Book picks similar to
To Dare by Jemma Wayne
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Your Life for Mine
Karen Clarke - 2020
A secret that only those closest to her know.Aged seven, she almost drowned on a family holiday… and a stranger died saving her life. Survivors guilt has been the defining characteristic of her life ever since.So, when Beth receives a threatening text message from an anonymous number on the way to her surprise birthday party, she knows her time is up."Enjoy your birthday, Beth. It’ll be your last."As she arrives at her house, there’s only one thing she knows for certain, someone at the party wants her dead.
What She Did
Carla Kovach - 2021
Everything has to be simple, ordered, in its place.It gives me the illusion that I’m in control. Even though I know I never can be.Twenty years ago, I lost everyone I ever loved, and they say it was all my fault.I’ve tried to make sure I could never hurt anyone again, but it’s hard to live any kind of life without letting anyone get close to me.And then come the sirens; the knock at the door.If I’d done something terrible, I would know, wouldn’t I?An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller that’ll keep you reading long into the night. Perfect for fans of C.L. Taylor, Teresa Driscoll and Lisa Jewell.
The Twins
J.S. Lark - 2020
Through good and bad, the girls will always be together…forever. Until they meet Jonny. Older, charming, and handsome, Jonny offers the girls the much-needed love and attention they crave. But he can only choose one and for the first time in their lives, the girls find themselves split apart – the invisible thread that binds them severed.Set-free from her twin, Sarah builds a new life for herself, marries, has a daughter. But Susan’s life spirals further and further out of control.And now Susan is back. And she’s determined to reclaim everything she feels Sarah has taken from her. Her home, her husband…her life?
Her Sister’s Secret
E.V. Seymour - 2019
The police are certain she purposely caused the crash that killed another but what could have happened for sensible Scarlett to lose control at the wheel?Determined to discover the truth, Molly begins to dig deeper into her sister’s life. With every question she uncovers yet more secrets…all connected to her own family’s past. One of them has something to hide.And then Molly meets Rocco, a stranger with dark secrets of his own. Nothing can prepare her for what comes next…Perhaps the answers she is searching for are more dangerous that she ever imagined…
The Roanoke Girls
Amy Engel - 2017
Over one long, hot summer, Lane experiences the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls.But what she doesn't know is being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die. For there is darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she must make her choice...
The Paper Wasp
Lauren Acampora - 2019
Once a bright student on the cusp of a promising art career, she now languishes in her childhood home, trudging to and from her job as a supermarket cashier. Each day she is taunted from the magazine racks by the success of her former best friend Elise, a rising Hollywood starlet whose life in pictures Abby obsessively scrapbooks. At night Abby escapes through the films of her favorite director, Auguste Perren, a cult figure known for his creative institute the Rhizome. Inspired by Perren, Abby draws fantastical storyboards based on her often premonitory dreams, a visionary gift she keeps hidden.When Abby encounters Elise again at their high school reunion, she is surprised and warmed that Elise still considers her not only a friend but a brilliant storyteller and true artist. Elise's unexpected faith in Abby reignites in her a dormant hunger, and when Elise offhandedly tells Abby to look her up if she's ever in LA, Abby soon arrives on her doorstep. There, Abby discovers that although Elise is flourishing professionally, behind her glossy magazine veneer she is lonely and disillusioned. Ever the supportive friend, Abby becomes enmeshed in Elise's world, even as she guards her own dark secret and burning desire for greatness. As she edges closer to Elise, the Rhizome, and her own artistic ambitions, the dynamic shifts between the two friends--until Abby can see only one way to grasp the future that awaits her.The Paper Wasp is a thrilling, unexpected journey into the psyche and imagination of a woman determined to fulfill her destiny from one of our most unique and incisive writers.
The End of Everything
Megan Abbott - 2011
Then one afternoon, Evie disappears, and as a rabid, giddy panic spreads through the balmy suburban community, everyone turns to Lizzie for answers. Was Evie unhappy, troubled, or upset? Had she mentioned being followed? Would she have gotten into the car of a stranger?Compelled by curiosity, Lizzie takes up her own furtive pursuit of the truth. Haunted by dreams of her lost friend and titillated by her own new power as the center of the disappearance, Lizzie uncovers secret after secret and begins to wonder if she knew anything at all about her best friend.
The Family Friend
C.C. MacDonald - 2021
IT ONLY TAKES ONE TO DESTROY YOU.Erin lives an idyllic life by the seaside with her baby boy and Australian fiancé. She's upbeat and happy - a natural mum.At least that's what her thousands of followers on Instagram think.In reality, Erin is struggling with anxiety and finding it difficult to connect with her screaming son. So, when an agent offers to make her the biggest Instamum out there, she can't refuse.And when Amanda, a family friend who's visiting from Australia, says she'll move in and babysit to help make it happen, it seems like the stars have finally aligned for Erin's exciting new career.But there's something Amanda isn't telling her.Something that will destroy Erin's carefully curated persona online.___________________________
Praise for HAPPY EVER AFTER:
'Kept me gripped and kept me guessing' Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said'Excellent domestic noir, chillingly plausible... I loved the ending' Jo Spain, author of The Confession'An absorbing story, a bunch of unexpected twists, great writing. I totally lost myself in this book' John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
The Perfect Daughter
Kerry Wilkinson - 2021
She knows this winding country road like the back of her hand, dodges the potholes with ease. But then she hears a crunch. A thud. She slams on the brakes.Since Katie’s dad left it’s just been the two of us, but we’re a team – singing in the kitchen at cheesy pop songs, tackling her homework. My teenage daughter is everything to me.But one night, as we’re curled up in front of the TV, the messages start. I keep my phone away from Katie so she can’t see the terrifying words: I know what you did. Now you’re going to do something for me…I have no choice but to obey. Because if I go to the police, come clean about what I did to protect my girl, all the questions and prying eyes would soon discover Katie’s secret too. And that would tear her life apart.So I drive where they tell me, do what they say, send the photo evidence they want. I feel sick when they ask me to cause someone harm, and it’s clear they know everything about our lives. I thought I was keeping a secret to keep my girl safe. But have I actually put her in even more danger?An absolutely addictive thriller about how far a mother would go for her child, with a twist that will leave you gasping. Fans of Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down.
Imperfect Women
Araminta Hall - 2020
Nancy was gorgeous, wealthy, and cherished by those who knew her—from the outside, her life was perfect. But as the investigation into her death flounders and her friends Eleanor and Mary wrestle with their grief, dark details surface that reveal how little they knew their friend, each other, and maybe even themselves.A gripping, immersive novel about impossible expectations and secrets that fester and become lethal, Imperfect Women unfolds through the perspectives of three fascinating women. Their enduring, complex friendship is the knot the reader must untangle to answer the question Who killed Nancy?Imperfect Women explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises we make that alter our lives irrevocably. With the wickedly sharp insights and finely tuned suspense that has drawn comparisons to Patricia Highsmith and Paula Hawkins, Araminta Hall returns with another page-turning, thought-provoking tour de force.
Bullied
Andie M. Long - 2020
Unremarkable. Unhinged. Un…stoppable?He made my daughter's life, my life, a living hell and got away with it. Broke the rules and stayed smug, hiding behind his tiny tribe, like he was untouchable. I hate him with a passion. It's the only emotion I have left. Hatred.And while the police said they could do nothing, I realised that I could do something. Because they taught me, indirectly, how to exact my vengeance.They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Make that woman a mother and hell shall look like a pilot light, against a mother’s inferno. And a mother who no longer has her child? A woman with nothing to lose?Satan would bow to her.WARNING: 18+ contains dark themesAuthor note:This story is told from differing points of view and so there is a limited amount of repetitive text.
Best Kept Secrets
Tracey S. Phillips - 2019
Even their deepest, darkest secrets--pinky promise. Right?Morgan Jewell and Fay Ramsey are enjoying their last summer together before college. Fay is shy, with a controlling mother, and Morgan is the perfect, wild, loud-mouthed yang to Fay's ying. But when Fay is found dead, Morgan's entire world crumbles.Years later, Morgan is still haunted by the abrupt end to her best friend's life. She knew Fay held a secret in those final days, but Morgan, now a homicide detective, has failed to make a picture out of the crooked puzzle pieces she left behind. Nothing makes sense. The leads have run dry. Until she's called to the scene of a murder: a woman whose body is left mangled, too similar to Fay's to ignore.Could it be? Morgan vowed to do right by Fay. This is the case she's been waiting for to set her back on the killer's trail. But the closer she gets, the harder it forces her to confront the memories of herself and her best friend. What was her secret? What got her killed? Maybe Morgan didn't know her at all.
What I Did
Kate Bradley - 2021
What would you do to protect it?
His Hidden Wife
Wendy Clarke - 2021
You’ll see a wife who looks so happy, strolling peacefully beside her husband in his dark winter coat, holding her daughter’s hand. But you have no idea what’s really happening in their house…If you come a little closer you might hear the way the man speaks to his wife.You might notice that the woman doesn’t have any close friends. That sometimes her husband doesn’t want her to leave the house. You might wonder if that’s a scar her beautiful daughter is hiding on her neck.When you read the local newspaper and hear the news that the wife has fallen from the cliffs, you’ll question whether it was really an accident at all.And when the husband starts dating someone new – a woman with the same long dark hair and big blue eyes as his wife – will you say something this time?Because someone has to protect the little girl and stop history from repeating itself. And it may already be too late.A thrilling and twisty tale, His Hidden Wife will keep you up all night, desperate to race through to its final conclusion. Readers of Gone Girl, The Couple Next Door and Lisa Jewell will be hooked.