Book picks similar to
The Perfect Secret by Steena Holmes
ebook
mystery
thriller
suspense
The Dying Hour
Rick Mofina - 2005
At The Seattle Mirror, he is competing for the single full-time job being offered through the paper's intense intern program. But unlike the program's other young reporters, who attended big name schools and worked at other big metro dailies, Wade put himself through community college, and lacked the same experience. Wade struggles with his haunting past as he pursues the story of Karen Harding, a college student whose car was found abandoned on a lonely stretch of highway in the Pacific Northwest. How could this beloved young woman with the altruistic nature simply vanish? Wade battles mounting odds and cut-throat competition to unearth the truth behind Karen Harding's disturbing case. Her disappearance is a story he cannot give up, never realizing the toll it could exact from him. The Dying Hour is a bone-chilling, mesmerizing page-turner that introduces readers to an all-too-human young hero who journeys into the darkest regions of the human heart to confront a nightmare. The International Thriller Writers (ITW), selected The Dying Hour as a finalist for a Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original, 2006. Rick Mofina is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row, flown over L.A. with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He's also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and Kuwait's border with Iraq. His books have been published in nearly 30 countries, including an illegal translation produced in Iran. His work has been praised by James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Jeffery Deaver, Sandra Brown, James Rollins, Brad Thor, Nick Stone, David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Heather Graham, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Håkan Nesser and Kay Hooper. The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As a two-time winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award, a three-time Thriller Award finalist and a two-time Shamus Award finalist, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business."
The Manuscript
Nathan Hystad - 2020
An unpublished manuscript. A long-buried secret. Jeremiah Trent works as a Seattle homicide detective. When he’s contacted by a friend from his childhood, he packs his bags and heads to a mansion in remote Colorado. As he arrives at the best-selling author’s home, Jerry can’t shake the feeling it was a mistake visiting the people from his past. The mystery deepens when Jay offers them a chance to read his newest manuscript, one chapter at a time. When Jerry digs in, he finds the story is their own from twenty-five years ago, only with different character names and a changed setting. Abby, Ken, Jay, and Jerry’s tale unravels, and when a body is discovered by the local Police Department, one that has been there for years, everything escalates into a shocking conclusion. The Manuscript is a suspense thriller by Nathan Hystad, the author of The Event and Lights Over Cloud Lake.
The Anonymous Source
A.C. Fuller - 2015
BREAK THE STORY. STAY ALIVE.ONE YEAR AFTER the 9/11 attacks, Alex Vane--a brilliant, fitness-obsessed reporter for The New York Standard--wants nothing more than to break into the flashy world of TV news. But when he uncovers the scoop of a lifetime, his tightly controlled world is rocked: his editor buries his story, a source turns up dead, and Alex finds himself at the center of a violent media conspiracy.AS HE RECEIVES TIPS from a mysterious source, Alex enlists the help of a captivating professor, Camila Gray. Aided by an Internet genius, a billionaire's sexy widow, and a washed-up sports reporter, Alex and Camila discover a $500-million secret that could derail the largest media merger in history.IT'S A SECRET THAT unearths dark memories from Alex's past. It's a secret that leads back to the morning of 9/11. And it's a secret that could get them both killed.IN HIS DEBUT MEDIA THRILLER, A.C. Fuller brings you a young journalist chasing the biggest story of his career--from the courtrooms of New York City to the beaches of Hawaii, from a crowded newsroom to a lavish boardroom at the top of a media empire.
A Killer's Mind
Mike Omer - 2018
Doubting the findings of the local PD’s profiler, The FBI calls on forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley to investigate.Zoe quickly gets off on the wrong foot with her new partner, Special Agent Tatum Gray. Zoe’s a hunter, intense and focused; Tatum’s a smug maverick with little respect for the rules. Together, they must descend into a serial killer’s psyche and untangle his twisted fantasies, or more women will die. But when the contents of three inconspicuous envelopes reveal a chilling connection to gruesome murders from Zoe’s childhood, suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted.
Her Deepest Fear
Kelly Utt - 2019
Until a knock on her front door brought news that her beloved husband had been in a terrible accident. He was pronounced dead on the scene.Reeling from the shock and suspecting she's being followed, Cate must question everything she thinks she knows.Is she in danger? Will she find the answers she reluctantly seeks? And what will it all mean for her future?Her Deepest Fear is the first book in the Rosemary Run Series of domestic thrillers.
About the Rosemary Run Series:
In the charming Northern California town of Rosemary Run, there's trouble brewing below the picture-perfect surface.Don't let the manicured lawns and stylish place settings fool you. Nothing is exactly as it seems. Secrets and lies threaten to upend the status quo and destroy lives when— not if— they're revealed.With surprising twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the end, each Rosemary Run novel features a different woman's nail-biting story. Books in the series can be read in any order.
The Rescue
Steven Konkoly - 2019
Hired by an influential US senator to liberate his daughter from a human-trafficking ring, Decker never anticipated sabotage or that the assault could go so disastrously wrong. The hostage is dead. His team is wiped out, and so are their families, including Decker’s own wife and son—eliminated one by one by the Russian mafia. And he’s survived to take the fall.When he’s inexplicably freed soon into a ten-year sentence in federal prison, Decker suspects another setup. And private investigator Harlow Mackenzie knows he’s right. She has evidence that a power greater than the Russian mob was behind the raid that ruined Decker’s life.The next move in a nationwide cat-and-mouse game of high-level sedition is up to them. Fueled by revenge and an obsession to clear his name, Decker has only one mission: to destroy a growing conspiracy before it’s too late.
The One You Love
Paul Pilkington - 2011
Her fiancé vanishes, leaving the battered and bloodied body of his brother in their London apartment. Someone is stalking her, watching her every move. And her family are hiding a horrifying secret; a secret that threatens all those she loves. In a desperate race against time, Emma must uncover the truth if she ever wants to see her fiancé alive again. The One You Love is a fast-paced suspense mystery, full of twists and turns, following in the tradition of writers such as Nicci French and Sophie Hannah.
Forgotten Boy (A Chicago Detective Thriller)
Todd Luchik - 2015
It’s February 2003 and private detective Glenn Wozniak just wants to ride out the remainder of a cold Chicago winter perched on a bar stool, pairing shots of Irish whiskey with cheap beer. But when a client neglects to pay him for services rendered, Glenn finds himself desperate for work, any work. Enter a wealthy new client offering a lot of money to find his missing daughter. On the eve of the U.S. war in Iraq, Glenn begins an investigation that will take him from the far northern edge of Chicago to an industrial wasteland at its southern border to some of the most dangerous parts of the city’s west side. Along the way, he’ll encounter anti-war protesters, ex-cons, drug dealers, corrupt cops, and a gang member leading a double life, ultimately unearthing deadly secrets that will make him some dangerous enemies. This new mystery and suspense release is the first in a series about Chicago Private Investigator Glenn Wozniak. It is recommended to readers who enjoy gritty, fast-paced thrillers in the tradition of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ross MacDonald and Robert Parker. The Glenn Wozniak private eye fiction series can be found under the following ebook categories: - Chicago crime - Thriller books with a twist - Chicago detective - Chicago private investigator - Mystery and suspense new releases - Private eye series - Pulp modern - Private detective novels - Private eye fiction
The Silent Daughter
Claire Amarti - 2020
Blonde hair waterfalling over her shoulders, serious eyes, lips a little parted like she's about to speak. That's when I realize I've been holding my breath, because the gasp when I inhale almost chokes me.Sadie Kelly has lost her job. Until last month, she was a teacher at Horton College – the same high school she went to ten years ago along with her best friend, Fiona. But Fiona died in an accident on their graduation night, in circumstances Sadie's spent the last ten years trying to forget, and since then nothing's been the same.Now Sadie's back in the small Connecticut town where she grew up, jobless and living temporarily with Fiona's mother. But when she hears that a Horton schoolgirl has gone missing, everything changes. Because the missing girl is Devon Hundley - daughter of Philip Hundley, a man Sadie knows all too well…
The Winter Over
Matthew Iden - 2017
For thirty-something mechanical engineer Cass Jennings, Antarctica offers an opportunity to finally escape the guilt of her troubled past and to rebuild her life.But the death of a colleague triggers a series of mysterious incidents that push Cass and the rest of the forty-four-person crew to the limits of their sanity and endurance. Confined and cut off from the outside world, will they work together or turn against one another? As the tension escalates, Cass must find the strength to survive not only a punishing landscape but also an unrelenting menace determined to destroy the station—and everyone in it.
Don't Tell Meg
Paul J. Teague - 2017
One night. So many deaths. When radio journalist Pete Bailey betrays his wife Meg on his fortieth birthday, he has no idea of the terrible consequences that will follow his infidelity. His passionate relationship with Meg is on the rocks and they're having no luck starting a family. It's only when he meets TV reporter Ellie Turner on a working weekend away from home that Pete succumbs to her charms in a moment of weakness. His treacherous actions set off a chain of events fueled by jealousy, revenge, violence and hatred. Five people will lose their lives as a result of Pete's deception and he will be compelled to confront the ugly truth about his wife and his best friend, Jem. He thought that nobody would ever discover what he'd done with Ellie ... but he didn't know who was listening in the room next door. Don't Tell Meg is the first part of trilogy of thrillers. Book 2, The Murder Place and Book 3, The Forgotten Children are also available. Paul J. Teague has also written the standalone thriller Dead of Night (Released May 2017) Please note that this book contains mild violence, bad language and sexual references.
Gray Justice
Alan McDermott - 2011
But when the killer is let off with time served on remand, Gray knows there is something fundamentally wrong with the justice system. Engaging the help of his ex-SAS buddies, he kidnaps five repeat offenders and asks the public to vote on their fate: Should they be allowed to continue their criminal ways with inadequate punishment, or has Britain had enough?His website attracts a worldwide audience and, although the authorities know where he is, they are powerless to stop him.Can Gray carry out his audacious plan? Will Andrew Harvey and his fellow MI5 operatives find a way to stop him?Gray Justice is more than a simple tale of revenge: it’s a rollercoaster ride with an ending you’ll never forget.
A Familiar Sight
Brianna Labuskes - 2021
Gretchen White is a specialist in antisocial personality disorders and violent crimes. She’s helped solve enough prominent cases for detective Patrick Shaughnessy that her own history is often overlooked: Gretchen is an admitted sociopath once suspected of killing her aunt. Shaughnessy still thinks Gretchen got away with murder. It’s not going to happen again.When a high-profile new case lands on Shaughnessy’s desk, it seems open and shut. Remorseless teenager Viola Kent is accused of killing her mother. Amid stories of childhood horrors and Viola’s cruel manipulations, the bad seed has already been found guilty by a rapt public. But Gretchen might be seeing something in Viola no one else does: herself.If Viola is a scapegoat, then who really did it? And what are they hiding? To find the truth, Gretchen must enter a void that is not only dark and cold-blooded, but also frighteningly familiar.
Bleak Harbor
Bryan Gruley - 2018
Deep down, they think they’re to blame.
Summertime in Bleak Harbor means tourists, overpriced restaurants, and the Dragonfly Festival. One day before the much-awaited and equally chaotic celebration, Danny Peters, the youngest member of the family that founded the town five generations ago, disappears. When Danny’s mother, Carey, and stepfather, Pete, receive a photo of their brilliant, autistic, and socially withdrawn son tied to a chair, they fear the worst. But there’s also more to the story. Someone is sending them ominous texts and emails filled with information no one else should have. Could the secrets they’ve kept hidden—even from one another—have led to Danny’s abduction?As pressure from the kidnapper mounts, Carey and Pete must face their own ugly mistakes to find their son before he’s taken from them forever.
Silent Victim
Caroline Mitchell - 2018
But the truth can’t stay hidden for long.Emma is a loving wife, a devoted mother…and an involuntary killer. For years she’s been hiding the dead body of the teacher who seduced her as a teen.It’s a secret that might have stayed buried if only her life had been less perfect. A promotion for Emma’s husband, Alex, means they can finally move to a bigger home with their young son. But with a buyer lined up for their old house, Emma can’t leave without destroying every last trace of her final revenge…Returning to the shallow grave in the garden, she finds it empty. The body is gone.Panicked, Emma confesses to her husband. But this is only the beginning. Soon, Alex will discover things about her he’ll wish he’d learned sooner. And others he’ll long to forget.