEWING THE EVIDENCEPraise for David Harrison (writing under the name TOM BALE):"What truly sells SKIN AND BONES is Bale's almost cinematic storytelling style, along the lines of what Lee Child does with his Jack Reacher series."Jim Winter, JANUARY MAGAZINE

Tank Water


Michael Burge - 2021
    Now, he’s returned to Kippen for the first time in twenty years because his cousin Tony has been found dead under the local bridge.The news that Tony has left him the entire family farm triggers James’s journalistic curiosity – and his anxiety – both of which cropped up during his turbulent journey to adulthood. But it is the unexpected homophobic attack he survives that draws James into a hunt for the reasons one lonely Kippen farm boy in every generation kills himself.Standing in the way is James’s father, the town’s recently retired top cop, who is not prepared to investigate crimes no-one reckons have taken place. James must use every newshound’s trick he ever learned in order to uncover the brutal truth.A coming-of-age story and crime thriller with a large and gentle heart.

Jacob's Ladder


Tim Ellis - 2011
    Ex-Detective Inspector Cole Randall is released from Springfield Asylum after a year of being committed indefinitely for killing the previous three families - including his own. Now he's operating outside the law and he's out for revenge, then he plans to join his wife and children. Randall's ex-partner - Detective Inspector Molly Stone - has been given the case, but she only has seven days to solve the riddle of the symbols and how a renowned international financier can be in two places at the same time. She knows Randall is now a civilian and wants revenge, but she also knows she needs his help, and she agrees to an unorthodox partnership. As they hunt a serial killer, Randall looks for redemption, but finds love; and Molly searches for love, but finds terror.

YOU DID THIS


Jamie Millen - 2022
    A homicide detective’s destiny.Everybody loves Claire’s little sister, Tina. But only Claire sees the twisted psychopath hiding behind her sister’s angelic face. When Tina is brutally murdered on her fourteenth birthday, the day Claire failed to walk her home from school, Claire never forgives herself. And neither does their mother.Twelve years later, more girls turn up dead in Newburgh exactly like Tina. Claire, now a police detective, suspects that her sister’s murderer is still on the prowl. But the serial killer stumps the FBI forensic profiler assisting the case and Special Agent Robert Cline—Claire’s old flame.When Claire becomes the lead suspect in the murder investigation, the system turns against her. Unable to trust anyone—not even herself—Claire must break every rule in the book to save the next girl.With time running out in this nerve-shredding psychological thriller and harrowing family drama, a shocking discovery changes everything. Is Claire’s sister truly dead—or is she playing one final lethal prank?YOU DID THIS is the first book in the Claire Wolfe Thrillers series and can be read as a standalone mystery. Fans of Mike Omer, Robert Dugoni, Melinda Leigh, and Karin Slaughter should get to know Claire Wolfe.

The Lodger


Joanne Ryan - 2022
    What could be better, she reasons, than having a lodger who she already knows instead of a total stranger. As they rekindle their friendship, Gina recalls the long ago summer when they spent every day together. Gina believed then that they’d be best friends forever.But Lissa thought differently.With the benefit of hindsight, Gina now realises that Lissa unfriended her in the most brutal way possible. With a growing awareness that Lissa might not be the perfect person she always believed her to be, she’s beginning to wonder if she can even trust her. Because what Lissa wants, Lissa gets. Has she made a mistake by asking Lissa to move in? She thinks that maybe she has, but Lissa makes no secret of the fact that she has no intention of going anywhere....

Unforeseen


Nick Pirog - 2008
    After all, it was his case, and he doesn t need to be reminded of the gruesome details. The book dubbed the serial killer, Tristen Grayer, The MAINEiac. Grayer is allegedly dead, but only Prescott knows the truth, Grayer is alive and lurking in the shadows. On October 1st, the anniversary of the first murder, Tristen resurfaces, killing someone special from Prescott's past. Suddenly, it s deja vu for Prescott except this time the women closest to him begin to fall victim at the hands of Grayer. With the help of former flame, medical examiner Dr. Caitlin Dodds, and Eight in October author, Alex Tooms, Prescott must race against the clock to stop Tristen from completing his encore.

Red Tide


Peg Brantley - 2012
    It was Jamie Taylor and her dog’s job to uncover them. Trouble is, they dug up some new secrets as well. While some families would find closure, others would soon find their lives ripped apart.Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Grant becomes embroiled in the case while coming to terms with his own demons.A madman watches from the distance while officials expose his clandestine playground—his private playground—much sooner than he planned.But with any luck, not soon enough.