Book picks similar to
Running Scared by Linda Ladd
mystery-thriller
romantic-suspense
contemporary-thriller
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Season of Storms
Susanna Kearsley - 2001
When Celia Sands arrives at a remote Italian villa to star in the first performance of a deceased playwright's masterpiece, she is instantly drawn to the mysteries surrounding the play -- and to her compelling, compassionate employer.
Borrowed Time
Diane Benefiel - 2020
A big one she can't ever reveal without compromising her father.Jon Garretson also has a secret. The undercover cop moves into an apartment above prime suspect Rane Smith's home. He's on the trail of justice, but he's also helping his brother get payback.Jon discovers Rane is not who she seems to be, and that the drug lord Jon's working to take down also has Rane in his sights.Complicated past relationships keep Rane from revealing any truths, even when she's beginning to trust Jon. Then she learns he's been deceiving her - that he's really an undercover cop – and that trust is shattered.Fighting a desperate battle on three fronts, Jon must protect Rane, win back her trust, and build a case against the powerful drug lord.Jon's fallen for the stubborn beauty. He'll put his life on the line to keep her safe, and hopes his heart is the only casualty.Parts of this story have been previously published.
Shiver Sweet
H.C. Elliston - 2012
THEY’RE WATCHING YOU...Christa has a secret so big that her husband John is using it as blackmail in their divorce. He is out for revenge because - although she won’t admit it - Christa is still in love with the man with whom she shares this secret; the man whose fiery girlfriend slams Christa at every opportunity. To protect her teenage daughter from a horrid truth, Christa must agree to John’s demands by the morning. But her world is about to rip wide open, and turn into life or death, when housemate Nicola discovers that John is the least of their problems; he’s not the only one wretched enough to exploit them.
A Sugar Cookie Christmas
Melodie March - 2018
Annabelle Harrison left her hometown of Wintervale, Vermont at eighteen to pursue her dream of becoming a famous pastry chef, and now she co-owns an up-and-coming bistro in Manhattan. But when she is called home at Christmas to care for her beloved grandmother after an accident, she is forced to confront her past, including her first and only love, James Everley. James, now a widower and single father, runs the most popular restaurant in Wintervale and is doing his best to move on from the tragedy that changed his life forever. Can Belle and James use a bit of Christmas magic to find their way back together? *Contains two holiday-themed recipes inspired by the book!* A Sugar Cookie Christmas is a 63k word, standalone clean holiday romance with a guaranteed happy ending and plenty of Christmas enchantment!
Buried Secrets (Cavanaugh House #2)
Elizabeth Meyette - 2016
All Jesse wants is a simple life teaching at St. Bart’s… and a chance at love with Joe Riley. She realizes that plan has been thwarted when puzzling occurrences at St. Bartholomew Academy for Girls get increasingly dangerous. The danger doesn’t just spring from the ghost who haunts the grounds of St. Bart’s, but from a sinister presence that is not ghostly at all. As she digs into the mystery, threats on her life and the life of her student escalate. Which danger threatens her life the most? The ghost haunting her student or the secrets buried in the school?
Damaged Goods
L. Wilder - 2017
Wilder presents a new organized crime series where the broken find their redemption. Bad boys need love, too. Nitro - With one look, she became my obsession. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to have her, even if that meant risking everything I’d worked so hard to build. I put it all on the line and did what had to be done – for her. I’m determined to have her in every way. But it’s not that easy. Like me, she’s damaged through and through, scarred by a past that haunts her very existence. She doesn’t realize she holds the key to my salvation. She’s the only one who can calm the beast that rages within me. Tristen - Nathan James is every girl’s fantasy—rich, powerful, and devilishly handsome. I should be happy that he came to my rescue, saving me from my worst nightmare, but I’ve just exchanged one hell for another. He was the highest bidder, and now he thinks he owns me. He gave me my freedom. He gave me a second chance that I thought was stolen from me. He’s given me everything, except the one thing I truly want—his heart. Will their love heal the wounds of their past, or will they both remain damaged goods? While Damaged Goods is the first book in a new series, the main characters were introduced in the Satan’s Fury MC series. This book is a full-length standalone novel that's intended for mature audiences only due to the explicit language and violence. Reader discretion is advised.
The Journeyman
W.A. Patterson - 2013
You won’t find any dazzlingly handsome, wealthy action heroes or beyond belief beauties here, but real characters … hard working, Irish country folk who grow to depend upon each other through a dangerous and oppressive time in Ireland’s history … a time of hardship, fear and persecution.Liam Flynn travels across Tipperary, his destination the shores of Lough Derg, his objective to fulfill a lifelong dream. The perils he encounters on the road are only the beginning for this young itinerant carpenter. He finds himself thrust into an impossible situation when, with the help of an old Franciscan priest, he tries to save the tiny Irish village of Gortalocca. If he is discovered by the authorities, he faces almost certain execution for treason and, when the villagers discover what action he has taken in his efforts to help them, he becomes the object of their contempt and hatred.These are dangerous times in Ireland and, as the country struggles to piece itself back together after a hundred years of conflict, the very fabric of society has changed. English Parliament has begun to impose harsh Penal Laws in Ireland which will ban Catholics from voting, from receiving an education, even from practicing their own faith. Catholics can no longer own their own land. More than ninety percent of Ireland’s land will be confiscated and given to English and Irish Protestant landlords, who will charge the rightful owners rent as they try to eke out a living on land which their families have worked for generations. Liam and Father Grogan risk their lives in an effort to save their peaceful Irish village from dissolution.A consummate loner, Liam has led a solitary life so far but he finds romance in Gortalocca, not with a retiring Irish lass, but rather with the feisty daughter of Michael Hogan, the owner of Gortalocca’s only store and bar. Roisin grew up in a man’s environment and has seen enough to know that she will never wed if it means compromising herself by marrying a man she doesn’t love. Now, at the age of nineteen, Roisin Hogan is a spinster.There is plenty of fast-paced action in our story and villains abound, from Gortalocca’s homegrown bully, Sean Reilly, and his gang of thugs, to the menacing dark man who appears from nowhere, posing a threat to Liam’s plan and adding a further complication to his life.You will meet Moira, the ancient and mysterious old hag who lives alone in a tiny cottage, hidden deep inside the forest. Moira is one of the ‘wise ones’, a healer, with her own blend of the spiritual and the ritualistic, the Christian and the Pagan. She is feared by the villagers who think her a witch and do not dare to gaze upon her … unless one of them is ill, and then she is beckoned for help. Moira becomes the source of wisdom for Liam and a strange and shadowy, yet important, part of the plot.Of course, an Irish story would not be complete without humor, and there is plenty of ‘craic’ to be had here. In Hogan’s bar, you will experience, first hand, the humor which epitomises the character of the people of Ireland, and sustains them, especially in times of crisis … an unconscious humor, one of habit. You will sit at the bar with Paddy Shevlin, the pig farmer and Ben Clancy, the shepherd, whose banter provides a welcome respite from the tension, and who never let the truth spoil a perfectly good story.Allow yourself to be stirred into this cauldron of Irish stew.
The Doctor's Estate
Heather Quinto - 2019
The story takes you on a wild ride into the world of the paranormal and the fight between good and evil. It is the story of a man named Ted who moves into a new home, not knowing the dark secrets that lie within its walls. He is a man who never believed in an afterlife. The mere mention of ghosts or even religions were enough to give him a laugh. However, he finds himself in a home where shadows lurk at every corner ready to attack him, along with terror-filled visions. Ted is taken down a path that makes him question everything-even his sanity. Demons, satanic rituals, and death are what awaits him as he slowly unfurls the hidden secrets of the doctor’s estate.
Camino Winds: A fictional Story :Then She Was Gone , Beneath a Scarlet Sky , When We Believed in Mermaids , The Red Lotus , The Spy and the Traitor , Sold on a Monday , It All Comes Back to You
John Grisham - 2020
The Ultimatum
Karen Robards - 2017
Manipulator. Con artist. Call it what you will—Bianca St. Ives is the best in the business.
Growing up, Bianca St. Ives knew she was different from all her friends. Instead of playing hopscotch or combing her dolls' hair, she studied martial arts with sensei masters and dismantled explosives with special-ops retirees. Her father prepped her well to carry on the family business. Now a striking beauty with fierce skills, the prodigy has surpassed the master.She's known as the Guardian. Running a multinational firm with her father, she makes a living swindling con men out of money they stole—and she's damn good at it. She does things on her own terms. But her latest gig had a little hiccup—if you count two hundred million dollars and top secret government documents going missing as little. Her father also died on the mission. The thing is, the US government doesn't believe he's really dead. They'll stop at nothing to capture Richard St. Ives, a high-value target and someone who has been on most-wanted lists all over the world for over two decades, and they mean to use Bianca as bait. With only a fellow criminal for backup and her life on the line, it's up to Bianca to uncover the terrifying truth behind what really happened...and set it right, before it's too late.
One Night SEAL
B.B. Hamel - 2016
Travis Rock is rough, ripped, and so deadly. He’s a bad boy Navy SEAL, and he wants to save me. When the economy went bad, my father took a loan from the mafia to keep our farm running. Now they want their money back, and they expect me to sell my body to the highest bidder. That’s how I first met Travis. He took me from the mob and offered me his protection. It was supposed to last just one night. I’d let him have his way and then we’d be done. But now the mafia wants us both dead, and he’s playing a dangerous game. I don’t want to be owned by another man, but Travis isn’t letting me get away. I need him to keep me safe, but he might destroy me in the process. I’m afraid that if I give in to his intense body, I’ll be completely lost forever. One Night SEAL is heart-pounding violent, beyond steamy, and features some very dirty language. It’s only recommended for audiences 18+. One Night SEAL is a standalone, full-length novel. No cliffhanger. Guaranteed HEA. **For a limited time, One Night SEAL includes Raging Hard: A Stepbrother SEAL Romance totally free!**
Juan-Carlo's Play
Mona Merlin - 2021
To me, heaven is like a wet dream, you’ll have to wake up sooner or later and realize it’ll never happen.Love exists only in your dreams.Scrum; A different letter word except this one I understand; I apply not just to the sport I love but to my personal life: Transparency, Inspection and Adaptation. The 3 pillars of upholding every implementation of empirical process control. Basically what helps is to control the unexpected.I don’t expect the unexpected because I control everything.
Eat, Pray, Die
Chelsea Field - 2016
The one side of the job that lives up to expectations is the money. Which is just as well for Izzy, since she needs an awful lot of it. Who knew when she made a lifelong commitment to a man that it would be one year living with him and the rest of her life paying for it?But even her scoundrel ex-husband doesn’t look so bad compared to her new client. He’s competent, condescending, and annoyingly attractive, and Izzy doesn’t know whether to sleep with him or poison him herself. Throw in a loan-shark, a nosy neighbor, and a murder attempt, and Izzy will have her work cut out for her.
Shocking Pink
Erica Spindler - 1998
The mysterious lovers the three girls spied on were engaged in a deadly sexual game no one else was supposed to know about. Especially not Andie and her friends, whose curiosity had deepened into a dangerous obsession.... Now, 15 years later, someone is watching Andie. Someone who won't let her forget the unsolved murder of "Mrs. X" or the disappearance of "Mr. X". Suddenly Andie doesn't know who her friends are... because loyalty can be murder. Andie. Julie. Raven. Three very different women bound by more than friendship.