Book picks similar to
Thrift by Phil Church


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In Her Wake


Amanda Jennings - 2016
    A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella’s comfortable existence. Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals and a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but also her life. Chilling, complex and profoundly moving, In Her Wake is a gripping psychological thriller that questions the nature of family – and reminds us that sometimes the most shocking crimes are committed closest to home.

Millie and the American Wedding


Anna Bell - 2010
    It's Millie’s worst nightmare. Not only has she slept with the groom, but her ex boyfriend (the one that got away) is the best man and he’s married.As her friend, Kristen, gets ready for the best day of her life, Millie gears up for the worst week of hers.

Mrs. Saint and the Defectives


Julie Lawson Timmer - 2017
    But Markie and Jesse are unable to escape the attention of their new neighbor Mrs. Saint, an irascible, elderly New European woman who takes it upon herself, along with her ragtag group of “defectives,” to identify and fix the flaws in those around her, whether they want her to or not.What Markie doesn’t realize is that Mrs. Saint has big plans for the divorcée’s broken spirit. Soon, the quirky yet endearing woman recruits Markie to join her eccentric community, a world where both hidden truths and hope unite them. But when Mrs. Saint’s own secrets threaten to unravel their fragile web of healing, it’s up to Markie to mend these wounds and usher in a new era for the “defectives”—one full of second chances and happiness.

Chasing Kate


Kelly Byrne - 2012
    She’s single, alone in a new city, and facing rock bottom again. And she’s not exactly child-friendly, so when she finds a tiny stowaway, five-year-old Sadie Beck, in the back of her Jeep on Halloween night, she’s in no mood to play.Then her world gets weird.Against her will, Kate begins to feel a surprising connection with the odd little girl. And when she realizes Sadie may be in real trouble, she vows to protect her at any cost.On their frantic journey across several state lines Kate rips through a complex landscape of moral choices her prior transgressions have left her woefully unprepared to handle. She begins, very seriously, to wonder who’s saving whom.When they exhaust all other options, Kate’s forced to go to the one place she swore she never would again, and to make the most difficult decision of her life.At once hilarious and heartbreaking, Chasing Kate is a raucous voyage of self-transformation, fueled by an unconventional love story, wending down the twisty road to redemption.

Magnus Opum


Jonathan Gould - 2012
    He certainly never expected to end up in the middle of a long-running war between the saintly Cherines and the beastly Glurgs. But when circumstance places him in such a dubious position, he finds himself on a rollicking adventure where nothing is quite as it seems.Magnus Opum is an epic fantasy that's slightly skewed - Tolkien with a twist.

Fallen Angel


Chuck Logan - 2013
    Now highly placed people are trying to silence her about something she witnessed when she was wounded. But she can’t remember what she saw.

Jam


Yahtzee Croshaw - 2012
    We had a flood plan in place. We could even have dealt with zombies. Probably.But no one expected the end to be quite so . . . sticky . . . or strawberry scented.

When Farts Had Colors


Mark Lawton Thomas - 2011
    When Farts Had Colors is the story of 4th grader Lance Chance who hates Mondays. This particular Monday Lance's mom coaxes Lance to school with his favorite sandwiches and a 'wish-kiss'. On his way to school Lance is tormented by "the biggest, meanest 4th grader ever to stalk the halls of Alfonso Orr Elementary School. Merry Maddox. Bully Extraordinaire…”A legend" and her posse of mayhem, the Crazy M&Ms. If having to hand over his sandwiches and perform a certain humiliating act wasn't enough, Lance gets blamed by Merry Maddox for letting out a fart so horrible it forces the entire school to evacuate. Lance runs away from school and wishes that farts had colors. "Then everyone would have known it was Merry Maddox who sent out those heat seeking missiles of doom and destruction," thinks Lance. And just like that, Lance's wish comes true. Will Lance come up with a plan to expose Merry Maddox and reveal her true colors?

The Peeling Trilogy


Iain Rob Wright - 2013
    Each book follows the individual story of one of the survivors of this horrible new existence. They can be enjoyed as standalone tales or as part of a larger, overall narrative.---------------------------------------BOOK 1: Jeremy's ChoiceBeing a security guard at a news station meant Jeremy found out about the peeling before anybody else. But that didn't prevent the deadly, unknown virus from infecting his wife. After years of neglect, unfaithfulness, and lies, is it finally time for Jeremy to do right by the woman he loves? Or is it too late?---------------------------------------------------BOOK 2: The StadiumBrett went to the football stadium for safety. They all did. But the deadly, flesh-eating virus, The Peeling, doesn't care about walls. It isn't long before the stadium starts to look less like a refuge and more like a prison.---------------------------------------------------BOOK 3: WarriorsWith barely a soul alive, Sergeant Parker and his squad scour the land, looking for survivors, but will they succeed only in finding more nightmares?---------------------------------------------------BONUS CONTENT - Also includes the prequel story: The Peeling Of Samuel Lloyd CollinsPublished author, Iain Rob Wright, was born in 1984 and lives in Redditch, a small town in the West Midlands, UK, with his loopy cocker spaniel, Oscar, his fat old cat, Jess, his many tropical fish, and the love of his life, Sally. Writing is the passion that fills his life during the small periods of time when he isn't cleaning up after his pets.He is the author of several novels, including the critically acclaimed, The Final Winter, and the deeply disturbing thriller, ASBO.

Disappearing Home


Deborah Morgan - 2012
    She's as tough as they come, but while she puts food on the table and tries to fit in at school, her mum and abusive step-father sleep off their hangovers at home.As often as she can, Robyn escapes to her nan's cosy flat on the other side of town, where she reads Anne of Green Gables and nibbles on tea and toast. But she can't stay there forever. And when her father's cruelty escalates at home she knows it's time to disappear. Pushed beyond endurance, Robyn sleeps rough on city backstreets, until help from a stranger offers the first steps to change in her terrorized life.

Twirty-Something: A Young Woman's Guide to Giant Underwear


Ingrid Reinke - 2013
    Twirty-Something: A Young Woman's Guide to Giant Underwear is a hilarious new Kindle Single from Award-Winning and Amazon Best-Selling author and humorist Ingrid Reinke.On the cold January day when Ingrid Reinke turned 30, she looked back upon the last decade of her life in deep thought before finally shaking her head and mumbling to herself the following insight: "Wow, what a shit show."So, she sat down, braless and alone, and penned a collection of laugh-out-loud essays about the ridiculous, shocking and occasionally horrifying things that happen to us as we ungracefully age from 20 to 30, try, semi-successfully, to leave our clueless years behind and become mature, responsible grown-up women.From weird hairs to boob sweat, OCD to weddings, Twirty-Something swings between a no-holds-barred conversation and a cautionary tale about aging and all the crap that comes along with it.Sometime instruction manual, sometime commiseration partner, get ready for Reinke's honest and occasionally potty-mouthed accounts of this tumultuous decade.So hike up your yoga pants, plop another ice cube in your Pinot Grigio and get ready to laugh at the author, young women in general, and most of all at yourself.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl


Jesse Andrews - 2012
    He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

Tunnel Vision


Aric Davis - 2014
    It’s been fifteen years since Mandy Reasoner was murdered—a crime for which her boyfriend, Duke, was convicted. But when best friends Betty and June discover that Mandy was June’s long-forgotten aunt, they decide to pursue the mystery. Galvanized by the growing community who doubts the evidence against Duke and is rallying to free him, the two girls start on a path that will bring them not only to Duke himself but smack into Nickel, a canny, tough-as-nails teenage P.I. attempting to keep his own life together. They make a good team, but Nickel is on his own mission of revenge, and the web of lies surrounding Mandy’s murder is growing ever thicker.The closer they get to the truth, the less clear the path becomes. Will they survive the fight to bring Mandy’s killer to justice?Award-winning author Aric Davis brings back his captivating anti-hero, Nickel, in Tunnel Vision, a work of edgy noir about unlikely friendship and long-overdue justice.

Secrets


S.L. Pierce - 2011
    She walked away two years ago and had no plans to share her secret, least of all with her husband Jack. But when she is attacked in her own home by an unknown assailant, she is thrust back into her old element. More shocking to Gwen than the man hired to kill her, is that he knows nothing of her past. Now Gwen and Jack are on the run until Gwen can discover who wants her dead, and why! Secrets is a fun thriller delving into the world of developing super computer chips and industrial espionage!

The Bialy Pimps


Johnny B. Truant - 2012
    The loathed customers are dealt the poor treatment they seem to deserve, bad rap music is played loudly, and The Rat is killed often enough to stem his immortality. And the insane homeless regulars -- like drunken Little Johnny Redbeard -- keep life interesting.But when a rival tricks the crew into thinking that the deli's closure is imminent, they do the only logical thing: instead of giving up, they decide to go out in a blaze of glory, handing their customers the humiliation and abuse that the pesky social contract had previously forbidden. But as insults turn to assaults and snide remarks turn to harassment and pro wrestling moves, a strange thing happens. Business goes up -- way up -- as people come back in droves, begging for more.But the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and as pop-culture welcomes the parody musical group "The Bialy Pimps" and its frivolous merchandising machine -- and as the crew pushes to see how much bad behavior society will accept -- the violent road to fame begins to feel like a runaway train, out of control and headed for destruction…The Bialy Pimps is a tale that could only be spun by the twisted, vaguely profane mind of outspoken blogger Johnny B. Truant. Combining hilarity with questions about conformity and whether the tail or the dog is the one doing the wagging, this story can't help but raise a question for the reader: If the rest of your friends decided to submit to the Face-Kicking Machine, would you do it too?