Book picks similar to
The Royal Kidnapping by J. Jack Bergeron


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Long Shadows


John Oakes - 2016
    Winton Chevalier has lightning wits and surprising tenacity. He’s not a cop, but comes from a family of lawmen, and possesses a mind that’s as limber with evidence analysis as it is with a cutting joke. In many ways he’d be the perfect man for the job — but he has physical limitations and no experience investigating a kidnapping. Nevertheless, his dying father’s last wish propels him headlong into a sinister world where men kill for nothing. If he and his brother are to survive, Winton must harness old wounds and his indomitable will. In a world of shadows, he must cast the longest shadow of them all.

In the Shadow of the Glacier


Vicki Delany - 2007
    An American who came to Trafalgar as a Vietnam War draft dodger has left land and money to the town. But theres a catch. The money must be used to build a garden to honor draft dodgers.

Every Secret Thing


Emma Cole - 2006
    Paul's and makes a mystifying mention of murder and an oddly familiar comment about her grandmother, Kate Murray is intrigued. But she never gets to hear the rest of Andrew Deacon's tale. Shocked by his unexpected death, she wonders who this strange, old man is, and what the odd reference to her grandmother could mean. Interest piqued by the story never told, Kate becomes drawn into an investigation, uncovering secrets about the grandmother she thought she knew and a man she never did. Soon she is caught up in a dangerous whirlwind of events that takes her back into her grandmother's mysterious wartime past and across the Atlantic as she tries to retrace Deacon's footsteps. Finding out the truth is not so simple, however, as only a few people are still alive who know the story...and Kate soon realizes that her questions are putting their lives in danger. Stalked by an unknown and sinister enemy, and facing death every step of the way, Kate must use her tough journalistic instinct to find the answers from the past in order to have a future.

Royal Target


Traci Hunter Abramson - 2008
    And she certainly doesn't expect to fall in love with him. Janessa resists her feelings, fearing conflicts in her personal and professional life, yet when the Prince admits his feigned affection has become genuine she can no longer pretend. Matters of security, society, and spirituality make their unlikely romance even more complex, and escalating political intrigue gives Janessa an excuse to ignore the questions in her heart. But when a terrorist plot against the royal family endangers them both, Janessa and Garrett must face the challenges of loyalty to family, to country, to God—and to love.

Murder At The House On The Hill


Victoria Walters - 2021
    Especially when it seems the killer has worked out that they’re hot on their heels…Can they catch the murderer before the murderer catches up with them? Or will there be a deadly ending to this story?Join the unlikeliest detective duo for the first ofThe Dedley End Mysteries series, for fans of Richard Osman and Charlaine Harris’ Aurora Teagarden series.Praise for Murder at the House on the Hill:'An enchanting mystery, packed to the rafters with intriguing and delightful characters, which kept me guessing throughout.' Jane Isaac, author of One Good Lie

Over the Falls


Rebecca Hodge - 2021
    Bryn Collins has been living in isolation for fourteen years after her fiance, Sawyer, jilted her for her despised sister, Del. Although a life-threatening accident ended her days navigating the perils of whitewater, she still finds refuge kayaking in the local lakes.But Bryn's placid life hits the skids when an unwelcome cast of characters reenters her life. Del goes mysteriously missing, and her fourteen-year-old son, Josh, arrives to ask for Bryn's help finding her. His father, Sawyer, had been killed in a plane crash and he has no one else to turn to. Carl, an unruly punk the sisters knew years before, is desperate to find Del because she owes him money.Bryn and Josh follow an ever-elusive trail to Colorado, and at the annual Mountain Games competition in Vail, they finally confront the truth. For Bryn, all roads lead to the river, and on vicious Colorado whitewaters, she must muster every ounce of courage and strength to save what she most loves in the world.

The Perfect Daughter


D.J. PalmerD.J. Palmer - 2021
    Palmer, the author of The New Husband.Grace never dreamt she’d visit her teenaged daughter Penny in the locked ward of a decaying state psychiatric hospital, charged with the murder of a stranger. There was not much question of her daughter’s guilt. Police had her fingerprints on the murder weapon and the victim’s blood on her body and clothes. But they didn’t have a motive.Grace blames herself, because that’s what mothers do—they look at their choices and wonder, what if? But hindsight offers little more than the chance for regret.None of this was conceivable the day Penny came into her life. Then, it seemed like a miracle. Penny was found abandoned, with a mysterious past, and it felt like fate brought Penny to her, and her husband Arthur. But as she grew, Penny's actions grew more disturbing, and different "personalities" emerged.Arthur and Grace took Penny to different psychiatrists, many of whom believed she was putting on a show to help manage her trauma. But Grace didn’t buy it. The personas were too real, too consistent. It had to be a severe multiple personality disorder. One determined psychiatrist, Dr. Mitch McHugh, helped discover someone new inside Penny—a young girl named Abigail. Is this the nameless girl who was abandoned in the park years ago? Mitch thinks Abigail is the key to Penny’s past and to the murder. But as Grace and Mitch dig deeper, they uncover dark and shocking secrets that put all their lives in grave danger.

More Than One Truth


Matt Benson - 2018
     MTOT is the story of an idealistic young attorney who must defend a childhood acquaintance from murder while receiving guidance from his mentor's ghost. After his client and lover exposes their illicit affair, the unnamed narrator is forced to resign his position as an attorney in the Navy JAG Corps. He takes a job with a charismatic criminal defense attorney known for reckless behavior, which reunites him with his hometown of Chico, California. After tragedy strikes and John dies, he must take on his first felony murder case alone. His client is Scotty Watts, a former high classmate and sports superstar turned jail bird. Scotty professes his innocence and remembers nothing about the night in question other than waking up in a pool of blood to sheriff's deputies pounding on his door. Despite a mountain of evidence pointing to Scotty's guilt, Narrator works earnestly to exonerate him. But while he investigates the case, it becomes harder and harder to separate fact from fiction, and his mind starts to unravel. Filled with conspiracy theories, twists, turns, and eleventh-hour evidentiary discoveries, More Than One Truth leads to a climax that shocks to the core. A unique take on the legal thriller, a story about the conflicted emotions of returning home, shattered idealism, and the pernicious effect of loneliness. "...will keep many readers guessing until the end." -Kirkus Reviews "...spooky..." -Kirkus Reviews "The groundwork (is) laid early on, but with such a light touch that clues are easy to overlook..." -Kirkus Reviews

Sheerwater


Leah Swann - 2020
    From a stunning new literary talent, you won't be able to put down this novel about a mother's love for her children - it will break your heart.'With visceral prose and a tense narrative arc that unfolds over just three days, speeding towards a dramatic conclusion .... Sheerwater is a propulsive read with an acute emotional core ... likely to hold appeal for readers of both literary and crime fiction, and fans of writers such as Emily Maguire, Emma Viskic and Sofie Laguna.' Bookseller + PublisherAva and her two young sons, Max and Teddy, are driving to their new home in Sheerwater, hopeful of making a fresh start in a new town, although Ava can't help but keep looking over her shoulder. They're almost at their destination when they witness a shocking accident - a light plane crashing in the field next to the road. Ava stops to help, but when she gets back to the car, she realises that somehow, among the smoke, fire and confusion, her sons have gone missing ...From a substantial new Australian writing talent, Sheerwater is tense, emotional, unforgettable. Perfect for readers of Mark Brandi's Wimmera and Stephanie Bishop's The Other Side of the World, this is a beautifully written, propulsive, gut-wrenching and unputdownable novel - an aching, powerful story of the heroic acts we are capable of in the name of love.'Sheerwater is that rare gift of a book that balances gorgeous, glittering language with breathless pace. Leah Swann writes with devastating honesty ... This is an extraordinary novel - I tore through it, captivated by the imagery and the setting, desperately hoping for a happy ending.' Rebecca Starford, author of Bad Behavior'Heart-in-mouth story ... Swann's language is sinewy and pointed; the book is trim and every sentence is necessary...a complex and horribly believable story with tremendous flair.' The Age'Sheerwater is a haunting story built on conflict. Freedom and control, tenderness and violence, hope and fear, love and hate. It shows the strength of a mother's love and the yearning for something more ... This novel is full of beautifully gripping prose and deeply powerful emotions told through sublime pacing. I found it triggered a peculiar mix of wanting to dwell in the darkly emotive prose while needing to urgently push through it to find resolution. It will be one of those books that lingers in your mind, the memory of which may even be mistaken for a story read in the news.' Booktopia'Sheerwater is compelling reading ... There is an urgency in the writing that makes you read on because you must know what the conclusion is - no matter which way it goes ... This is an extraordinary literary debut; the writing is beautifully evocative and the intertwining narratives of the main characters seamless. It's tender, it's suspenseful and you'll be wanting to see so much more from Leah Swann - I ignored everything for a day to rip through the pages and loved every minute of it.' Better Reading

The Apollo Murders


Chris Hadfield - 2021
    Three astronauts in a tiny spaceship, a quarter million miles from home. A quarter million miles from help.NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it.But even as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is quite who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide on the lunar surface, far beyond the reach of law or rescue. Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists, and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders is a high-stakes thriller unlike any other. Chris Hadfield captures the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of space, and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour as only someone who has experienced all of these things in real life can. Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.

When A Warrior Comes Home


Pete Barber - 2015
    As air raid sirens shriek from her computer’s speakers, her laptop displays an image of Mike’s face, frozen in fear. Medics repair Mike’s leg injury. But when he returns home, Sarah is thrust into the role of caregiver to a man she hardly recognizes. Tortured by wild mood swings, flashbacks, and anti-social behaviors, her husband becomes a danger to himself and others. A business opportunity seems to offer a way out for Mike from a military that now considers him weak and surplus to requirements. But can Sarah risk her family’s future on a man who may be damaged beyond repair?

City of the Lost


Kelley Armstrong - 2016
    She was never caught, but he was the grandson of a mobster and she knows that someday this crime will catch up to her. Casey's best friend, Diana, is on the run from a violent, abusive ex-husband. When Diana's husband finds her, and Casey herself is attacked shortly after, Casey knows it's time for the two of them to disappear again.Diana has heard of a town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you're accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, and living off the grid in the wilds of Canada: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, no computers, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council's approval. As a murderer, Casey isn't a good candidate, but she has something they want: She's a homicide detective, and Rockton has just had its first real murder. She and Diana are in. However, soon after arriving, Casey realizes that the identity of a murderer isn't the only secret Rockton is hiding—in fact, she starts to wonder if she and Diana might be in even more danger in Rockton than they were in their old lives.

Only Ever You


Rebecca Drake - 2016
    When doctors can find no trace of drugs in her system, Jill accepts she’ll never know what happened, but at least her child is safe.Except Sophia isn’t. Someone is watching the Lassiter home in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb, infiltrating the family’s personal and professional lives. While Jill struggles to balance building her photography business with parenting high-spirited Sophia, and David is distracted by pressure to make partner at his law firm, both of them are holding on in a marriage that’s already been rocked by loss.Three months after the incident at the park, Sophia disappears again, but this time Jill and David become the focus of police and media scrutiny and suspicion. Facing every parent’s worst nightmare a second time, Jill discovers that someone doesn’t just want Sophia for her own, she wants to destroy the entire family.

Some They Lie


M.K. Farrar - 2018
    No one is perfect—she knows that better than most. Everyone has their secrets. But something about Michael’s behaviour sets her nerves on edge, and, when people around her start to go missing, and then turn up dead, she’s forced to act.Knowing the police will never believe what she’s witnessed, and terrified her accusations will only drag up the past she’s worked so hard to bury, Olivia has no choice but to take things into her own hands... Get this new, heart-racing, psychological thriller now!

What You Don't Know


JoAnn Chaney - 2017
    A series of murders brings Denver to its knees in this wonderfully voice driven, dark, wry, and wholly original page-turning debut.The last victims of an infamous serial killer on death row may be the ones he didn't kill. Seven years ago, Detective Paul Hoskins and his larger-than-life partner solved one of the biggest serial murder cases of the decade. They dug up 33 bodies in a crawl space belonging to the beloved Jacky Seever, a pillar of the community and a successful businessman. Sammie Peterson was the lead reporter on the case. Her byline was on the front page of the newspaper every day. Seever’s wife, Gloria, claimed to be as surprised as everyone else.Today, Hoskins has been banished to cold cases, Sammie is selling make-up at the mall, and Gloria is trying to navigate a world where she can’t escape condemnation. And Seever? He’s watching the show.But when a series of new murders occur, and the victims are all somehow connected to Seever, Gloria is once again thrust into the spotlight, while Hoskins and Sammie realize this may be their chance to get their lives back, even if it means forfeiting their humanity in the process.