Domestic Fiction Thriller

At thirty-six, Katie Cope's life hasn't turned out the way she planned. She had big dreams of becoming an investigative journalist, but then her best friend from college disappeared. Claire was driving home for Thanksgiving and never made it. Her abandoned car was found at a trailhead in the Rockies, but she was never seen again. Now Katie's husband Howard has sold his San Diego business for more money than they ever dreamed. She's found a beautiful new housing development in the breathtaking wilderness of the Colorado mountains. It's just the fresh start we need, she tells him.

Becoming a stepmother is the best thing that ever happened to me. My favorite part of every day is picking Charlie up from school, watching her little rucksack bounce behind her as she skips over for a hug. I love the feel of those thin freckled arms around my waist. After a few rocky months of panic attacks when her mother deserted her, Charlie is flourishing. But the day Charlie’s mother Bronwyn returns without warning—showering Charlie with gifts and making promises she can’t keep—fear ripples through me. She doesn’t know just how far I will go to protect that little girl.

Lana Stone has never considered herself a stalker - until the night she impulsively follows a familiar face through the streets of New York's Upper West Side. Her target? The "anonymous" egg donor she'd selected through an agency, the one who's making motherhood possible for her. Hungry to learn more about her, Lana plans only to watch her from a distance. But when circumstances bring them face-to-face, an unexpected friendship is born.

The president's son and daughter are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high-up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark. A deadly contagion in the water supply cripples half of the capital, and Alex discovers that someone may be about to unleash the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced. As his window for solving both crimes narrows, Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes....

From the outside the parents of the kindergarten class at Darley Heights primary school seem to have it all. Living in the wealthy Sydney suburbs, it's a community where everyone knows each other - and secrets don't stay secret for long. The big date in the calendar is the school's annual fundraising trivia night, but when the evening gets raucously out of hand, talk turns to partner-swapping. Initially scandalised, it's not long before a group of parents make a reckless one-night-only pact. But in the harsh light of day, those involved must face the fallout of their behaviour.

Ava grew up in a haunted mansion, envied by all her friends. But when her mother died mysteriously there, the thrills of Blackworth Mansion became nightmares. Ava never accepted that her mother perished from natural causes, but no one would believe her. Seventeen years later, Ava returns home to unravel the truth of her mother’s death—and her own demons quickly follow. Her estranged and vindictive father may be stalking her. Her secretive new sister-in-law lands on her doorstep with troubles of her own. And then there’s the strange girl who may or may not be haunting the grounds.

For Victoria, image is everything, and on the surface, she has it all: a big house, a successful husband, and two beautiful children. But behind the scenes, things are very different. Victoria and her husband have a dark secret, and she lives in terror of it being discovered—of her perfect façade being shattered forever. Under massive stress, but still desperately trying to keep up appearances, her family is falling apart. Victoria has to ask herself how far she's willing to go and how much she's willing to do to preserve her perfect family.

When a woman disappears with her two children, one husband will do anything to find them—even confront the secrets of his own past—in D.J. Palmer's My Wife Is Missing, a twisty thriller from the author of The New Husband.

As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to avoid becoming overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi worries that she’s taken things too far. Then Jacob goes missing, and her files on him vanish. But as the police start asking questions about Jacob, Naomi’s own dark past emerges. And as the truth comes to light, it seems that it’s not just her clients who are in danger.

Elizabeth is Joe’s foster mother, but she loves him like her own. The five-year-old, who adores superheroes and watching the birds outside, is the child she has dreamed of. As she looks into the garden, where he was playing just moments ago, her heart feels like it has been ripped from her chest. She was meant to save Joe from his birth mother who almost harmed his chances at life. The woman who has been trying to desperately get him back. She was meant to protect Joe from her husband. The man who, right now, lies to the police, saying he was making breakfast when Joe disappeared.

Emily, a popular but bookish prep school senior, goes missing after a night out with friends. She was last seen leaving a party with Alex, a football player with a dubious reputation. But no one is talking. Now three mothers, Catherine, Leslie and Morgan, friends turned frenemies, have their lives turned upside down as they are forced to look to their own children—and each other’s—for answers to questions they don’t want to ask.

The three Williams girls are as close as sisters can be, and they also share one special trait in common: each of them have a man in their lives that they could do without.

Federal Investigator Aaron Falk is on his way to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of an old friend's baby. But mystery follows him, even on vacation.

My family’s empire is crumbling as the feds close in. And the woman I can’t let go of might be our greatest betrayal. I'm caught in a web of lies and betrayal. Every move I make could be my last. Trust is a luxury I can't afford. But the truth? The truth might destroy us all. There's a rat in our family. The feds are closing in. And a secret that could change everything. I have to choose: Loyalty to my blood, Or a chance at redemption. The clock is ticking. The stakes have never been higher. And I'm running out of time. Who will survive when the dust settles? Only one way to find out.

Psychiatrist Olivia Cole is a shell of herself after only two years with her tyrannical husband, the outwardly perfect Sebastian. On their two-year anniversary, she’s subjected to one power move too many when Sebastian whisks her away on a surprise trip—first to the charming capital of Sweden, then to an unexpected final destination. Miles from home and help, the only way for Olivia to wrest back control of her life is to give Sebastian an even bigger, shocking surprise.

When Emily applies to a job as a housekeeper for widower Rupert, it’s a chance to start over: a steady job and regular money means she can work towards her own place, not sharing a grimy flat with old mate Mags. As Emily gets to know more about Rupert’s world - how he likes his supper when he comes in from work, who his friends are - she can make sure everything runs like clockwork for him. Soon there’s a spark between them; Rupert likes Emily and invites her to stay. For good. To the outside world, they really seem to be a perfect match.

It is 1997, and in a basement flat in Hackney, Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father phoning from Sydney. Thirty years ago, in the suffocating heat of summer 1967, the Greens’ next-door neighbor Mandy disappeared. At the time, it was thought she had fled a broken marriage and gone to start a new life; but now Mandy’s family is trying to reconnect, and there is no trace of her. Isla’s father, Joe, was allegedly the last person to see her alive, and now he’s under suspicion of murder.

Meet the half sister, and unravel the ties that blind us. The truth: Sisters Kate and Lauren meet for Sunday lunch every week without fail, especially after the loss of their father. The lie: But a knock at the door is about to change everything. A young woman by the name of Jess holds a note with the results of a DNA test, claiming to be their half sister. The unthinkable: As the fallout starts, it's clear that they are all hiding secrets, and perhaps this family isn't as perfect as it appears.

US Marshal Regan Merritt never bought the FBI’s theory that her ten-year-old son’s murder was tied to her job. Yet as leads went cold, she’d had to walk away from the marshals, the case and her now ex-husband, Grant, who blamed her for Chase’s death.

Leigh Simons can’t say for sure what made her do it. A moment of madness, perhaps, but when the young, loud and gorgeous waitress at her favorite coffee shop reveals she is homeless, Leigh offers her the empty room in her house. Gina is the perfect lodger; Leigh, lonely and frustrated with her life, becomes infatuated with the woman—her boldness, her zeal. If only Leigh could be more like Gina. So when Leigh returns from a work trip she’s shocked to find Gina missing. Where could the young woman have gone...and why?