Book picks similar to
Pitch Black by Susan Crandall


romantic-suspense
romance
mystery
contemporary

Edge of Survival


Toni Anderson - 2011
    Cameran Young knew her assignment wouldn’t be easy. As lead biologist on the Environment Impact Assessment team, her findings would determine the future of a large mining project in the northern Canadian bush. She expected rough conditions and hostile miners—but she didn’t expect to find a dead body her first day on the job.Former SAS Sergeant Daniel Fox forged a career as a helicopter pilot, working as far from the rest of the human race as possible. The thrill of flying makes his civilian life bearable, and he lives by his mantra: don’t get involved. But when he’s charged with transporting the biologist to her research vessel, he can’t help but get involved in the murder investigation—and with Cameran, who awakens emotions he’s desperate to suppress.In the harsh and rugged wilderness, Daniel and Cameran must battle their intense and growing attraction while keeping ahead of a killer who will stop at nothing to silence her...One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise! Originally published in 2011

Breath of Scandal


Sandra BrownSandra Brown - 1991
    Robbed of her youthful ideals and at the center of scandal and tragedy, Jade ran as far and as fast as she could. But she never forgot the sleepy "company town" where every man, woman, and child was dependent on one wealthy family. And she never forgot their spoiled son, who, with his two friends, changed her life forever. Someday, somehow, she'd return, exact a just revenge -- and free herself from fear, and the powerful family that could destroy her.

Superstition


Karen Robards - 2001
    But during the broadcast a woman is murdered - in exactly the same way as Tara was all those years ago.As an attraction grows between Nicky and enigmatic police chief, Joe Franconi, another identical murder occurs. Only, this time there's a note...Is the original killer back to claim three more lives? If so, could Nicky be the next victim?

Pursuit


Elizabeth Jennings - 1999
     A shocking betrayal...her father's murder...and a life-threatening accusation...Heiress Charlotte Court has walked into a waking nightmare-one that sends her running from her wealthy home to anywhere she can hide.Across the border in country-region Mexico, Charlotte creates a new identity and finds refuge in the battle-torn arms of Navy SEAL Matt Sanders. Fleeing his past, Matt yearns to protect her and replace her pain with pleasure. But Charlotte can't trust anyone, not even someone she's starting to love. She knows she's a target-and out of sight, a soulless killer is zeroing in on his prey...

Concrete Evidence


Rachel Grant - 2013
    Now she wants revenge…Accused of stealing artifacts from a five hundred year-old shipwreck, underwater archaeologist Erica Kesling is determined to clear her name. She’s concealed her past and taken a job certain to give her access to the buyer of the missing antiquities. She's finally closing in on her goal, when she's distracted by a sexy, charismatic intern who makes her want something other than revenge.But Lee Scott is no intern. He's looking for the lead conspirator in an international artifact smuggling scheme, and Erica is his prime suspect. He’ll do whatever it takes to win her trust and get her to reveal her secrets, even seduce her.As Erica and Lee struggle to conceal their real agendas, the one thing they can’t hide is the attraction that burns hot between them. When Erica’s quest puts her life in jeopardy, Lee must choose between old loyalties and a woman he never expected to fall for.

Kill Me Twice


Roxanne St. Claire - 2005
    Claire comes a sensational new novel of dangerous desires, dark deceptions — and one drop-dead gorgeous bodyguard. WATCH YOUR BACKAlex Romero is the hottest "Bullet Catcher" in the business. Tall, dark, and deadly if necessary, this high-priced bodyguard's got the muscle and the moves — especially when it comes to the ladies. Alex can keep his beautiful clients out of danger, but sometimes they can't keep their hands off of him. Now Alex has one last chance to prove he belongs among the elite force known as The Bullet Catchers, but his assignment is stacked...against him. WATCH YOUR HEARTPrivate investigator Jasmine Adams is fiercely independent and fearless under pressure — she doesn't need some hunk-for-hire's help to catch the creep stalking her twin sister. But when Jazz uncovers bigger forces targeting her sister for death, she's glad to have Alex's brain and brawn handy. From the steamy streets of Miami to the sultry beaches of Key West, Alex and Jazz try to fight temptation as they race to keep a madman from fulfilling his promise to kill not just once, but twice. And some temptations are too powerful to resist.... First in the new "Bullet Catchers" series by Roxanne St. Claire

She Can Run


Melinda Leigh - 2011
    Handsome and wealthy, with a sparkling public image, Richard seemed like the perfect man to provide the security that Beth and her kids were craving. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret about her new husband, Beth realizes he will go to any lengths—even murder—to keep it. After barely escaping with her life, she and her children flee. They eventually make their way to a secluded estate in the Pennsylvania countryside, where Beth dares to hope she has found a safe place at last…Forced into retirement by an unexpected injury, Philadelphia homicide detective Jack O’Malley is mourning the loss of his career when his uncle abruptly dies, leaving Jack to dispose of his crumbling country house. Unbeknownst to him, his uncle engaged a caretaker just before his death, a mysterious woman with two children and a beautiful face that haunts his dreams. Determined to know her, Jack begins an investigation into Beth’s past. When he uncovers the shocking truth, and a local woman is viciously murdered, Jack puts his own life on the line to keep Beth and her children safe.She Can Run is a sexy, satisfying debut from award-winning author Melinda Leigh, packed with enough suspense and romance to get even the tamest heart racing!

The First Victim


J.B. Lynn - 2011
    Fifteen years ago, one girl escaped him. That girl, now a 31-year-old woman, Emily Wright, believes she has also escaped the memories of her abduction, until a family emergency forces her back to her childhood home to care for her teenage sister. As she tries to build a relationship with a sister she barely knows, the nightmares of her abduction return. When a girl from her sister's school is kidnapped, killed, and left on Emily’s doorstep, her paranoia goes into overdrive. Has her kidnapper resurfaced and returned to town too?Emily must decide who to trust: her girlhood crush Deputy Bailey O’Neill, the FBI agents who have failed to catch the killer in the past, or the only person who has defeated this monster before: herself.Family secrets and small town rumors abound as the body count escalates and the killer draws closer to the Wright sisters.​Time is running out and Emily must face her fears and unravel the secrets of her own kidnapping before her nightmares come true and she, or her sister, become the next victims of The Baby Doll Strangler.

Beyond Eden


Catherine Coulter - 1992
    The product of old San Francisco wealth, the daughter of a man who despises her, her life is forever changed when she is brutally assaulted by her sister's husband, and then rejected by her family.Lindsay is finally forced to face up to her past when she meets S.C. Taylor, a tough ex-cop, turned private investigator and computer troubleshooter. He is hired to protect her; but can he both win her trust and discover who is trying to kill her and why? Is it her family? A supposed friend or colleague? A faceless sicko or perhaps a mad psychiatrist? Ah, it's a mystery to savor.

Don't Tell


Karen Rose - 2003
    But Mary Grace Winters knew the only way to save herself and her child from her abusive cop husband was to stage their own death. Now all that remains of their former life is at the bottom of a lake. Armed with a new identity in a new town, she and her son have found refuge hundreds of miles away. As Caroline Stewart, she has almost forgotten the nightmare she left behind nine years ago. She is even taking a chance on love with Max Hunter, a man with wounds of his own. But her past is about to collide with the present when her husband uncovers her trail and threatens her hard-won peace. Step by step, he's closing in on her—and everything and everyone she loves.

Not What She Seems


Victorine E. Lieske - 2010
    What he doesn't know is that interfering in her life will put his own life in danger.When billionaire Steven Ashton couldn't stand his high society social life anymore, he left the stress of New York on a vacation for his soul. The need to meet real down to earth people led him to a small Nebraska town. He didn't want to lie about who he was, but he couldn't exactly tell them the truth.Emily could have easily fallen in love with Steven, under different circumstances, but her past was catching up with her and she needed a new life. If the authorities found out about her, she could lose the one thing that meant everything, her four year old son.Not What She Seems is approximately 67,000 words long.This book is a "sweet" romantic suspense, appropriate for all ages.Like clean romance? Check out cleanromancebooks.com!

The Wreck


Marie Force - 2011
    The young couple plans to marry before they head to college, and their future seems bright with promise. Everything changes one spring night when their six closest friends, including Brian's younger brother, are killed in a fiery car accident that Carly and Brian witness. The trauma leaves Carly unable to speak, and Brian is forced to make unimaginable decisions about a future that once seemed so certain. With Carly incapable of going forward with their plans, Brian leaves home—and Carly—for good. Fifteen years later, disturbing new clues indicate the accident that wrecked so many lives wasn't an accident at all, bringing Brian home to face a past——and a love——he's never forgotten.

Beg for Mercy


Jami Alden - 2011
    . . And once he has you, all you can do is. . . Beg For Mercy Megan Flynn thought she was falling in love. Cole Williams wasn't just handsome and passionate, he was one of the good guys. Or so she thought, until he arrested her brother-the only family she has left-for a murder she knows he couldn't have possibly committed. Now, with her heart broken and her brother's life hanging in the balance, Megan will risk everything to prove his innocence. Even if that means throwing herself into the path of a sadistic killer with a hauntingly familiar MO. Seattle Detective Cole Williams had given up on making Megan see reason where her brother is concerned. But when she insinuates herself into the most shockingly brutal case Cole has ever worked, he can't stand idly by. Plunged into a secret world where the city's elite indulge their darkest desires, Cole will do whatever it takes to bring down a madman who has made Megan his most coveted prey.

Hard to Hold


Stephanie Tyler - 2009
    But now the wounded Navy SEAL faces his toughest job yet: smuggling Dr. Isabelle Markham out of Africa without triggering an international incident. Not easy to do when the gorgeous hostage happens to be a senator’s daughter—and about as easy to resist as an oasis in the desert. If it weren’t for Jake, Isabelle would still be halfway across the world, where rebel forces left her for dead. The special ops warrior may have saved her life, but she doesn’t need him to protect her now. Tell that to the ruggedly handsome hunk in full battle fatigues who’s just been assigned as Isabelle’s personal bodyguard. Close quarters aside, Isabelle won’t let Jake anywhere near her heart—until danger throws them together again. And nothing in the jungles of wildest Africa could prepare them for a passion this wild. This crazy. This hot…

Bogeyman


Gayle Wilson - 2006
    But soon after they move in to their new home, strange things begin to happen. Maddie has disturbingly intense nightmares--so intense that Blythe fears one night she may not be able to awaken her daughter. A psychologist explains that Maddie's dreams are simply the result of her father's death, but Blythe knows something else is wrong. Because she's also heard the ghostly tapping at her daughter's window....Convinced the house is haunted, Blythe researches the town's history and discovers that a little girl had been brutally murdered in the area twenty-five years ago. Could there be some connection between this dead child and Maddie? With the help of Sheriff Cade Jackson, Blythe tries to separate past horrors from present dangers and struggles to distinguish the real from the imagined. But someone is clearly determined to keep a secret--and will kill again to do so.