Book picks similar to
Alchemy: turning Silver to Gold by Chris James


historical-fiction
crime
galleys-read
direct-from-author

Water Under the Bridge


Britney King - 2016
    So when she sees a handsome stranger walking toward her, she feels it in her bones, there's no time like the present. *He's the one. *Kate vows to do whatever it takes to have what she wants, even if that something is becoming someone else. Now, ten pounds thinner, armed with a new name, and a plan, she's this close to living the perfect life she's created in her mind.*But Kate has secrets. *And too bad for her, that handsome stranger has a few of his own.With twists and turns you won't see coming, Water Under The Bridge examines the pressure that many women feel to "have it all" and introduces a protagonist whose hard edges and cutthroat ambition will leave you questioning your judgment and straddling the line between what's right and wrong.

He Made Me (a Booker & Cash Story Book 2)


Oliver Tidy - 2017
    Someone is demanding a lot of money from her husband and she wants to know why.What do the dying words of one man - he made me - actually mean?As the mystery unfolds people will come undone and reputations will be ruined before the answer becomes clear.At the end of the day Mrs Swaine might end up wishing she’d let sleeping dogs lie… Also available in the Booker & Cash series: Bad Sons

The Asylum


Debra Meller - 2020
    Her infant son, already dead, lies on her chest still clinging to his mother.On the morning that is Patty found, she is not expected to survive but is taken to hospital where she eventually recovers. But, severely emotionally disturbed, Patty soon finds herself a patient at Hillside Asylum. There, Patty’s condition deteriorates, and the staff and doctors perform unnecessary experimental procedures on their patient.But when someone from Patty’s past learns about her incarceration, they vow to get her out. And those responsible for the abuse will be made to suffer . . .

Bloodline


Jess Lourey - 2021
    Perfect homes. Perfect families. It’s enough to drive some women mad…In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting.And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village.The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows.Her fiancé tells her she’s being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth.

Ashes Ashes


Murphy Morrison - 2020
    The streets of Chicago keep him busy and provide a respite from his family's chaos. But everything changes when his rescue squad is called to a house where female victims are found chained to a wall and burned alive. The terror becomes personal as the women are identified, leaving Charlie to reel over one haunting question: What have I done? Detective Jeff Foley is a private man with a past he's worked hard to keep in the dark. When a new assignment at the Chicago Police Department coincides with his estranged brother coming back into his life, his past suddenly becomes his present. Only this time, he's not just a kid on the street. He now has a life worth fighting for and a wife and daughter he'll do anything to protect. Talia Griffin is loyal to a fault. She puts her patients first and would do anything for her dad, the only family she has left. When he's pulled into an investigation that intersects with one of her patients at the hospital, she can't help but get involved. And when she does, she learns the hard way that no one is safe-that once you're in, there's no getting out. Ashes Ashes tells the story of family, love, secrets, and betrayal. We see firsthand how the person we think we know can be the most unfamiliar of all, how webs of evil can extend beyond just one point in time, and how our enemies can be closer, and far greater, than we ever imagined.

The Angel of Death


Blair Babylon - 2014
    When a massive call-out down by the Mexican Border reveals a terrorist cell and turns into a standoff, Angel’s youngest brother, the lost soul of her family, texts her that he is inside that barricaded house, and her orders are to shoot anything that moves.

Day of the Accident


Nuala Ellwood - 2018
    That she drowned when the car Maggie had been driving plunged into the river. Maggie remembers nothing.When Maggie begs to see her husband Sean, the police tell her that he has disappeared. He was last seen on the day of her daughter's funeral.What really happened that day at the river?Where is Maggie's husband?And why can't she shake the suspicion that somewhere, somehow, her daughter is still alive?

A Justifiable Madness


A.B. Morgan - 2017
    But who is he and why is he so keen to spend time in a psychiatric hospital?When Mark is admitted, silent and naked, the staff are suspicious about his motives.Dealing with this, as well as the patients on the ward, Mark’s troubles really begin once he is Sectioned under the Mental Health Act. When decisions about his future are handed to Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Giles Sharman, Mark’s life goes from bad to worse.  Drugged, abused and in danger, Mark looks for a way out of this nightmare. But he’s about to learn, proving that you are sane might not be easy as it sounds…

Watch Her Fall


Erin Kelly - 2021
    The Prince is on stage for most of the ballet, but it's the swans audiences flock to see. In early productions, Odette and Odile were performed by two different dancers. These days, it is usual for the same dancer to play both roles. Because of the faultless ballet technique required to master the steps, and the emotional range needed to perform both the virginal Odette and the dark, seductive Odile, this challenging dual role is one of the most coveted in all ballet. Dancers would kill for the part.Ava Kirilova has reached the very top of her profession. After years and years of hard graft, pain and sacrifice as part of the London Russian Ballet Company, allowing nothing else to distract her, she is finally the poster girl for Swan Lake. Even Mr K - her father, and the intense, terrifying director of the company - can find no fault. Ava has pushed herself ahead of countless other talented, hardworking girls, and they are all watching her now.But there is someone who really wants to see Ava fall ...

Bloody Sunrise


Gregg Bell - 2017
    Blood. On his sheets. His pillowcase.Then he gets a call: his ex-wife was murdered last night.He desperately tries to piece together what happened. But he can’t explain how he got the scratches on his arms, the police want to know about the domestic violence report his ex filed against him, and his buddies say he was raging against her last night before he stormed off on his own. Right about the time she was murdered.

Shadow Kill


David Caris - 2021
    Betrayed by his employer and left for dead, Kovac decides to lie low in Tokyo.His plan? Revenge...But when a young woman asks him to protect her from the yakuza, Kovac feels duty-bound to help. She’s a victim of abuse, and long experience tells him if he doesn’t step in tonight she’ll be a corpse before dawn.As Kovac works to uncover the truth of his last job, he finds himself drawn into a conspiracy which goes well beyond the yakuza to a new and terrifying multinational cartel. One that will stop at nothing to control the global drug trade.The kingpins are certain they’ve covered all bases. They're well-funded and utterly ruthless. But they’ve failed to account for one man – John Kovac.SHADOW KILL is the first in a fast-paced, unflinching thriller series that won't in any way shortchange you on action. Perfect for fans of Lee Child, Mark Greaney and Mark Dawson.

Brother


Ania Ahlborn - 2015
    The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard. But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…

Shattered


Donna Ball - 1997
    a desperate mother... a frantic call in the night... is this a cruel hoax, or the work of a maniacal serial killer? The peaceful resort town of St. Teresa-by-the-Sea on Florida's Forgotten Coast is known for its low crime rate, pristine beaches, and great fishing. But tragedy can come even to Paradise, as Carol Dennison found out two and a half years ago when her fourteen-year-old daughter, Kelly, disappeared on her way to a Tallahassee concert. Now, just as Carol as beginning to rebuild the pieces of her shattered life, she receives a midnight call from someone who calls her "mama" and begs for help. Is this a cruel prank designed to terrorize and punish Kelly's father for the role he played in bringing a recently paroled criminal to justice? Or is it possible that Kelly is still alive?A grim investigation uncovers a connection between Kelly and other girls who have gone missing along the Gulf Coast in the past few years. When the body of one of those missing girls washes up on the shores of St. Teresa-by-the-Sea, the police are forced to admit they may have a serial killer in their midst. And with over three thousand college students poised to descend on the tiny community for spring break, their only hope for stopping him before he strikes again is the frightened voice of a teenage girl on the telephone... and the desperate determination of the parents who love her.Shattered is Donna Ball at her best: spine-tingling terror, chilling realism and unforgettable characters. No parent will ever watch her child leave the house in the same way again.Praise for the work of Donna Ball:"A maelstrom of suspense… gripping, intense”--Rendezvous“[Ball] knows how to keep a story moving”--Kirkus Reviews“A major talent of the genre”--Publisher’s Weekly“A must read”--Examiner.com

In The Wake Of Death


Billy McLaughlin - 2016
    Now Marc Adams is awake and he can barely remember anything about his life before. All he knows is that his meddling sister has returned to his life, whilst his partner Joel is gone. Marc is convinced that something has happened to Joel. Why won’t anybody believe him? As he is pulled further into the pit of his subconscious, Marc begins to remember exactly what happened on the night of his accident. Soon, he’ll be wishing he hadn’t woken up at all.

What We Forgot to Bury


Marin Montgomery - 2020
    But she’s safe now. She lives in a gated community, protected from danger. When teenager Elle knocks at her door looking for shelter during a particularly severe storm, the woman can’t help but think how lucky Elle’s been to have found someone as friendly as her. Except Elle chose her door on purpose…She knows all about Charlotte’s secrets because they ruined her family and her life. And it is time that everyone else knew. But Charlotte’s past has left a dark void in her life, so she is concocting her own vicious plan, convinced that Elle can help fill that void.As events unfold, the truth unravels and pulls both women into a dangerous game that will leave you wondering, Who’s the villain?