Book picks similar to
Goodnight, Sweet Mother by Alex Kava


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Gray Mountain


John Grisham - 2014
    . . and she’s full of surprises The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street law firm is on the fast track—until the recession hits and she gets downsized, furloughed, escorted out of the building. Samantha, though, is one of the “lucky” associates. She’s offered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic for one year without pay, after which there would be a slim chance that she’d get her old job back.In a matter of days Samantha moves from Manhattan to Brady, Virginia, population 2,200, in the heart of Appalachia, a part of the world she has only read about. Mattie Wyatt, lifelong Brady resident and head of the town’s legal aid clinic, is there to teach her how to “help real people with real problems.” For the first time in her career, Samantha prepares a lawsuit, sees the inside of an actual courtroom, gets scolded by a judge, and receives threats from locals who aren’t so thrilled to have a big-city lawyer in town. And she learns that Brady, like most small towns, harbors some big secrets.Her new job takes Samantha into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining, where laws are often broken, rules are ignored, regulations are flouted, communities are divided, and the land itself is under attack from Big Coal. Violence is always just around the corner, and within weeks Samantha finds herself engulfed in litigation that turns deadly.

3 a.m.


Nick Pirog - 2013
    Henry Bins is awake for one. He wakes up each day at 3 a.m. then falls asleep at 4 a.m. Life is simple. Until he hears the woman scream. And sees the man leave the house across the street. But not just any man. The President of the United States.

The Grownup


Gillian Flynn - 2014
    On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, doesn't help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.“The Grownup,” originally appeared as “What Do You Do?” in George R. R. Martin’s Rogues anthology.

Fear Nothing: (Detective D. D. Warren) by Lisa Gardner -- Sidekick


BookBuddy - 2014
    Warren series, Fear Nothing is a dark fusion of thriller and mystery. While on the hunt for a serial killer with a gruesome motif, D.D. sustains a rare and painful injury, one that puts her on the sidelines. Looking for some relief and a way to deal with the emotional turmoil that comes with being in constant pain, she starts seeing a pain therapist who herself can feel no pain. When the killer strikes again, D.D. finds herself drawn back into the chase, alongside her therapist, Dr. Adeline Glen, who has a dark connection to the events. In Fear Nothing, Gardner uses a mixture of first- and third-person perspective with a casual, engaging writing style. Let the chapter-by-chapter guide in this sidekick of Fear Nothing guide you through the twists and turns of the novel, and help you make sense of the major themes and character motivations. D.D. must learn to come to grips with the pain she feels, while Adeline is haunted by her biological family's grisly legacy, one that ties her to the killer in an intimate way. Who is really killing the women of Boston by skinning them? Fear Nothing brings up interesting notions about nature vs. nurture and the role pain plays in life. A fast-paced conclusion brings the story full circle and is sure to leave readers satisfied.

Woman with a Gun


Phillip Margolin - 2014
    Shot from behind, the enigmatic black-and-white image depicts a woman in a wedding dress standing on the shore at night, facing the sea. In her hands, clasped behind her back, she holds a six-shooter.The image captures Stacey's imagination, and raises a host of compelling questions. Obsessed with finding answers, she soon discovers the identity of the woman, who is a suspect in a ten-year-old murder investigation. Convinced that proof of the woman's guilt, or innocence, is somehow connected to the photograph, Stacey embarks on a relentless investigation. But Kathy Moran isn't talking. Stacey must find a way to get to the reclusive photographer, and get her to talk, or the truth about what happened that day will stay forever hidden in the shadows.

The Killing Lessons


Saul Black - 2015
    Two violent predators walk through the door. Nothing will ever be the same.When the two strangers turn up at Rowena Cooper's isolated Colorado farmhouse, she knows instantly that it's the end of everything. For the two haunted and driven men, on the other hand, it's just another stop on a long and bloody journey. And they still have many miles to go, and victims to sacrifice, before their work is done.For San Francisco homicide detective Valerie Hart, their trail of victims-women abducted, tortured and left with a seemingly random series of objects inside them-has brought her from obsession to the edge of physical and psychological destruction. And she's losing hope of making a breakthrough before that happens.But the murders at the Cooper farmhouse didn't quite go according to plan. There was a survivor, Rowena's ten-year-old daughter Nell, who now holds the key to the killings. Injured, half-frozen, terrified, Nell has only one place to go. And that place could be even more dangerous than what she's running from.In this extraordinary, pulse-pounding debut, Saul Black takes us deep into the mind of a psychopath, and into the troubled heart of the woman determined to stop him.

The Neighbor


Dean Koontz - 2014
    Malcolm Pomerantz is twelve, geeky and socially awkward, while his seriously bright sister, Amalia, is spirited and beautiful. Each is the other’s best friend, united by a boundless interest in the world beyond their dysfunctional parents’ unhappy home. But even the troubled Pomerantz household will seem to be a haven compared to the house next door, after an enigmatic and very secretive new neighbor takes up residence in the darkest hours of the night.

Kiss Me, Kill Me


J.S. Carol - 2018
    Plans that don't necessarily include Zoe.Be careful who you trust . . .FOR FANS OF THE MARRIAGE PACT AND CLARE MACKINTOSH COMES A TWISTING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER THAT WILL MAKE YOU QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW.

Should Be Dead


Jeramy Gates - 2015
    None of the killer’s other victims have survived. Yet somehow, after spending two long nights trapped at the bottom of a dry well with a broken back, Valkyrie miraculously came through. She lost everything that night: her husband, her son, her dreams. Lying at the bottom of that well, staring up at a tiny circle of sky and waiting for the killer to find her and finish the job at any moment, Val lost one more thing: She lost her fear.The doctors told her she might never walk again, but Val refused to give up. After years of rehabilitation and relentless determination, Valkyrie regained her mobility. She didn't stop there. Valkyrie went on to take training in self defense and firearms, and developed a strategy to track down the killer. She dedicated her life to bringing him to justice. She walked away from her past forever, and began moving from to town to town in search of the man who had slaughtered her family.Now, after a series of missed opportunities, Valkyrie finally has her chance. An anonymous phone call informs her that the man she has been hunting has surfaced again in Sequoia County, a rural California landscape of redwood forests, vineyards, and isolated coastlines. Valkyrie knows it could be a trap. She doesn’t care. Armed with her skills, her intellect, and her determination, Valkyrie heads straight into the heart of danger. She thinks she’s prepared for anything. She’s wrong.

One Final Breath


C.R. Chandler - 2020
    . . and then they dieDeep inside a national forest, Special Agent Ricki James stands in the middle of a killing field that was never meant to be found. The victims are all naked, with no identification and no clues other than a single bullet hole in their skulls. With the carnage laying all around her, Ricki only knows two things for sure: they were all murdered execution-style, and a killer who goes to this extreme to hide his work, isn’t finished yet.Teaming up with the new, local police chief, she starts a dangerous hunt for a serial killer who moves like smoke through the forest and hides in plain sight within a crowd. The only common link between the victims that Ricki uncovers is one she shares with them herself. When she finds the blood-soaked remains of the latest murder, the body isn’t even cold before another person vanishes in broad daylight. But this time the killer struck close to home in a direct, taunting challenge for Ricki to follow him if she can.Now it’s no longer a game of cat and mouse, but a race against time. A race she must win, or someone she loves will die.If you like Melinda Leigh, Mary Barton, and AJ Rivers, it’s time you met Special Agent Ricki James!

The Silent Victim


Dana Perry - 2019
    The police are calling it a random attack, but Jessie Tucker isn’t so sure – she’s seen this crime scene before… she was the victim.Twelve years ago, Jessie Tucker was attacked as she made her way home from an outdoor concert. She still walks with a limp from that night, and every day since has been a struggle to rebuild her life. The police told her she was unlucky – that she was safe after they charged a local man for the crime. But Jessie has never managed to shake the feeling that there was someone else in the park that night… someone she knew.But then Margaret Kincaid’s murder file lands across her desk, and Jessie knows she can’t keep silent any longer. Margaret’s wounds so exactly match her own it's spooky – but Jessie’s attacker is in prison, and Jessie has never met the victim. What links her to Margaret Kincaid, and why did the attacker let one woman live, and the other die?Nail-biting, gripping and absolutely unputdownable! Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Gregg Olsen.

A Bloody Storm


Richard Castle - 2012
    These former agents have all faked their own deaths and now work for the CIA on a strictly secret basis, taking on dangerous and illegal jobs the agency may not officially carry out. They're headed to the Molguzar mountains to look for sixty-billion dollars worth of gold hidden by the KGB before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and taking a perilous detour to rescue FBI agent April Showers from a sociopath torturer. But Storm's loyalties are put to the test as the mission begins to unravel into a bloody mountaintop showdown, and he and Showers must find out the hard way that their assignment may not be what they thought it was.

The Locked Door


Freida McFadden - 2021
    Nobody knows her father was a notorious serial killer. And she intends to keep it that way.Then Nora discovers one of her young female patients has been murdered. In the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims.Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she’s not a killer like her father. The police can’t pin anything on her.As long as they don’t look in her basement.

1000 Yards


Mark Dawson - 2013
    A craftsman. His trade is murder.Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. But now, after ten years, he's had enough - there's blood on his hands and he wants out. Trouble is, this job is not one you can just walk away from.He goes on the run, seeking atonement for his sins by helping the people he meets along the way. But his past cannot be easily forgotten and before long it is Milton who is hunted, and not the hunter.1000 YardsThis 17,000 word novella is an introduction to John Milton, the most dangerous assassin in the pay of Her Majesty's government.Milton is sent into North Korea. With nothing but a sniper rifle, bad intentions and a very particular target, will Milton be able to take on the secret police of the most dangerous failed state on the planet?

The Donor


Clare Mackintosh - 2020
    But what does she want in return? When Lizzie's daughter Meg is given a life-saving heart transplant, Lizzie feels hugely grateful to the nameless donor. Then she receives a letter from the donor's mother, Karen, asking to meet, and it seems like the least she can do.But as soon as Karen is welcomed into their lives, Lizzie feels something isn't right. And before long, she can't help but worry that by inviting Karen in, she might have put Meg in danger . . .